2017 September/October Rostrum

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 92 ISSUE 1 S E P T. / O C T. 2 0 1 7

Caucusing for

Change A New Way Forward

Turning conversations into action through speech and debate

FORENSICS

TOURNAMENTS 12.02.17

Junior Hilltopper 12.09.17

Hilltopper Classic Find us on Speechwire.com

WKU TEAM AUDITIONS

Claire Champagne class of 2020

at the 2016 Hilltopper Classic

Auditions to JOIN THE WKU FORENSIC TEAM held Friday morning, 8 December. Auditions are also available year round. Contact Ganer Newman at ganer.newman@wku.edu for a reservation.

www.wkuforensics.com | Twitter: @wkuforensics | Phone: 270.745.6340

The University of Texas National Institute in Forensics is one of the largest and most successful summer speech and debate workshops in the country.

For more than 20 years, UTNIF thought leaders have engaged students from across the nation to lead rather than follow argumentative and performative trends. Our participants enjoy tremendous competitive success, earning championships and final round appearances in nearly every event.

Join us for another summer of UTNIF excellence. www.utdebatecamp.com www.utspeech.net

PARTNER WITH HONEYBAKED HAM TODAY TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NATIONALS Visit HoneyBakedFundraising.com to get started

Take advantage of the Gift Giving Season & help raise money for your team Sell HoneyBaked Ham gift cards online & 20% of every purchase benefits your organization

It’s easy! Online fundraising program that can be shared via e-mail & social media

CONSIDER HONEYBAKED AS A FOOD PROVIDER FOR YOUR TOURNAMENT THIS YEAR HoneyBaked Ham is a proud sponsor of the National Speech & Debate Association

For Catering Needs, Visit HoneyBaked.com & Choose A Store Near You Our delicious Ham & Turkey Classic Sandwiches are sure to satisfy all your catering needs

In this Issue : VOLUME 92 : ISSUE 1 : SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

From the Cover

Inside

28

4

From the Editor

5

2017-2018 Topics

13

News + Notes

Caucusing for Change: Envisioning A New Way Forward

Governance and Leadership 9 14

Board of Directors Spring Minutes A Look Back: Elevating Speech and Debate National Conference

Community 22 24 36 40 50

Big Questions Debate: Middle School Students Now Eligible! (Plus More Updates for Year Two) Policy Debate: Synopsis of the Problem Areas for 2018-2019 There, I Said It: An Out Educator Hopes to Spark a Conversation by J. Scott Baker, Ph.D. Anxiety Disorders and Academic Debate: Societal Problems and Community Solutions by Grant Brown Best Showing Since 1999: Team USA Places Third in the World by Ella Michaels

Recognition

Member Resources 18

Curriculum Corner

20

Resource Roundup

21

Five Tips to Help Your Back-to-School Fundraiser

33

What We’re Reading

Like us on Facebook speechanddebate

44

Alumni Angles: Yvanna Cancela

46

District in Detail: Colorado

48

Team Profile: Muscatine High School by Aarzu Maknojia

52

Diamond Coach Recognition

58

Donus D. Roberts Quad Ruby Coach Recognition

59

Triple Ruby Coach Recognition

62

Student Service Citations

65

Academic All Americans

71

Welcome New Schools

Share with us on Instagram speechanddebate Follow us on Twitter speechanddebate

OUR MISSION Rostrum shares best practices, resources, and opportunities that connect, support, and inspire a diverse community committed to empowering students through competitive speech and debate.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 3

From the Editor

Board of Directors

Fall has always been a period of change at the NSDA. We usher in the school year, welcome new students and coaches into the fold, and the excitement of the competitive season begins again. It felt appropriate, then, to focus on change in this issue.

Our cover story explores how we can turn the conversations from the 2017 Coaches’ Caucuses into action through speech and debate. On page 28, we share some of the common themes, viewpoints, and suggestions from the caucuses regarding the role the NSDA should play in setting an example and providing resources for local inclusion efforts. Special thanks to the incredible moderators who led this important dialogue at the 2017 National Tournament!

Change can be exciting, and our team has experienced quite a bit of that sentiment over the last few months. In August, we had the opportunity to discuss new ideas, best practices, and innovative strategies at the inaugural speech and debate national conference. Check out a recap of our incredible experience in Denver on page 14 and see what we have planned for next year!

Plus, we recently launched CONNECT, our dynamic professional learning community designed to meet the specific needs of speech and debate educators. Learn more about what the online platform can do and how to get started on page 18.

At the same time, change can require difficult conversations, hard work, and introspection. On page 36, Dr. J. Scott Baker examines survey data from LGBTQ+ alumni and questions how we can open the door for discussions regarding all marginalized populations. We share the story of Yvanna Cancela, who is credited by many as the political organizer who turned Nevada blue on election night in 2016. You’ll also learn about the team at Muscatine High School, where Iowa coaches Davis and Betsy Schrock have created a team atmosphere that’s far more familial than competitive. Don’t miss the story of their “in-a-pickle jar” on page 48.

On behalf of everyone at the National Speech & Debate Association, welcome back to another year of competition and community. We hope your year is full of positive change, and that you find some inspiration to help you lead the charge locally in these pages.

ELECTED MEMBERS Don Crabtree, President Missouri Pam Cady Wycoff, Vice President Minnesota David Huston Texas Jennifer Jerome Nebraska Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr. California Pamela K. McComas Kansas James W. “Jay” Rye, III Alabama Timothy E. Sheaff Iowa

Sincerely,

J. Scott Wunn Executive Director National Speech & Debate Association

Rostrum

APPOINTED MEMBERS 401 Railroad Place, West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

401 Railroad Place, West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730 | Phone (920) 748-6206 J. Scott Wunn, Editor and Publisher Steve Schappaugh, Managing Editor Vicki Pape, Assistant Editor Amy Seidelman, Content Editor Deano Pape, Copy Editor Emily Bratton, Graphic Design Assistant Emily Kriegel, Advertising Coordinator

Newsstand Price $9.99 per issue Member Subscription Price $24.99 for one year (5 issues) Non-Member Subscription Price $34.99 for one year (5 issues)

Rostrum (ISSN 1073-5526), Copyright © 2017 by the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA), is published five times per year (Sept., Nov., Feb., Apr., and Aug.) by the NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730.

Business and Editorial Offices: NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA, 50265-4730. Accounting and Circulation Offices: NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730. Call (920) 748-6206 to subscribe. Periodicals postage is paid at Des Moines, IA 50318, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Rostrum, c/o NSDA, 401 Railroad Pl., West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730.

Rostrum provides a forum for the speech and debate community. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and not necessarily the opinions of the NSDA, its officers, or its members. The National Speech & Debate Association does not guarantee advertised products and services unless sold directly by the NSDA.

4

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Dr. Polly Reikowski, Admin Rep Minnesota Thomas Rollins Virginia Robert Runcie Florida Monica Berkowitz Silverstein New York

To learn more about the Board and for contact information, please visit www.speechanddebate.org/ meet-the-team.

2017–2018

Topics

Current topics, voting links, and resources available at:

www.speechanddebate.org/topics Member students and one chapter advisor per school are eligible to vote!

Topic Release Information

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Public Forum Topic Release Dates

Public Forum Debate

The PF Wording Committee chooses a number of debate topics at its summer meeting.

These areas are then used throughout the school year. During the last week of the month (or seven days prior to the topic release date), chapter advisors and member students may vote for one resolution to be used as the next PF topic. If you would like to submit a PF topic area for consideration, please submit by June 1 for the following school year by visiting www.speechanddebate.org/topics.

Resolved: Deployment of antimissile systems is in South Korea’s best interest.

October 1 November 1 December 1 January 1 February 1 March 1 May 1 June 22 June 22 Aug. 1 - Aug. 7 August 8

November PF Topic December PF Topic January PF Topic February PF Topic March PF Topic April PF Topic National Tournament PF Topic List of Potential PF Topic Areas Announced for 2018-2019 2018 September/October PF Ballot Announced Voting for the 2018 September/October PF Topic Occurs 2018 September/October PF Topic Announced

Lincoln-Douglas Topic Release Dates From August 1 through September 11, chapter advisors and member students may vote online for a new slate of LD topics chosen by the LD Wording Committee at its summer meeting. The September/October LD topic (voted on the previous fall) is announced August 8. If you would like to submit an LD resolution for consideration, please submit by June 1 for the following school year by visiting www.speechanddebate.org/topics.

October 1 December 1 February 1 May 1 June 22 Aug. 1 - Sept. 11 August 8

November/December LD Topic January/February LD Topic March/April LD Topic National Tournament LD Topic List of Potential LD Topics Announced for 2018-2019 Voting for the 2018-2019 LD Topics Occurs 2018 September/October LD Topic Announced

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Lincoln-Douglas Debate

Resolved: In the United States, national service ought to be compulsory.

The NSDA also offers a “Civil Disobedience” resolution that may be used during the first two months of a novice season. Coaches are encouraged to check with tournament hosts in their area before exclusively prepping for one topic over another.

2017–2018

Policy Debate

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its funding and/or regulation of elementary and/or secondary education in the United States.

2018–2019 Policy Debate Topic Voting The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) handles selection of the annual Policy Debate topic where each state organization, the National Speech & Debate Association, the National Catholic Forensic League, and the National Debate Coaches Association all have voting privileges.

• • • •

Topic synopsis printed in this issue of Rostrum (pages 24-26) Preliminary voting occurs online in September-October Final voting occurs online in November-December Topic for 2018-2019 released by the NFHS in January 2018

2017–2018

Big Questions Debate

Resolved: Humans are fundamentally different from other animals.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 5

Dear Fellow Administrators, I am excited to have this opportunity to write a letter of support for speech and debate, and to encourage you to consider beginning or enhancing your own speech and debate program.

Several years ago, our school decided to make a commitment to speech and debate in order to provide opportunities to a population that we felt had previously been underserved. Over the years, we have focused on committing both human and financial resources in order to raise the level of our program. Five years later, our speech and debate program is such a vital part of our school culture. When we made the decision to commit fully to ensuring that our program would not only exist, but also thrive, we have seen the opportunities for our students increase beyond what we could have ever imagined.

We wanted to create more opportunities for our students. What we ended up doing was impacting our school culture in a variety of positive ways. Making this type of commitment during lean budget times may appear difficult, but we can attest to the benefits of prioritizing activities such as speech and debate.

Those benefits include scholarship dollars for your students, opportunities to give students a place to belong and “plug in,� not to mention the possibility of outstanding recognition for your school and community. Also, with increased focus being placed on graduating students who are college and career ready, having a strong speech and debate program will allow your students to build communication and other skills necessary to succeed in most any area they could choose to pursue upon graduation.

I would highly recommend making this commitment to speech and debate. Any time we can create opportunities for students to connect with each other and feel connected to their school, it only enhances the culture. What started here several years ago as a commitment at Madison Central High School has turned into a strong and vital culture, and all at MCHS have benefited greatly from it.

Sincerely,

Austin Brown Austin Brown Principal, Madison Central High School, Mississippi 2017 National Speech & Debate Association Principal of the Year

Find this and other letters of advocacy on our website:

www.speechanddebate.org/resources 6

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

West Coast Publishing --Jump Start Preparation for the Year --Topic specific, quality arguments --Provide excellent models of argument & presentation

The high quality Policy-CX evidence your debaters need to jump start their research. Affirmatives, disadvantages, counterplans, kritiks, topicality arguments.

Aff, Neg, Sept, Oct-March and May supplements.

Excellent topic specific value evidence and

For Public Forum debate, high quality evidence, topic analysis, and definitions for ALL NSDA (NFL) Public Forum Topics. For Extemp, essays pro & con on current issues with multiple citations twice a month.

Clear, step by step instruction for LD, Policy-CX, Parli, Pub Forum debate, and Individual Events. Prepbooks are great handouts to help students prepare and Teacher Materials make instruction easier.

topic analysis for your LD debaters. Aff and neg cases, definitions, topic arguments. We cover ALL NSDA (NFL) & UIL LD topics for the year.

Go to www.wcdebate.com View Samples of our Products Print and Online Order Forms `

Grow Speech and Debate!

Check out: www.climbthemountain.us

The American Legion Oratorical Contest

LOOKING FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS?  LOOK NO FURTHER. As part of the National Speech & Debate Association’s ongoing partnership with The American Legion, the top three finishers from the Legion’s National Oratorical Contest may earn the right to compete in Original Oratory or United States Extemp at the National Speech & Debate Tournament! The first-place finisher is awarded an $18,000 scholarship, second-place $16,000, and third-place $14,000. The scholarships may be used at any college or university in the United States.



Want to get involved? Follow these simple steps!

• Visit www.legion.org/oratorical to learn more.

Andrew Steinberg of Massachusetts placed first at the 2017 Oratorical Contest.

• Click “Request Information” or contact your state’s American Legion Department to learn when the first contest will be.

• Also click on “Assigned Topics” to learn the extemporaneous topic areas.

• Prepare your original oration on some aspect of the Constitution with emphasis on the duties and obligations of a citizen to our government.

Watch examples of past winning orations online at www.legion.org/oratorical/videos.

GOVERNANCE

Leadership Board of Directors Spring Minutes

T

he National Speech & Debate Association Board of Directors held its Spring Meeting May 5-7, 2017, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Present were President Don Crabtree, Vice President Pam Cady Wycoff, David Huston, Jennifer Jerome, Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr., Pam McComas, Dr. Polly Reikowski, Jay Rye, and Timothy Sheaff.

President Crabtree called the meeting to order at 9:06 a.m.

Strategic Planning and Board Updates The Board discussed the organization’s history, mission, vision, honor code, coaches code of ethics, and other strategic anchors, holding a robust conversation in advance of more in-depth short- and long-term strategic planning scheduled for July 2017.

In addition, the group reviewed materials to assist in the onboarding of newly elected or appointed Board members. The Board also received detailed planning updates about the 2017 National Tournament in June and the 2017 National Conference in August.

Department Updates Board members met in small groups with national office staff to receive brief updates from each department, including Administration, Community Engagement, Development, Finance, Marketing and Advocacy, Operations, and Technical Solutions.

March 5-7, 2017 West Des Moines, Iowa

2021 and 2025 National Tournament Host Sites Moved by Crabtree, seconded by McComas: “Authorize the package of 2021 and 2025 to bring Nationals to Des Moines, Iowa, if the Executive Director can negotiate the appropriate contract to meet National Tournament standards.”

Passed: 9-0 As the home city of the national organization, Des Moines has been selected as a potential tournament site in 2021 leading up to the 100th anniversary celebration, which will take place in 2025. The Executive Director, in collaboration with the Tournament Director of Operations and the Tournament Director of Competition, will continue to work with the city on logistics and provide another update at the next Board meeting.

National Tournament Audio Audit Procedures The Board discussed and adopted pilot procedures to be implemented at the 2017 National Tournament.

Manuscripts and transcripts were collected in all main speech events. Semifinal rounds of speech were observed and recorded by an auditor. Extempers provided proof of evidence used as requested by the auditor. Any issues were referred to the ombudsperson. These and other auditing procedures will be evaluated by the Executive Director, staff, and Board for future implementation.

The meeting adjourned Sunday at 12:00 p.m.

CONNECT. SUPPORT. INSPIRE. ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 9

GOVERNANCE

Important Notice: 2017 Nationals Update Due to a tabulation error in Round 12 of Duo Interpretation, contestants D199 (Doty/Sanders from Apple Valley High School, MN) and D243 (Thomas/ Santos from Democracy Prep Bronx Preparatory Charter School, NY) were erroneously excluded from the final round. Current tournament policies have been to place a team that has been erroneously eliminated from the competition into the position they were in prior to the tabulation error. Therefore, the Executive Director proposed naming two sixth place teams and two champions in Duo Interpretation. Eight members of the Board of Directors unaminously agreed with the resolution. Board member Pam Cady Wycoff recused herself from the decision and all discussions in this matter citing a conflict of interest.

In the case of code D199, they were placed in 1st place and named co-national champions, receiving all awards, recognition, and scholarships befitting a national champion. In the case of code D243, they were placed in the co-6th place position, also receiving the appropriate awards and recognition.

The corrected results are reflected in the Nationals Chronicle, the commemorative edition of Rostrum magazine published in August 2017. In addition, the results for 7th through 14th place in Duo were adjusted.

Complete tournament results are listed in the official results packet available at www.speechanddebate.org/ nationals-history.

The tabulation error in Duo was discovered based on an official coach protest of the results. Following the confirmation of this error, the NSDA completed a full audit of all speech ballots from the National Tournament. During this process, an additional ballot entry mistake in Program Oral Interpretation from Round 11 was discovered. Unlike in Duo, this error did not change which competitors would advance to finals; however, it did alter results for places 10th through 13th.

This adjustment also was reconciled in the official results packet available online at www.speechanddebate.org/ nationals-history.

The NSDA staff and Board of Directors regret the errors that occurred and deeply apologize to everyone impacted. Please know that the Association is taking all necessary steps to adjust process, procedure, and personnel to ensure the highest quality standards of adjudication in the future.

If you have any questions, please contact Executive Director J. Scott Wunn at (920) 748-6206 or director@speechanddebate.org.

10

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Board of Directors 2018 Election Year Read more about how you can get involved in the National Speech & Debate Association!

• Overview » Any member coach with five years of NSDA coaching experience, any current or past district chair, or present Board members whose terms expire on July 31, 2018, may become a candidate for the national Board of Directors by so advising the Executive Director in writing before January 19, 2018, by certified mail.

• No person may be a candidate or serve as a member of the Board of Directors if they will reach 70 years of age before or during their term in office.

• Not all seats are up for election. The seats of Board members Don Crabtree, David Huston, Pam McComas, and Jay Rye are up for election in 2018.

• Each candidate shall be alloted one Rostrum column, unedited by the national office, to support their candidacy. Each candidate may include a photo to accompany the column.

Candidacy statements of 400 words or less along with high-resolution photos should be emailed to director@speechanddebate.org by January 19, 2018.

• Timeline » Candidacy statements are due January 19, 2018. Ballots will be made available to schools in April 2018. Results will be announced in May 2018. Watch for more information in the November/December issue of Rostrum, on our website, and in future coach newsletters.

THIS IS WKU FORENSICS UNITY • LEADERSHIP • INNOVATION • DISCIPLINE • GRATITUDE

Travel the country, learn from the nation’s most successful coaches, cultivate life-long friendships, and discover your greatest academic and competitive potential. WKU remains the only team in the history of collegiate forensics to win the AFANIET team sweepstakes, the NFA IE team sweepstakes and the NFA Debate team sweepstakes all in the same year, a feat which it has now accomplished nine times. Since 2012 the team has produced 232 national finalists.

Team members and recent graduates have also been recognized in prestigious scholarship competitions. Since 2012, WKU Forensics has produced 2 Critical Language Scholarships, 3 Gilman International Scholarships, 1 Boren Award for International Study, 1 Foundation for Global Scholars, 1 Lifetime Experience Grant, 2 Truman Scholarship Finalists, 3 Fulbright Scholars, and 2 Fellowships for Princeton in Asia. Forensics scholarships are competitively awarded.

WKU Forensics; Ganer Newman 1906 College Heights Blvd. #51084 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1084 phone: 270-745-6340

le Scheadnu n! auditio

email: ganer.newman@wku.edu www.wkuforensics.com Follow us on Twitter: @wkuforensics

A project by the Harvard Debate Council Featuring ➢ Monthly PF topic analysis and file release ➢ Bi-monthly LD topic analysis and file release ➢ Bi-weekly politics file release ➢ Yearly core Policy Debate topic files

➢ Access to over 5,000 backfiles ➢ Digital resources for Flipped Classrooms ➢ Flexible pricing plans

veritasdebatelibrary.com

Enter the code

“Rostrum2017” and receive 5% off

Harvard Debate Council is an officially recognized student-run organization of Harvard College.

The Harvard College name and/or shield are trademarks of the President and Fellows of Harvard College and are used by permission of Harvard University.

COMMUNITY

NEWS + NOTES New Partnership Offers Discounted Liability Insurance to NSDA Members If you recently joined the National Speech & Debate Association, or if you’ve already logged in to renew your school’s membership this fall, you may have noticed one of the newest—and perhaps most valuable—benefits now available to our coach members.

The NSDA is excited to partner with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to offer liability insurance at a reduced rate. This coverage is available for coaches and teachers to purchase at a low cost of $14.

Working with our partners at Dissinger Reed, the NFHS and the NSDA offer coverage for the following types of incidents: • Personal and advertising injury • Damage to premises rented to you • Premises medical payments • Sexual abuse and molestation • Participant legal liability

Speech and Debate Community Seeks Support for Texas and Florida Teams Following the devastating destruction of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the NSDA has created an opportunity for programs that want to connect with teams in need. Our Schools Supporting Schools program is an opportunity for teams or individuals to identify ways they can provide material needs and resources in response to these and other future hardships.

If you are a program in need of assistance, please fill out our “Needs Request Form” online. If you are interested in helping a program in need, view the sortable spreadsheet on our website. If you find a program to support, please complete our “Supporter Match Form,” and we will put you in contact with the appropriate individual at the school. Please note, the NSDA will help make the initial connections to programs in need, but does not serve as a pass through for funds or items. You can learn more by visiting our Schools Supporting Schools page under the Programs tab, or by going to www.speechanddebate.org/ schools-supporting-schools.

A core value of the National Speech & Debate Association is service, and we are proud to be part of a community of teams who support each other. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to Steve Schappaugh, our Director of Community Engagement, at steve.schappaugh@speechanddebate.org.

• Crisis response • Various accidental medical “There are many reasons to have liability insurance,” says James Weaver, NFHS Director of Performing Arts and Sports. “The insurance covers you basically any time you are with students outside of your regular teaching duties, when you are traveling with students for a speech, debate, or theatre event, and when you are judging or managing a speech, debate, or theatre event.”

For added convenience, purchase of the insurance can be bundled with NSDA membership dues. Even if you’ve already joined or renewed, you should see this option when adding individual coach memberships.

From the coach roster of your Account page, anyone without NFHS insurance will see a “Buy” link in the NFHS column.

Weaver encourages all coaches to consider this valuable resource before it’s needed, “because when you need it and don’t have it, that’s when it’s too late.”

Edco Pledges Additional Hurricane Relief With Edco, our fundraising partner, you can easily set up an online fundraising page for your team and receive support in the fundraising process. If your school has been affected by Harvey or Irma (i.e., your school is a member of the East Texas, Gulf Coast, South Texas, Space City, Florida Manatee, Florida Oceanfront, Florida Panther, Florida Sunshine, or South Florida Districts), Edco has pledged Hurricane Relief funds to help you further. Edco is reducing its already low fee even further to only 2.5%. That’s half the cost of the next lowest fee for other fundraising websites. Plus, if you raise $100 through Edco, Stax, a global strategy consulting firm and corporate sponsor of Edco, will match it! Be sure to sign up by the end of October to receive these benefits through June 30, 2018. Visit hello.ed.co/NSDA or email hello@ed.co for more information.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 13

EDUCATION More than 225 speech and debate educators from across the country gathered in Denver, Colorado, in August for the inaugural NSDA National Conference. Attendees chose from more than 40 sessions on a wide range of topics, including Investigating and Addressing Gender Differences in Debate; Title I Schools: Rural or Urban, from Surviving to Thriving; and Ensuring Access to Speech and Debate Students with Disabilities.

14

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

A Look Back:

by Steve Schappaugh

T

his August, the National Speech & Association welcomed individuals from across the country to our inaugural National Conference in Denver, Colorado. Previously, we’ve hosted summer leadership conferences in Ripon, Wisconsin, or Las Vegas, Nevada. Now, for the first time in 2017, we’ve built a conference to help all speech and debate educators elevate their work as teachers and coaches.

Central to our mission and vision, the NSDA is focused on connecting, supporting, and inspiring our members.

The National Conference was another step toward achieving these goals.

Connecting The inaugural conference brought together more than 225 educators from 34 states and Washington, D.C. Shuntá Jordan of Pace Academy said, “The first ever NSDA National

Supporting

Conference was a great experience!

As a presenter, the conference helped me connect with other coaches who are equally passionate about issues of diversity in speech and debate. As an attendee during the conference, I was able to gain insight into the great things that many coaches are doing to help students succeed in and out of the competitive speech and debate arena.” Participants had the ability to attend a Town Hall with the NSDA’s Board of Directors, network with other leaders and school administrators, and enjoy each other’s company at a reception and dinner to kick off the conference.

KEYNOTE |

Conference attendees were exposed to 48 sessions covering a range of issues that could assist them in running their team and teaching their classes. From gender differences in debate, to technology in the classroom, to transformational educational strategies, the conference offered something for everyone.

Adam Jacobi, Executive Director of the Wisconsin High School Forensics Association, noted, “I gleaned myriad approaches, innovations, and

Stephan Turnipseed, Pitsco Education

Communication, the Currency of the 21st Century Watch Stephan’s speech and other videos from the conference!

Visit our Resources page and use the “National Conference” filter: www.speechanddebate.org/resources ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 15

best practices toward elevating my effectiveness as both an educator and state association administrator. It is stimulating to discuss how we make a difference in the lives of young people—and that’s the best possible motivation for the season ahead!”

Inspiring After the conference, individuals left with positive motivations for the new school year. “I was truly inspired by some of the most dynamic speech educators in the nation.

The sharing of ideas, exposure to creative techniques, and forming and strengthening of friendships with amazing individuals was wonderful.

I will be back next year!” exclaimed Manuel Halkias of Canton McKinley High School in Ohio.

Thursday evening, keynote speaker Stephan Turnipseed gave us a personal glimpse into the impact speech and debate had on his family with Tourette Syndrome. Saturday we heard about the power of the activity to help students find their voice and the impact of individual words during our lunch plenary speeches. We even celebrated a reunion between a presenter and their seventh grade speech teacher.

JULY 28–31, 2018

Following those themes, we made a few exciting announcements while we were in Colorado. First, we will host our second annual National Conference July 28-31, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona. We would love your feedback on what topics you would like to see covered during the conference.

Tell us your thoughts by visiting www.speechanddebate.org/ conference-topic-ideas. If you are interested in leading one of the panels or session discussions, presenter submissions are due October 31, 2017.

Second, we are proud to continue our work to honor educators in the classroom. Last year, we began the NSDA Educator of the Year program; this year, we also will recognize State Educators of the Year who will become finalists for the national award.

Nominations will be accepted through October 30, 2017, via this online form: www.speechanddebate.org/educatorof-the-year-nomination-form. For more information, see page 57.

We appreciate everyone who was able to attend this year, and are especially thankful to our gracious hosts and conference sponsors. Based on early feedback, we’re already looking forward to next year. Arizona

The Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort will be a tremendous locale and a fantastic opportunity to be treated like the premiere coaches and educators that our members are on a daily basis. We will announce further details through our website, coach newsletters, social media, and of course, Rostrum. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at steve.schappaugh@ speechanddebate.org.

Steve Schappaugh is the Director of Community Engagement for the NSDA.

Interested in leading a session at the 2018 NSDA National Conference?

Visit our website! Presenter submissions are due October 31, 2017.

Join us in Phoenix, Arizona!

The second annual NSDA National Conference will be held at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. More details will be announced this fall!

16

On the Horizon

district chair and past recipient of the James M. Copeland Coach of the Year, Meg Howell, is enthusiastic about the conference coming to her state. “After an exciting inaugural conference in Denver, I am elated to have the conference come to Phoenix next July,” she said. “I hope all of our area coaches can take advantage of this amazing educational opportunity.” Meg later joked, “It is really hot in Phoenix in July, but with the nation’s best speech and debate educators here, it will be a whole lot hotter! See you there.”

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

LEARN MORE

www.speechanddebate.org/ conferences

PARTICIPATE LEARNING COMMUNITY CURRICULUM CORNER

PARTICIPATE LEARNING COMMUNITY

P LC

by Lauren McCool

The Future of NSDA Professional Development This special installment of Curriculum Corner takes

professional development for teachers, by teachers, and with teachers.

PARTICIPATE LEARNING COMMUNITY

a deeper look at CONNECT, our dynamic platform that offers online resource sharing, collaboration, and self-paced professional development courses.

We’ll be back with even more practical ideas for speech and debate teachers to use in the classroom in the next issue of Rostrum magazine!

O

ur member coaches and teachers have let us know through surveys, focus groups, and other forms of feedback that the National Speech & Debate Association can do even more to support teachers in the classroom and through professional development. Earlier this year, our Community Engagement department, led by Steve Schappaugh, began searching for an ideal teammate to deliver what you’ve told us you wanted: modernized recognition systems; the ability to share resources and seek feedback from peers; and a vehicle for meaningful professional development courses. Ultimately, speech and debate educators have unique needs to address. As opposed to just providing you a place to collaborate, you motivated us to go even further.

Participate Learning Communities After careful consideration, we have partnered with a company called Participate and are excited to introduce the newest means of informal and formal professional development for speech and debate educators—CONNECT: The NSDA’s Participate Learning Community.

According to their website, “For 30 years, educators have used Participate’s professional development and curriculum. . . to create engaging learning environments that integrate technology, cultural literacy, and other 21st century skills into classroom instruction. We strive to support teachers, school leaders, and districts in the endeavor of developing openminded, curious citizens.”

More than 30,000 educators across the world are connected in one way or another through Participate. As a fellow member of P21, The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, Participate shares many of the same values as the NSDA, and as a result, we have aligned values for what an ideal education looks like.

The NSDA has teamed with Participate to offer our members a consolidated platform that provides personalization of

18

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

CONNECT: The NSDA’s PLC Many different schools use professional learning communities (PLCs) to provide teachers a space to collaborate with their content-area colleagues. An effective PLC traditionally is a set of colleagues who teach the same/similar content areas who meet on a regular basis to gather, share, and review resources, strategies, and student work.

Steve Meadows, a four-diamond coach from Danville High School in Kentucky, once observed, “Being a speech and debate teacher is a lonely job. Even at large high schools, there is usually just one teacher in that field—you—so collaboration and sharing materials requires you to leave your school building. It’s ironic that we who teach communication often have no one else to talk to about our fields.” CONNECT seeks to make “PLCing” possible for those who otherwise would be “lonely.”

Connecting to Other Educators After creating an account with Participate, educators can choose from a variety of interactions. Perhaps the most widely appealing are the Collections. A Collection is similar to a Pinterest board in that it allows you to upload, gather, and share resources in a virtual way. However, Collections are more interactive than a Pinterest board. Within a Collection are optional discussion boards and the ability to review resources.

Collections can be kept private so that only you can see them, shared publicly so that anyone may view, or even restricted to a select group of people. The NSDA will curate its own Collections of resources for others to view and review—and while all resources will be housed on the NSDA website, we will also make them available through CONNECT to make your saving and curating process even faster.

In addition to Collections, teachers can create a professional profile that shares information about the courses you teach, your job title, and your geographical location. This aids teachers in finding others who are teaching the same course, from the same area, or to just generally connect to others who are interested in growing as coaches and teachers across the country.

Learn at Your Own Pace CONNECT is our means of providing self-paced professional development courses to our coaches and teachers. At this time, three courses are available. Two of those courses are

CONNECT offers two free courses, Big Questions Judge Training and New Coach Training, along with a paid advanced course focused on Evidence-Based Argumentation (EBA™) for English Language Arts.

More courses will be added this fall!

free and open to anyone: Big Questions Judge Training and New Coach Training. The Big Questions Judge Training helps prepare judges at various levels to judge Big Questions Debate. It is also an excellent way for interested parties to learn more about the Big Questions format and debate in general. The New Coach Training course provides new(er) coaches some of the foundational things you need to begin a season successfully—including setting goals, defining team success, creating a team handbook, and beginning judging strategies. Certain advanced courses will be provided for a fee. Our first advanced course centers upon Evidence-Based Argumentation (EBA™) and how it can be used in the Language Arts Classroom. Educators who pay for and take this course not only receive self-paced training in EBA™ methodologies, but also classroom-ready materials that are easy to implement. Additional EBA™ courses for other content areas will be made available later in the year.

Moving forward, the NSDA has committed to providing one or two new courses each month. In addition to more EBA™ courses, we also plan to offer several courses that teach the fundamentals of philosophy. We are always looking for suggestions that will help our members grow as teachers and coaches, so if there is a course you’d like to see offered (or if you’d like to help create a particular course), please email Lauren McCool at lauren.mccool@speechanddebate.org.

Get Recognized!

CONNECT also allows the NSDA to give a virtual presence to the awards and recognition our coaches and teachers earn.

Through the process of badging, educators can be recognized for coaching rubies and/or diamonds, distinguished service citations, professional development work, and a growing list of other achievements. Badges do more than show off the achievements you’ve earned; they also signal your credibility to others when sharing resources, seeking collaboration on projects, or posting threads in the discussion board.

Educators can earn online badges for coaching and service accolades achieved through the NSDA’s Speech & Debate Honor Society.

How Do I Get Started?

There are several ways to access CONNECT. First, you can visit www.NSDAConnect.org and you’ll be taken to the CONNECT portal. You also can find the link and a user guide on the NSDA website under Programs and then Professional Development. Once you’ve created an account, you can access all things CONNECT. You can browse the courses offered, begin creating and reviewing Collections, and in general, begin to grow further connected to like-minded educators.

www.NSDAConnect.org Send Us Feedback If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas you’d like to share about how we can continue to provide high quality and valuable resources, please do not hesitate to call us at (920) 748-6206. You can also reach us via email at steve.schappaugh@speechanddebate.org or lauren.mccool@speechanddebate.org. We look forward to working with you!

Meet Lauren McCool Hello! I’m excited to introduce myself as the newest member of the NSDA Community Engagement staff as the Education and Recognition Coordinator.

I am a former high school theatre, speech, and debate teacher as well as an academic interventionist for English Language Learners at an International Baccalaureate World school. I’m also a diamond coach who, during my tenure as a director of forensics, had students who were successful on the local, regional, and national circuit. In this new role, I will be your “go-to” person for diamond awards, coach service citations, and resource development and review.

In addition, I will be part of the team working on next year’s NSDA National Conference. This new position affords me the opportunity to combine my passion for this activity and my interest in curriculum development in a way that helps meet the needs of both students and teachers.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 19

COMPETITION EVENTS MEMBER RESOURCES

Res 8urce Roundup Teacher in a Box: Curriculum for PF, LD, and CX

TEACHER IN A BOX Teacher in a Box curricula are designed for novice coaches to teach novice students. Lessons are presented sequentially and are designed to help teachers be efficient and effective in their instruction for many kinds of debate.

Common Lessons Include: • What is Debate?

• What is an Argument?

• Argument in Debate • How to Research • Cutting and Tagging • Cross Examination • Flowing • Delivery • Judges • Etiquette

ACCESS ONLINE |

Teacher in a Box is a curriculum series designed to reduce the burden of teaching speech and debate in the classroom. The Public Forum Teacher in a Box unit is already available, and Policy and Lincoln-Douglas curricula are new and classroom ready!

Teacher in a Box curricula are designed for novice coaches to teach novice students. Lessons are presented sequentially, and each debate event’s curriculum includes links to webinars and additional NSDA resources for extended learning. Lesson plans are supplemented by in-class activities, quizzes, and interactive ways to engage students. Each lesson contains an objective so educators have measurable outcomes as they teach. Formative assessments are built into the curricula.

The objective of Teacher in a Box is to help teachers be efficient and effective in their instruction for many kinds of debate. There are 10 common lessons across PF, LD, and CX curricula. These include plans for teaching students about research, argumentation, and flowing. Each Teacher in a Box curriculum also includes about 10 event-specific lesson plans. This design allows teachers who plan to introduce each type of debate throughout the year to start with common lessons, and then build Public Forum, LincolnDouglas, and Policy into their own units.

In the future, the NSDA Curriculum Committee looks forward to releasing introductory curriculum for middle school students. The Public Forum Teacher in a Box curriculum will be updated in the weeks to come to incorporate the common lessons and include improvements suggested by member teachers. Teacher in a Box is available for all members and can be accessed on the National Speech & Debate Association’s website.

Visit our Resources page and select the “Teacher in a Box” tag.

www.speechanddebate.org/resources 20

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Five Tips to Help Your Back-to-School Fundraiser

T

he start of the school year is the perfect time to begin equipping your team with the funds you need for the upcoming season. Planning your fundraiser is a critical step in creating a successful campaign, so here are five tips on how to get your fundraiser started.

Put these tips into action by going to hello.ed.co/nsda and signing up for free today. Edco is an online fundraising platform whose mission is to support K-12 education by helping close the funding gap for high quality educational programs.

Edco makes it easy for your team to accept tax-deductible donations.

1

Determine your fundraising goal

Create an itemized list of what the fundraiser’s money will be used for and how much each item costs.

It is essential to be able to clearly communicate with supporters how their donations will be used. Add up the total dollars needed, and that is your fundraising goal.

2

Plan your fundraiser carefully

Create a fundraising calendar. Every minute you spend planning now will be rewarded later when your

fundraiser is running smoothly. Your calendar should include things like: • Dates of the planning phase; how much time will you spend planning, organizing people, and creating materials before the fundraiser goes live?

• Dates of the active fundraiser; how long will your fundraiser last? (two to eight weeks is best) • Dates you will send emails/flyers

• Principal – may need to give permission for a fundraiser; has control of communication channels • Team Parent or PTA President – can execute fundraising tasks and mobilize the parent body • Faculty – can help create fundraising materials and plan/organize • Team Leaders – can help organize students on the team and make a compelling ask to the community

• Dates of social media posts

5 3

Identify communication channels

List as many ways as you can think of to get the word out about your fundraiser. Highlight the ones that are available to you. Examples: • Email • Social media • Flyers • Banners in/around the school • Meetings with team parents

4

Identify key stakeholders

Key stakeholders are the people who must be involved in your fundraiser to make it a success. Identify them early so you can get everyone working together. Key stakeholders may include:

Meet with key stakeholders and supporters before the fundraiser goes live

Schedule a meeting with key stakeholders to talk about your fundraising plan and share your calendar. Be sure to be open to their input. Incorporating their ideas will help get them invested in the fundraiser.

It’s a good idea to organize a meeting with parents, your team, and other supporters to talk about the fundraiser, what the money will be used for, and your fundraising strategy. This meeting is also the perfect time to ask for contacts (names and emails) that you can reach out to for donations.

Don’t wait! Go to hello.ed.co/ nsda and sign up for free now. Start planning your fundraiser today!

Edco is proud to be the official fundraising partner of the National Speech & Debate Association.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 21

GET INVOLVED

BIG QUESTIONS DEBATE: Middle School Students Now Eligible!

(Plus More Updates for Year Two)

by Lauren Burdt Read on to learn how you can earn money for your team!

Year One Success As the 2017-2018 school year begins, the National Speech & Debate Association would like to celebrate the success that Big Questions had in its first year. In the 2016-2017 school year, $400,000 was awarded to more than 400 schools through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. In its first year, Big Questions events

reached more than 10,000 competitors at 450 events in 39 states.

At the 2017 National Tournament, 64 students qualified or were invited to compete at Nationals. Our semifinalists, Anna Newell from Minnetonka High School (MN) and Aidan Fitzgerald from Chaminade High School (NY), each earned a $2,500 scholarship. The runnerup, Rebecca Roy from Watertown High School (SD), earned a $5,000 scholarship.

The first Big Questions national champion, Xavior Lewis from Lee’s Summit North High School (MO), earned a $10,000 scholarship.

Looking Ahead to Year Two

(Each debater gets 3 minutes of prep time to use at their discretion.)

The NSDA is excited to build off of the momentum Big Questions gained in its first year to give more than $500,000 to schools in the 2017-2018 school year! More than 310 events are already scheduled, so be sure to apply early to earn money for your team.

Based on your feedback, here are a few updates in Year Two. • Middle School: Big Questions is now open to middle school students!

Margo Batha from Los Alamos High School (NM) believes that this complex topic is a great opportunity for 6th-8th graders. “Middle school students are blessed with inquiring and curious minds that are open to new ideas and concepts. Because of their uniquely open minds, middle school students would flourish in the educational atmosphere provided by Big Questions.”

• Format Update: Preparation time for both sides has been reduced from five minutes to three minutes. The rationale speeches will be increased from two minutes to three minutes.

• Grant Payment Structure: Earn $500 for the first 15 students who compete, and receive $25 per additional student participant.

Teachers and coaches also have the opportunity to earn bonuses for their events. By adding Big Questions to your regular season tournament, you will earn an additional $100. You also can earn an extra $100 by hosting an event in which three or more schools compete!

• Nationals Qualification Process: At the 2018 National Tournament, students will only qualify by winning their district Big Questions tournament. District chairs must choose to add Big Questions to their district tournament on their District Tournament Dates form when it is made available. The qualifying event for Big Questions may be held on a separate date than their main event qualifier. Only individual students may compete at the district tournament.

2017-2018 Topic – Resolved: Humans are fundamentally different from other animals.

22

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Xavior Lewis of Lee’s Summit North High School in Missouri was named the 2017 Big Questions national champion, coached by Benjamin Jewell.

Kirkpatrick was able to grow her team and earn more money.

Tournaments are a great way to get more students from other schools involved. If you’re holding a large tournament, consider offering Big Questions as a supplemental/ consolation event for those students who do not break. Last year, Broward County (FL) and Leland High School (CA) offered Big Questions at several of their local tournaments throughout the year and each earned $10,000!

Take the Plunge How Can I Do Big Questions?

Help us reach our goal of 600 Big Questions tournaments in Year Two! Events can be held in your classroom, as a school scrimmage among your teammates, stand-alone events with other schools, or at your local tournament.

Any teacher is eligible to receive grant money for holding Big Questions in their classroom. Given the topic, Big Questions is a great way to collaborate across subjects. In Year One, speech and debate teachers partnered with English and science teachers to teach the topic and hold rounds during their class periods. With rounds lasting around 42 minutes, Big Questions fits well into most class periods. Rounds do not have to be held all in one day; they can occur over several days or weeks depending on your schedule.

Shelby Howe from Prattville High School (AL) explains how her students benefited from Big Questions: “My students and I gained so much from this debate. I learned how a debate is

structured in case I want to conduct one in my classroom, as well as some scientific theories proposed on the affirmative side of the argument.

As for my students, I believe they benefited most. After the debate, I couldn’t get them to stop asking questions and making comments.

They were engaged, interested in the topic, and even eager to learn more about the debate team itself.

Great experience!”

Holding Big Questions as a team scrimmage or as a stand-alone event is a great way to get your students psyched up for the upcoming season and get non-debate students involved! Last year, Kelley Kirkpatrick from Mount Vernon High School (WA) held a school scrimmage where each of the members of her team was asked to bring four friends to compete in a low-pressure event.

By getting more students involved,

The process is easy!

1) Apply online to host your event.

No worries if the details are tentative. Apply early; more than 310 tournaments have already signed up for this year!

2) Next, hold your event. We’ll even help you set up your tournament on Tabroom.com.

3) Have students and judges complete our brief online survey after the tournament and fill out our online reporting form.

4) Use the money you earn on supplies for your classroom, entry fees for tournaments, to supplement travel costs for your team, and more!

To learn more about Big Questions, or to apply to host an event, please visit our website or contact Lauren Burdt, Project Manager of Big Questions Debates.

APPLY TODAY! VISIT NSDABigQuestions.org

EMAIL lauren.burdt@speechanddebate.org

This publication was made possible through the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 23

COMPETITION EVENTS

POLICY DEBATE: Synopsis of the Problem Areas for 2018-2019 From the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

Coaches and students, you’re invited to discuss these topics in-depth before casting your vote online by October 15. See page 26 for details!

I

PROBLEM AREA I:

PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce the authority of the President of the United States in one or more of the following areas: weapons of mass destruction, immigration, indefinite detention.

The debate over separation of powers is essential to our democratic republic. This topic is aimed at fundamental questions such as: Is an imperfect decision made quickly better than a good decision made slowly? How much power should one individual have? Are there enough checks and balances on the most powerful office in the world? While President Trump intensifies such questions, these debates have been relevant to the United States for decades and will continue well after the current President leaves office.

On the affirmative, debaters will find a plethora of cases under the specified areas: weapons of mass destruction, immigration, and indefinite detention. Cases such as “no first use” (WMD), overturning controversial executive orders (from any President) changing the number of refugees the U.S. takes in each year (immigration), arresting Americans without trial, and the closing of controversial detention centers (indefinite detention) are just the beginning of affirmative choices.

On the negative, debaters will find a variety of valid positions defending the importance of presidential authority. Specific disadvantages are nuclear deterrence, proliferation, or terrorism.

Structural disadvantages of presidential authority include presidential leadership and presidential powers.

Counterplans will allow debaters to really focus

24

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

on separation of powers—allowing teams to insist courts are better equipped to restrict presidential authority, or alternatively that authority should remain with the President through an executive counterplan or defense of the status quo.

II

PROBLEM AREA II:

POVERTY

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase funding and/or eligibility for one or more of the following: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicaid enrollment, Housing Choice Vouchers Program.

Poverty in the United States is a seemingly intractable problem. The issues surrounding federal anti-poverty programs range from policy details, to outlines of how they operate, to whether the programs should exist at all. This topic addresses the federal government’s programs to assist persons in poverty and asks how (or if) they can or should be improved. The combination of macro-level approaches, specific policies, and critical approaches provides for a wide variety of arguments. Students will gain a better understanding of poverty, specific anti-poverty and federal policies, and philosophical approaches to addressing poverty.

The topic also intersects with other prominent policy areas including housing, healthcare, and hunger.

Affirmative cases can focus on increasing availability of affordable housing using the Housing Choice Vouchers, increasing access to healthcare for low

income populations, extending anti-poverty programs to persons currently excluded by immigration status, assisting domestic violence survivors, improving welfare-to-work programs, increasing nutrition programs to decrease hunger, ending time limits for receiving benefits, increasing funding for anti-poverty programs as economic stimulus, and various other limitations on eligibility for federal programs. Negative positions include: states counterplan, counterplans for other means of addressing poverty such as increasing minimum wage or guaranteed income, spending disadvantage, federalism disadvantage, welfare dependency, capitalism critique, biopower/ social control critique, antiblackness critique, counterplan to end welfare, private philanthropy counterplan, and block grant counterplan.

III

PROBLEM AREA III:

that immigrants take jobs from Americans and might pose a threat to public safety. Examples of possible affirmative cases are: comprehensive immigration reform, amnesty for immigrants already living in the United States, reversing restrictive state laws, changes to visa/quota requirements, the DREAM Act, and increasing work permits for immigrants with special skills in medicine or engineering, among others.

Negative positions could focus on the economic and employment harms of increased immigration, increased risk of a terrorist attack, disruption of federalism, and the political implications of immigration reform.

IV

PROBLEM AREA IV:

FOOD SECURITY

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially reduce its restrictions on legal immigration to the United States.

Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its regulation of one or more of the following in the United States: genetically modified foods, biofuels, pesticides, concentrated animal feeding operations, crop insurance.

According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of voters listed immigration as “very important” to their decision in the 2016 election—more than social security, education, and environment. With extensive news coverage on immigration, even novice students have a basic working knowledge of immigration, making the experience of learning Policy Debate more interesting. Advanced debaters can employ nuanced and specific critical and policy arguments. Immigration reform offers a rare example of federal policy where the key questions do not often involve spending money. Instead, the debate will focus on matters of social justice and fairness. Defenders of immigration reform argue America is a nation of immigrants, and a progressive immigration policy will strengthen the economy, as well as enrich our culture. Affirmative cases might focus on particular categories of visas— their criteria and numerical limits; they might focus on different populations, or areas of the world; they might examine types of skills under-represented in the United States. Opponents have voiced the concern

Population growth and climate change are major stressors of world stability. Nowhere do these factors intersect more than in agricultural production. As the largest exporter of food, changes to U.S. policy have massive ripple effects across international markets. Current U.S. policy promotes controversial agricultural practices affecting food security of the entire world. Affirmative teams will choose from five unique areas affecting food quality and security.

Genetically modifying foods increases yields, but may have massive ecological and health consequences, including the die-off of bees. The biofuel industry has been hailed as a solution to climate change and oil dependency, but each acre subsidized trades off with food production. Pesticides are becoming increasingly unregulated in order to increase yields, but likely cause disease. This amounts to systemic violence by continuous poisoning of those without economic means to move. Confined animal feed operations maximize meat production at the expense of animal rights. The confined nature of the factory farm creates

IMMIGRATION

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 25

massive soil and air pollutants as well as conditions for zoological pathogens to evolve and spread. The federal crop insurance program protects our nation’s food producers, but encourages risky farming practices that produce negative environmental consequences.

With a cost of $3.34 for every $1 paid in claims, this program amounts to one of our worst annual welfare handouts. Negative teams will have access to a depth of offensive case debate, traditional core arguments, as well as unique arguments relating to international trade, competitiveness, and price spikes. Kritical teams will be able to access environmental arguments (ecology, managerialism, and anthropocentrism) and our country’s history with agriculture ensures strong links to actor K’s (Wilderson, settler colonialism, neolib) among others. Also, the state-specific nature of agriculture invites examination of state counterplans, in comparison to the federal government as the actor.

V

PROBLEM AREA V:

SUPREME COURT

Resolved: The Supreme Court of the United States should overrule one of the following decisions: • Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984) • Hamdi v. Rumsfeld 542 U.S. 507 (2004) • Kelo v. City of New London 545 U.S. 469 (2005) • Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 558 U.S. 310 (2010) • Shelby County v. Holder 570 U.S. 2 (2013).

From its first decision in 1793 to the most recent decision, the Supreme Court of the United States has had a profound impact on the Constitution.

Supreme Court precedents are one of the most enduring and powerful forms of government action. Jonathan Bailey argues, “Those in the legal field treat Supreme Court decisions with a nearreligious reverence. They are relatively rare decisions passed down from on high that change the rules for everyone all across the country. They can bring clarity, major changes, and new opportunities” (Bailey). At the same time, many activists question whether the judiciary represents a hollow hope.

26

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Because so few Americans understand how the Supreme Court operates, now is a perfect time for our students to debate the Supreme Court. Affirmatives allow students to explore the justification for overturning contemporary controversial precedents.

Affirmatives will confront important topics like the Court’s power to overturn agency regulations (Chevron); the rights of enemy combatants and limits on indefinite detention in the war on terror (Hamdi); the right of the government to seize land for commercial development (Kelo); campaign finance and corporate personhood (Citizens United); and/or the invalidation of the Voting Rights Act (Shelby County). These cases involve contemporary social issues about which people seem to be passionate despite not understanding the legal and Constitutional underpinnings. The legal literature offers thorough defenses of either maintaining or overturning these precedents, which makes for good debates with a robust division of ground.

Core negative strategies would allow teams to explore various alternatives to Supreme Court action like Congressional clarification, Constitutional Amendment, or lower courts counterplans. Topicspecific disadvantages would focus on threats to stare decisis by overturning precedent or the dangers of creating an overly activist or conservative court. Critical teams can question normative legal processes and/or the elitist nature of the court.

Vote Online!

Students and one chapter advisor per school may vote online until October 15 at 4:00 p.m. CT. To access the link, visit www.speechanddebate.org/topics and follow the online ballot instructions.

The two most preferred topic areas will be placed on a second online ballot in November.

NOTE: The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) handles selection of the annual Policy Debate topic where each state organization, the National Speech & Debate Association, the National Catholic Forensic League, and the National Debate Coaches Association all have voting privileges.

POLICY DEBATE:

A GUIDE FOR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE DEBATERS Shawn F. Briscoe In Policy Debate: A Guide for High School and College Debaters, Shawn F. Briscoe introduces educators, coaches, and students at the high school and college levels to the concepts at the foundation of Policy Debate, also known as cross-examination debate, and uses conceptual analysis and real-world examples to help students engage in competitive debates and deploy winning strategies.

WHY DEBATE:

TRANSFORMED BY ACADEMIC DISCOURSE Shawn F. Briscoe

with essays by Minh Luong, Matt Stannard, Amy Cram Helwich, and 14 more!

Healthy debate is integral to society. In Why Debate: Transformed by Academic Discourse, Shawn F. Briscoe and a diverse group of individuals introduce readers to academic, competitive debate in our secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. Over the course of twenty chapters, eighteen authors address the role of academic debate on educational development, interpersonal relationships, career and professional lives, and society.

COMPANION GUIDE

FOR SPEECH & DEBATE COACHES

Molly K. Beck, Shawn F. Briscoe, & Amy J. Johnson The Companion Guide for Speech & Debate Coaches is a supplement for new and experienced coaches. The tips, activities, handouts, samples, exercises, and graphics presented in its pages will prove to be a helpful addition to any coach’s existing resources. It begins with basic team management to include recruiting, planning, and tournaments. Then, it explores ways coaches can work with students competing in speech, interpretation of literature, and debate.

Great for coaches, parents, administrators, and graduates!

Available at any Bookseller or on Amazon.com!

Students, and even coaches, often must attend summer camps at great expense or spend years working concertedly to gather the — Derek Buescher, University of Puget Sound on information clearly conveyed here.

Policy Debate: A Guide for High School and College Debaters

COVER STORY

Caucusing for

Change

by Amy Seidelman

F

or a second year, coaches’ caucuses were held during the 2017 National Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. This year, coaches were invited to caucus on LGBT+, Womxn and Gender Non-Conforming, African American/Black, and Hispanic/Latinx issues in the speech and debate community.

As a native Iowan, caucus is a term with which I’ve been familiar as long as I can remember, but only in a political sense. So what does it mean to caucus, outside of a presidential campaign?

As a noun, a caucus refers to a group within an organization that meets independently. Often, a caucus is considered “closed” to those who don’t identify with the group’s specific intent.

A caucus meets to represent a specific interest or influence a particular area of policy within a larger decision-making body.

As a verb, caucus means to conference, or to meet around an agreed-upon cause.

28

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Envisioning A New Way Forward Turning conversations into action through speech and debate

Our caucuses, while young, are attempting all of the above. The decision-making body they seek to influence is not just the National Speech & Debate Association, but the larger coalition of speech and debate coaches, teachers, students, and potential allies and advocates who, through awareness, empathy, and intentional effort, can increase inclusiveness in our organization.

In a summary of recommendations to the NSDA, the LGBT+ caucus put forward a sort of mission statement, one which could be applied in some way to any of the caucuses that met: “Recognizing that we, as coaches, gain the ability to impact students through the unique relationship between student and coach, our caucus sets out to maximize support and understanding for both students and coaches in the LGBT+ community.”

While discussions of barriers and challenges differed from caucus to caucus, many of the recommendations follow some common themes. The caucuses seemed to share similar viewpoints

regarding what it means to support a coach in their local inclusion efforts, as well as what role the NSDA should play in setting an example and providing resources.

Finally, the caucuses offered some analysis of the caucus format itself.

SETTING THE STANDARD Not surprisingly, there was substantial feedback on using the National Speech & Debate Tournament as a model for inclusive practice. Among the suggestions offered were asking for preferred pronouns on judge paradigms, providing an ability for women to pump at tournaments, and increasing diversity in the judge pool and in tab rooms.

The sentiment behind this last suggestion was very much about providing visibility for and sharing the voices of underrepresented groups. Although it was acknowledged by more than one caucus that significant effort and improvement was shown at the 2017 tournament, more Black, Brown, womxn,

gender non-conforming, and LGBT+ representatives in elimination rounds—not just final rounds—is desirable.

Other ideas to proactively introduce more diverse voices to the Association’s activities included: • increasing diversity in all aspects of online educational offerings, especially video; • increasing diversity in tab rooms, as spaces of influence seen by students, and enabling that by offering tab solution training opportunities, if necessary; • being thoughtful about national award recipients, to ensure they don’t share messages antithetical to our inclusion goals; • inviting principals and superintendents from schools with high Latinx and Black populations to judge at tournaments; and • supporting webinars that highlight experienced coaches discussing issues addressed by the caucuses for student and coach audiences, especially regarding terminology used to describe those groups.

One larger issue identified by the groups addressed leadership in the speech and debate community, especially on district committees as well as state boards and organizations.

The caucuses recommended a thoughtful approach to encouraging more diversity in the election and appointment processes currently at work.

Finally, the groups shared some standard-setting ideas related to creating and distributing policies.

The LGBT+ caucus recommended the creation of a “Commitment to Inclusion” as an attempt to recodify the NSDA’s commitment to creating an inclusive community. They also felt we should create avenues for communication between our membership and NSDA leaders involved in inclusion initiatives.

Finally, they suggested we increase awareness of our Harassment and Discrimination Policy (see page 32), and encourage its adoption at local invitationals, as well.

BUILDING RESOURCES Many of the caucus suggestions included using our ability to create, share, and promote resources at a national level.

First is the creation of templates for coaches. The LGBT+ and Womxn/Gender Non-Conforming caucuses both stressed that an NSDAauthored template for coaches, outlining a team dress code that is not gender binary but still stresses professionalism, would be welcome. Likewise, a best practice guide for tournaments concerning gender neutral restrooms was suggested.

Second, and mentioned in the standards segment earlier in this article, is the concept of offering webinars that introduce the community to issues addressed by the caucus. These webinars could also expand on our prior efforts to share appropriate terminology and facilitate further conversation beyond the National Tournament.

Third was a suggestion that the NSDA identify coaches across the country who are willing to volunteer their time to work at

short camps in another area with high need. The Latinx caucus, in particular, highlighted this as a strategy for preparing students in Latinx communities where speech and debate is almost exclusively an after-school activity, and therefore hard to balance with other obligations.

Fourth, the caucuses felt this publication is a great avenue for change. More than once, the caucuses complimented the Rostrum series on women in debate from the 2016-2017 school year, and requested a similar series to focus on gender identity, the experience of Black students and coaches, and more.

The remaining recommendations were less about the vehicle for change and more about topics our community need to address, primarily cultural competency, event literature, and student recruitment.

Regarding cultural competency, the caucuses supported the idea of NSDA-collected best practices for mentoring youth facing different challenges, understanding cultural appropriation in literature and argumentation, running inclusive tournaments, creating safe spaces, using inclusive terminology, and being an Ally. These items could be tackled via judge training materials and videos, white papers, training modules, best practice guides, and interspersed among other competitive resources or certifications.

Caucuses also expressed concerns about the current use of literature, both in that the list of acceptable literature should expand to be more inclusive, and that

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 29

sometimes interpretation pieces and debate arguments speak to a community that isn’t personally represented, taking on a form of cultural appropriation that feels exploitative of the community in question. The caucuses asked the NSDA to help coaches understand

and vet through these issues, which can be unintentional but damaging.

Last but not least, the caucuses want to see more students who identify with their group on teams around the country. Student recruitment was a strong theme in their message. All caucuses reported

Coaches’ Caucuses Thank you to our moderators who led these important discussions in June!

Aaron Timmons Greenhill School Texas

Sal Tinajero Santa Ana Unified School District California

some challenges with making speech and debate first attractive, then subsequently welcoming, for all students. Among the ideas: • create a toolbox of resources that coaches can use to to recruit more womxn and gender nonconforming students; • share suggestions discussed by the African American/ Black caucus to focus on middle schools, parents, and other school personnel whose mission is to encourage academic success; • provide tips on using classroom time to start a conversation about the activity, including how topics are addressed and analyzed in speech and debate; and • encourage taking a holistic approach to recruitment— thinking beyond talking to students and more about establishing rapport at your school, inviting administrators to events, being part of leadership conversations at the school, involving former students in the cause, and asking the students to play a role in promoting the event at school.

ABOUT THE CAUCUSES

30

Tony Ugalde Shurr High School California

Crawford Leavoy Durham Academy North Carolina

Tara Tate Carr Glenbrook South High School Illinois

Shuntá Jordan Pace Academy Georgia

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

In the spirit of providing a thorough evaluation, the caucuses also shared ideas to make the process of caucusing itself more effective.

They suggested we consider better scheduling opportunities for the caucuses, so as not to compete with other events at the National Tournament, even if it means identifying if potential caucus-goers are able to arrive early at the tournament or at another time altogether.

STUDENT AND COACH MEMBER EXPECTATIONS STUDENT CODE OF HONOR:

COACHES CODE OF ETHICS:

“As a member of the National Speech & Debate Association, I pledge to uphold the highest standards of integrity, humility, respect, leadership and service in the pursuit of excellence.”

The function of a coach is to educate students through participation in speech and debate. Students should be treated with the utmost respect, and their welfare should be considered in decisions by coaches at all times.

Accordingly, the following guidelines for coaches have been adopted by the National Speech & Debate Association.

INTEGRITY: An honor society member obeys the highest ethical standards and adheres to the rules of the organization. Members recognize that integrity is central to earning the trust, respect, and support of one’s peers. Integrity encompasses the highest regard for honesty, civility, justice, and fairness.

HUMILITY: A member does not regard him or herself more highly than others. Regardless of a person’s level of success, he or she always looks beyond oneself to appreciate the inherent value of others.

RESPECT: A member respects individual differences and fosters diversity. He or she promotes tolerance, inclusion, and empowerment for people from a variety of backgrounds.

LEADERSHIP: A member influences others to take positive action toward productive change. Members commit to thoughtful and responsible leadership that promotes the other core values in the Code of Honor.

SERVICE: A member exercises the talents he or she has been given to provide service to his or her peers, community, and the activity.

At all times a member is prepared to work constructively to improve the lives of others.

•

Coaches shall be aware that they have a tremendous influence, for either good or ill, on the education of their students and, thus, shall never place the value of winning above the value of instilling the highest ideals of character.

•

Coaches shall practice integrity by upholding the honor and dignity of our profession. In all personal contact with students, judges, tournament officials, activities directors, school administrators, other coaches, the media, and the public, coaches shall strive to set an example of the highest ethical and moral conduct.

•

Coaches shall take an active role in the prevention of student drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse.

•

Coaches shall be expected to uphold their school’s policy in regards to drug, alcohol, and tobacco use when in contact with students.

•

Coaches shall strive to understand the contest rules and to teach them to their students. Coaches shall not seek an advantage by circumvention of the spirit or letter of the rules.

•

Coaches shall exert their influence to enhance sportsmanship and fair-play by competitors and other coaches.

•

Coaches shall respect and support tournament officials. Coaches shall not indulge in conduct that would incite other coaches or students against tournament officials. Public criticism of tournament officials, other coaches, or students is unethical.

•

Coaches shall set the correct tone for a tournament or competition.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 31

Publicizing the caucuses as much as possible also was broached, similar to the organization-wide email invitation offered in 2016.

Structurally, both the LGBT+ and Womxn/Gender Non-conforming caucuses suggested that we move the gender non-conforming issues as part of the LBGT+ discussion, as they face more similar issues.

Some wanted face time with the other caucuses as one larger group to further illuminate some of the shared challenges. Others wanted us to focus on developing a mechanism for student feedback to the caucuses, or consider inviting them to attend the caucus itself. Finally, the idea of having more time to develop small working groups that could continue the discussion after the tournament was proposed.

IN CONCLUSION This feature seeks only to share recommendations offered by caucus-goers at the National Tournament. As part of the National Speech & Debate Association’s commitment to inclusion as a primary value, and

our hope to keep our Code of Honor for students and Code of Ethics for coaches as living, breathing ways of being and doing, we aspire to incorporate many of these ideas into our planning and resource development work in the short and long term.

The jury is not out regarding whether or not we need to change, but we must determine how we can best model and mobilize the speech and debate community toward that end. We thank the people who have invested their time and put their thoughts out there by leading and attending caucuses, writing Rostrum articles, and continuing to remind all of us to “hang our assumptions in front of us.” 1

WANT TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS? Please email Amy Seidelman at amy.seidelman@speechanddebate.org.

Amy Seidelman is the Assistant Executive Director for the NSDA.

1

Quoted from physicist David Bohm in the book Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society. For a synopsis, see opposite page.

MISSION The National Speech & Debate Association connects, supports, and inspires a diverse community committed to empowering students through competitive speech and debate.

HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION POLICY The National Speech & Debate Association is committed to providing its participants, judges, coaches, and staff the opportunity to pursue excellence in their endeavors. This opportunity can exist only when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect. The Association is committed to maintaining an environment that is free from all forms of harassment and discrimination. Accordingly, all forms of harassment and discrimination are prohibited whether committed by participants, judges, coaches, or observers. The Association is committed to the enforcement of this policy. Individuals who are found to have violated this policy will be subject to the full range of sanctions, up to and including removal from the tournament premises and prosecution by authorities. Any individual or group of individuals who believes they have been a victim of harassment and/or discrimination should report it to the ombudsperson immediately.

VISION We envision a world in which every student has access to membership in the National Speech & Debate Association, providing the educational resources, competitive opportunities, and expertise necessary to foster their communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creative skills.

To learn more, visit www.speechanddebate.org. Questions? Email info@speechanddebate.org or call (920) 748-6206.

32

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

COMMUNITY

What We're Reading

by Amy Seidelman Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations, and Society

by Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski, and Betty Sue Flowers

I

n Presence, four organizational learning pioneers combine the wisdom of more than 150 scientists, social leaders, and entrepreneurs to discuss the human barriers to transformational change.

To be present is to recognize that adhering to old patterns of seeing and acting causes an unnecessary separation between the individual and the whole, and to work toward an awareness of the larger whole in order to play your role in its evolution.

This awareness, or seeing with fresh eyes, begins by questioning our habitual ways of thinking and perceiving. It requires a suspension of our current perceptions, but does not necessarily mean ignoring or destroying them. Rather, it entails, as the physicist David Bohm is quoted as saying in the book, “hanging our assumptions in front of us.” As we become aware of our thoughts, they begin to have less influence on what we see. Suspension allows us to “see our seeing.”

As we develop a capacity for suspension, we encounter fear and judgment. Groups, especially, are naturally prone to maintaining the status quo and tempering change.

As the authors put it, “[Groups] need shared norms and shared ways of thinking and seeing to function effectively.” However, “problems arise when the collective censor goes unrecognized.”

Central to helping groups of people break out of current habits and suspend their current reality is effective dialogue. One of my favorite examples in the book tells

the story of John Cottrell, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 13 in Kansas City, Missouri, who in the early 1990s set out to help management and union leadership there work together.

They created a breakthrough in dialogue between the two parts of that organizational whole, which he illustrates using a subject he knows a lot about: molten steel.

“We work with energies that can kill you. The essence of our craft lies in containing those energies. If we fail, people can die. The same is true for human beings: we generate energies that can kill one another.

The question is, can we hold these energies, or will they destroy us?

Just as the cauldron contains the energies of molten steel, dialogue involves creating a container that can hold human energy, so that it can be transformative rather than destructive.”

For dialogue to successfully act as a container for that energy, we have to get over the feelings

of awkwardness, incompetence, and even foolishness that often accompany learning something new. Otherwise, it’s too easy to disregard the new information.

As the authors describe, “This is our own psychological immune system at work. Living systems’ natural ‘prejudice’ against otherness helps explain why suspension feels dangerous.” Given the disorienting feelings that confronting a different reality can create, the act of suspending one’s thoughts requires courage and serious effort.

Our attempts to caucus for change require individual acts— those of coaches, students, leaders, and staff—but they aim to evolve the speech and debate community and must be pursued with the whole in mind. Our success as an organization, in particular, relies heavily on our ability to accept feedback. As the authors relate: “It’s easy to become attached to something that takes a lot of effort to create. Being open to listen to what the environment is saying isn’t the same as reacting to every criticism as a failure to be corrected.”

If we are willing to treat change efforts as prototypes, we can act on feedback using our best current understanding without “overreacting to every disconfirming signal,” and without waiting for a complete or perfect solution before trying and communicating change.

Amy Seidelman is the Assistant Executive Director for the NSDA.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 33

SOCIAL JUSTICE

There, I Said It: An Out Educator Hopes to Spark a Conversation

by J. Scott Baker, Ph.D.

I

am a gay man. There, I said it. It’s not like it is a surprise to anyone in the speech and debate community; however, I wanted it published in Rostrum. Yes, I want the fact that I’m gay published in the sole journal dedicated to high school speech and debate activities in the United States.

“Why?” you might ask. “Does it matter?” Yes—it matters to coaches, to alumni, and to current students who have been marginalized, discriminated against, and othered in society. It matters to have your identity acknowledged among your peers. And now, I’ve said it, so it’s time to openly talk about it. It has been time.

Over the last year, I have written about my dissertation data collected in the Fall of 2015. This data included responses from more than 1,000 alumni of speech and debate programs representing 43 states. The survey asked participants to identify aspects of their identity: cultural background, gender, ableism, sexual orientation, as well as both their satisfaction with experiences and perceived influence of experiences on life post-high school.

Nearly one-fifth of respondents—193 alumni—identify as part of the LGBTIQ community on the survey. They said it;

now it is time to listen to them talk about it. It has been time.

As interpretation performances engage audiences openly about LGBTIQ issues, as orators acknowledge queer identities, as extemporaneous speakers and congressional debaters address LGBTIQ policies, as debate cases argue identity politics—we, as an organization, have been practically silent on queer identities of both our students and our coaches. It has been time to have this discussion for quite some time.

The truth is, speech and debate has been a place to feel at home for many of those who feel marginalized, for any number of reasons. As one alum explains: The speech and debate world is a smaller community than we all think. .. I came out in my sophomore year, and I don’t think I would have gotten through it without the love and support of my coaches and teammates. I was taught to never hold anything back and to just go for it, to say what is on my mind and don’t care what other people think of me.

Throughout LGBTIQ narrative responses, terms such as “outlet,” “interaction,” “speak out,” “personable,” “articulate,”

“voice,” “esteem,” and “introvert” collapse to create the category of confidence.

Respondents felt forensic activities gave them the confidence to be successful.

One alum explains, forensics “gave me a platform for social advocacy when I was told I was too young for grown-up discussions” while another respondent offers, “speech and debate helped me develop into a confident, proud individual.”

Furthermore, another alum elaborates on confidence needed to challenge her in both debate and her life post-high school: I regularly tell other people that if everyone were required to take part in speech and debate, the world would be a better place. It’s not just the opportunity to cultivate empathy, critical thinking skills, and confidence...

I’ve learned the consequences of dropping turns and the importance of definitions—life lessons, it should be noted, that have resonance. I still won a bunch of stuff, like national and state stuff, which totally brought me pleasure at the time. But the payoff in intellectual and personal satisfaction?

Priceless.

LGBTIQ alumni participants also identify the category of family as important to their experiences, using language such as “socialize,” “fellowship,” “second-family,” “relationships,” “social life,” “teamwork,” “belonging,” “camaraderie,” and “home.”

As one alum notes, “Joining debate has given me the gift and privilege of not only working alongside my colleagues, but making friendships and memories of a lifetime.” Other alumni cite examples of how familial they felt about their teams: “I laughed, I cried, and I celebrated”; “speech and debate tournaments were a home away from home for me”; and “the speech and debate team was like a second family to me.” Another alum explains, “it gave me

We, as an organization, have been practically silent on queer identities of both our students and our coaches. It has been time to have this discussion for quite some time.” ­– J. Scott Baker 36

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

a community and provided stability in the turbulent atmosphere that is high school and being a teenager.” Multiple respondents offer similar remarks, such as “being a member of the team made me feel like I had a home within school, a family of peers who were like-minded.”

Finally, language including “changed my life,” “defines me,” “made me who I am,” “transformative,” “person I am today, “truly shaped my life,” and “growing up” contributed to how selfidentified LGBTIQ participants clearly articulate identity in their responses.

One alum explains how important this is for an LGBTIQ student in their formative years: “It is hard to be a gay boy in the state of Kansas, and when I was in speech class, I didn’t feel like I had to hide. I could be me, and that made me happy.” Another respondent offers, “I learned a lot about myself and the world around me while participating in speech and debate.”

While many participants wrote about their own identity formation in forensics, one respondent explains how forensics helped another, younger competitor: I had a [Poetry] program talking about the movement for marriage equality, and while judges would constantly bring me down with critiques on ballots and rank me down in the room, the comments from fellow competitors outside of the round, and sometimes even in the round, made me realize I was doing this for the right reason. I had a boy one time come up to me after the round in which I performed, and he thanked me, talking about how he was always bullied for his sexual orientation, and I helped him see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Overall, themes of confidence, family, and identity emerge from narrative data. As these respondents grew in high school through their experiences in forensics, they could speak confidently, understand the importance of family, and appreciate their own identity as they progressed through their post-high school lives.

“Unfortunately, not all LGBTQ youth have adequate positive supports when compared with their heterosexual counterparts” (Porta, et. al., 2017, p.1), and “while one might assume that the arts have served consistently as places of refuge for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBT2Q) community, this is not always the case” (Carter, 2013, p. 27).

In fact, “sexual minority youth are at risk for negative school-based experiences and poor academic outcomes. Yet, little is known about their experiences in positive school-based contexts” (Toomey & Russell, 2013, p. 304).

“Through their experiences in forensics, LGBTIQ identified alumni could speak confidently, understand the importance of family, and appreciate their own identity.”

Hence, continued research over extracurricular activities and queer youth is important “because it will likely provide opportunities to adapt existing programs to be more sensitive to youth’s needs, which could result in increased participation and enhanced developmental and health outcomes” (Toomey & Russell, 2013, p. 305). While this research is needed, the authors continue, “to date, no studies have examined sexual minority youth participation in school clubs (e.g., French club, debate team), except for the literature on Gay-Straight Alliances” (p.

307).

As Goodrich and Luke (2014) contend, “we are currently at a crossroads in P–12 education related to LGBTQQIA students” (p. 363), for “LGBT students who are bullied more often due to their sexual orientation or gender identity also have lower grade point averages, are at high risk for dropping out of school, and are

more likely to forgo post-secondary education compared to their heterosexual counterparts” (Bidell, 2014, p. 369). The issues facing LGBTIQ youth are, only in the last few years, beginning to come to light, as researchers begin to ask questions, such as Toomey and Russell’s (2013) inquiry, “Is participation in extracurricular activities associated with better health and wellbeing for sexual minority youth?” (p. 316).

As leaders, supporters, and role models for sexual minority youth, discussions regarding best practices are needed.

During memoing and coding of narrative responses in the data, LGBTIQ self-identified alumni express a strong positive satisfaction and perceived influence regarding forensics; however, as one alum points out in their narrative (not addressing this issue), coaches themselves spread surveys to alumni.

Thus, many alumni completing the survey were ones who kept a relationship with their coach(es), prohibiting the inclusion of students who have not kept ties with their coach(es).

Furthermore, a few LGBTIQ selfidentified alumni did address their struggles in forensics: “it is a shame there is still so much rampant sexism and racism within the debate community”; “debate reinforced many sexist and homophobic societal influence[s] due to the impact parents and older coaches had on me”; “debate is overwhelmingly (and disproportionately, based on population size) dominated by the same subset of the population that dominates much of the rest of our society”; and “I have spent my life post-high school shedding the awful habits I picked up.” As important as it is to look at the overall LGBTIQ population in the survey, these other voices must be heard, too.

“It launched me,” states one LGBTIQ identified participant regarding their speech and debate experiences—but what if that student hadn’t been treated well within their team? What would have happened to this student, if their team’s leader had disregarded them? If they didn’t keep in contact with their coach, would we have heard their story?

Could there have been more comments and moments like this shared by sexual

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 37

minority alumni, if district leaders hadn’t declined to send out the survey because of fears/concerns over questions regarding LGBTIQ identity or because the survey offered four gender options: male, female, intersex, and transgender?

Yes, some elected leaders in the NSDA chose not to distribute the survey because questions—aimed at adult alumni—regarding sexuality and gender concerned them. Why? I know every context is different, as every school is different, but what is our community doing regarding LGBTIQ concerns?

Imagine for a moment: if numerous coaches were hesitant to distribute the

survey, how many narrative responses are we missing from struggling alumni?

As educators, we pay lip service to social justice work in and out of rounds, but “preaching/selling the merits of social justice does little to convince educators to change their deficit thinking or practice” (Robertson & Guerra, 2016, p. 7). It is time to speak out, speak up, and give voice to our students—who, ironically, have been speaking about this issue in competitive rounds for years. “Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, there can be no denying that conversations of social justice are taking

Starting a Conversation Defining who we are as an organization and what we stand for opens the door to discussions regarding all marginalized populations. While many racial and gender identities are easily seen in Rostrum and at tournaments, LGBTIQ identity is not always readily visual in all areas; hence, it is important that district and national personnel emphasize recognition of inclusion. Answering these questions is key to beginning conversations: Approaching the 10-year anniversary of the Code of Honor, is it time to reword the standard of “respect” to specifically state “backgrounds, including race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and ability”?

How can the NSDA better utilize its former Student of the Year finalists, many of whom were selected as finalists due to their advocacy for varied programs or causes?

Is it time for the NSDA to write and print a nondiscrimination policy or inclusion statement in each edition of Rostrum, and/or adopt an inclusion page on the website?

Should the NSDA complement its existing recognition with an award focused on those who work with marginalized student populations?

How can district tournaments better serve these students? Can they be identified as safe spaces or adopt the gender neutral bathroom concept from Nationals?

Should we create student caucuses at Nationals, where coaches who identify within a population can lead discussions with students?

Coaches, if you are an Ally, make sure all of your students know you are a safe space for them. If you are not able to function as an Ally (whether for personal or school policy reasons), make sure you know who or where your LGBTIQ students can go for assistance, if they need it.

Talk. Talk on both the national level and the local level. These are mere suggestions, and there are more. It is time to be vocal about what it means to be an Ally. Expect fellow coaches to support all students, regardless of identity.

Coaches and leadership must discuss how we can improve our community so LGBTIQ youth can thrive.

38

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

on greater prominence in recent years” (Maxer & Hess, 2017, p. 361), and it is time we have these difficult conversations within our organization.

I am sure there are coaches who will be appalled by this article; if so, I want to hear about it. If there are coaches who applaud this article, I encourage you to use your voice on this subject, too. I hope this is the beginning of much-needed open discourse regarding our LGBTIQ youth and colleagues among our larger, forensic community.

There, I said it. It is time, and I encourage you to be part of the conversation, too.

J. Scott Baker, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Prior to his work at UWL, Baker was a high school speech, debate, and English teacher outside of Houston, TX while working on his Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction from Texas A&M University. Baker is a three-diamond coach with the NSDA.

References Bidell, M. P. (2014). Is there an emotional cost of completing high school? Ecological factors and psychological distress among LGBT homeless youth. Journal of Homosexuality, 61(3), 366-381.

Carter, B. A. (2013). ‘Nothing better or worse than being Black, gay, and in the band’: A qualitative examination of gay undergraduates participating in Historically Black College or University marching bands. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 26-43. doi:10.1177/0022429412474470.

Goodrich, K. M., & Luke, M. (2014). Queering education in response to the needs of LGBTQQIA students in P-12 schools. Journal of Homosexuality, 61(3), 361-365.

Maxer, J. P. & Hess, J. A. (2017). Forum: Communication activism pedagogy.

Communication Education, 66(3), 361-384.

Porta, C. M., Corliss, H. L., Wolowic, J. M., Johnson, A. Z., Fritz Fogel, K., Gower, A. L., Saewyc, E. M., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2017). Go-along interviewing with LGBTQ youth in Canada and the United States. Journal of LGBT Youth, 14(1), 1-15. doi:10.1 080/19361653.2016.1256245.

Robertson, P., & Guerra, P. (2016). The voice of one—the power of many. Multicultural Education, 23(2), 2-12.

Toomey, R. B., & Russell, S. T. (2013). An initial investigation of sexual minority youth involvement in school-based extracurricular activities. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 23(2), 304-318.

INCLUSION

Anxiety Disorders and Academic Debate: Societal Problems and Community Solutions — by Grant Brown —

A

nxiety disorders are increasingly prevalent in the 21st century, finding an especially strong foothold in high school aged students. 1 Currently, approximately one in four children aged 13 to 18 will experience one or more of a wide variety of anxiety disorders, including but not limited to post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, and phobias. 2 This has produced a culture that is heavily influenced by anxiety, angst, and stress as a normalized part of its identity. The result is a kinship, of sorts—especially in academically demanding schools and activities such as debate—bonding around mental illness as a site of common experience.

While there cannot be a clear causal line from which we can trace the source of the increase in mental illness, there are many larger societal factors that can be extrapolated as contributors and ought to be examined. This begins with a simple fact that awareness of mental illness has been increasing steadily due to increased concern on behalf of schools, institutions, and the general public. This positively correlates with an increase in diagnoses as students become aware of symptoms in both themselves and others and seek treatment. This presents a reasoned argument to dissuade one from alarmist reactions to the presented statistics.

Additionally, high school has increasingly shifted to base curriculum geared toward college preparation, which heightens a sense of competitiveness

40

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

in teenage students. This school trend, and once again, anxiety itself, have been bolstered by an almost hallmark decrease in college acceptance rates,3 which normalizes unhealthy levels of commitment, involvement, and participation as part-and-parcel of being a proper student.

“Debate provides a dual potential for students with anxiety—on one end offering an outlet, and on the other an additional source of stress.”

Debate presents, ultimately, a kind of catch-22. Students who are driven to attempt to achieve these idealized, general characteristics are often the same students who join debate. They are internally motivated, hard-working, and driven to succeed. The activity is thus incredibly alluring to those who struggle with anxiety (and/or obsession): it gives a sense of community to which one can belong, advertises an ability to better oneself socially, academically, and personally, and presents an outlet to channel racing-thoughts, obsessions, and compulsions into a rigorous and scholarly pursuit. However, a variety of students with anxiety in debate have expressed

that it can also be incredibly destructive: it is structured around cut-throat competition, demands high amounts of research in a short amount of time, and can quickly become consumptive of all of one’s free time. This gives debate a dual potential—on one end offering an outlet, and on the other an additional source of stress.

Therefore, the activity, more than most, is faced with addressing issues of mental health. As educators, judges, and peers, we have unique roles to play in ensuring that the space of debate is inclusive and accessible for those with anxiety related struggles.

Coaches have a special place in the lives of debaters, simultaneously serving as an authority figure, mentor, and role model. This gives coaches, as educators, a great deal of power in how they can interact interpersonally with struggling students and shape a larger team culture.

With regard to interpersonal interactions, coaches need to be leery of a common problem when approaching a student with anxiety: instantly alienating a student by rejecting their self-image. Anxious students are heavily invested in the current social ethos of what it means to be successful, 4 sometimes obsessively, and an attempt to bulldoze their constructed identity is both ineffective and dangerous. Approaching a student with responses that perceptually demean the authenticity of their experience, asserting that they are

unfounded, merely illusionary, or otherwise—“It’s all in your head!” or “It’s simple, just cut down your schedule and quit a few clubs!”— does little to allow a student to right themselves. Coaches should approach these situations as a helpful mediator, lending an ear and a voice of understanding concern, recognizing that their perceptually appealing responses may interfere with a student’s personal coping mechanism.

In terms of team culture, coaches, especially those with larger programs, ought to foster a dynamic, selfreflexive, and community-oriented team dynamic. There is, despite one’s best hopes, an inability to know each student as fully and personally as you might wish and to recognize their individual strife. This mandates a cultivation of a team culture, a superstructure or regime, which creates a whole that is more than the mere sum of its parts. While students may

“As an individual, and former debater, who struggles with anxiety, I am confident in debate’s positive potential.”

— Grant Brown come and go, a culture of inclusion, acceptance, and friendship, stays and starts with coaches and educators.

Such a project ensures that students who struggle with social situations and general anxiety not only stay once they are there, but feel comfortable approaching, asking questions, and joining the team in the first place.

This requires a certain cession of the team dynamic to students in order to foster peer-to-peer relationships and

End Notes 1 Gray, P. (2010). The decline of play and rise in children’s mental disorders. Psychology Today.

Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201001/the-declineplay-and-rise-in-childrens-mental-disorders 2 Prevalence: Any anxiety disorder among children. (2017). National Institute of Mental Health.

Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-anxiety-disorderamong-children.shtml 3 Hartocollis, A. (2016, April 21). Greater competition for college places means higher anxiety, too. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/21/us/greatercompetition-for-college-places-means-higher-anxiety-too.html?mcubz=0 4 Crocettia, et al. (2015). Generalized anxiety symptoms and identity processes in cross-cultural samples of adolescents from the general population. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(2), 159-174.

connections that can impact students on a level that a coach’s word may not be able to breach.

Thus, fellow students have perhaps the most important role in rendering debate accessible for those with anxiety. Recognition as an equal by those whom one considers to be their peers can significantly contribute to a sense of belonging, which gives those who struggle with anxiety a space of reassurance to express concerns, relay problems, and cultivate confidence.

Coaches ought to recognize this and understand that sometimes their position is not as an end in themselves, but as a means to produce a larger end of community.

Judges have an equally unique role in their interactions with debaters, giving advice, commentary, and educational guidance in the thick of the tournament.

For anxious students, the gaze of the judge may be the most intimidating aspect of a round and the reason for decision the most stressful moment of a tournament. Judges who roll their eyes, give incredulous reactions, and present hostile body language can significantly increase stress and deteriorate confidence. Commentary after the round has a profound impact on the psyche of young students and can make-or-break their experience at a tournament, especially when a rationale for decision is jarring, angry, or unforgiving. This can trigger anxiousness that throws off performance for an entire tournament. Judges ought to take

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 41

into account the profound power of their position and recognize the impact that their statements have on students, particularly those who struggle with anxiety.

Debate is a paradoxical activity. It holds a tremendous amount of potential for fledgling leaders, academics, and educators, expanding the horizons of student thought and experience.

However, it also has the capacity to enclose students within a community that is exclusive, demeaning, and hostile.

It is up to us, as educators, adjudicators, and peers, to steer this duality of possibility in a direction that is healthy,

42

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

welcoming, and accessible. It begins, first and foremost, in our everyday interactions with one another and the way we conceive of what it means to be a coach, judge, or peer of debate.

As an individual, and former debater, who struggles with anxiety, I am confident in debate’s positive potential and hope that individuals will take responsibility in going the extra step to include those who would be excised if not for empathy, compassion, and understanding. This common theme is a call for an authentic embrace of differences in experience, a relationship that does attempt to absolve individuals

of their anxieties, or, even worse, pity them, but rather help cultivate a healthy sense of self within their frame of reference.

Grant Brown is a freshman and prospective Religion and Philosophy student at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Millard North High School in Omaha, Nebraska, for three years, was a two-time state champion, twice reached elimination rounds at the National Tournament, and was a semifinalist at the Tournament of Champions.

Need help prepping for your upcoming tournament?

Save time, energy, and stress by ordering low cost Extemp Questions, Impromptu Prompts, and World Schools Motions from the National Speech & Debate Association!

Extemporaneous Questions GENERAL PUBLIC

MEMBERS

SINGLE Division

$50 per Round

$35 per Round

$100 per Tournament

TWO Divisions

$80 per Round

$50 per Round

$150 per Tournament

* Save up to $30 per Round *

RESOURCE PACKAGE (UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

(UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

* Save up to $410 per Tournament! *

Impromptu Prompts GENERAL PUBLIC

$75

(UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

$50

MEMBERS

RESOURCE PACKAGE

(UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

$25

(UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

World Schools Debate Motions GENERAL PUBLIC

MEMBERS

$125 (UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

$100 (UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

RESOURCE PACKAGE

$75

(UP TO 7 ROUNDS)

Visit www.speechanddebate.org/tournament-services to place your order!

ALUMNI ANGLES

YVANNA CANCELA

From Policy Debater to Policy Maker

by Annie Reisener

O

n November 8, 2016, the battleground state of Nevada turned blue. At the center of it all was 29-year-old Yvanna Cancela, who was serving as political director of the Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas.

With more than 57,000 members, the Culinary Union is Nevada’s largest immigrant organization. Their political efforts are possible through the work of cooks, cocktail waitresses, housekeepers, food servers, and bellhops who take time off from work to talk to voters across Nevada.

In the leadup to the election they registered thousands of voters, knocked on more than 100,000 doors, and spoke directly to constituents.

The union caused a media frenzy when they created a wall of taco trucks outside of Trump Tower in Las Vegas before the final presidential debate to remind Trump of the immigrant presence in the election.

Even in an election dominated by the buzzword ground game, the Culinary Union’s mobilization was remarkable.

As the results came in on election night, Yvanna learned that the Culinary Union’s grassroots organizational efforts to elect the first Latina to the U.S. Senate,

44

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Catherine Cortez Masto, had been successful. In a night of so many losses for democrats, here was a shining victory. “It was bittersweet,” Yvanna says. ”I took a step back and remembered that we had just elected the first Latina, a formerly undocumented immigrant, and that women were more represented at the state and federal level than ever before. It felt tremendous to have those victories, but certainly hard to see the rest of the country’s results.”

Fast forward one year, and Yvanna now holds public office herself as the first Latina state senator in Nevada.

She also serves as Executive Director of the Immigrant Workers Citizenship Project, which helps individuals apply to become a citizen free of charge.

Yvanna is the daughter of Cuban immigrants, and is the first of her family to be born in the U.S. She grew up in Miami, where she attended Carrollton School Of The Sacred Heart, a prestigious all-girls school. It was there that Yvanna discovered debate. “It saved my life in that it gave me an outlet to be both competitive and smart and to travel the country competing in an extremely rigorous activity,” says Yvanna. “Had it not been for

debate, I wouldn’t have picked up the discipline and the skills I needed to be successful later in life.”

Yvanna competed in Policy Debate, which helped spark her interest in politics and public policy. It also taught her how to find common ground.

“From debate, I learned that every issue has two sides to it, and both sides can have a case made for them,” Yvanna says. “It taught me to take a step back before feeling extreme conviction in anything—from a policy position all the way to how I feel about other people—and to me, that’s been tremendously valuable.”

Yvanna also debated for a year at Northwestern University before branching out to try other things.

After landing a prestigious internship with Senator Harry Reid’s press office the summer before her senior year, she was offered a job on his field team as part of his re-election campaign after graduation. Her time in Reid’s office lit a fire in Yvanna for politics and created a love for speaking to voters one-on-one. “I knocked on doors all across the valley and learned a lot about the work that Reid did to make sure that he always put Nevada first,” Yvanna says. “To me, that is how politicians should operate.”

Yvanna’s boss suggested she work for the Culinary Union following her job on the campaign. She took the advice and within the first year, she had worked her way up to Political Director. Yvanna worked for the Culinary Union for six years, and after the victory in Nevada in 2016, she was approached about a state Senate seat. “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans,” she says with a smile in her voice. She now incorporates what she learned from her time at the Culinary Union into her work at the Citizenship Project and also during legislative session.

“I loved the Culinary Union because it was ordinary people coming together to do an extraordinary thing—to change an election,” she remembers. “It was inspiring to see vice presidential and presidential candidates come visit and have the chance to hear from people who are sometimes excluded from the dialogue.” Yvanna now strives to hear from as many voices as possible by phonebanking and knocking on doors in her district. “I really believe in working in coalitions and making sure that I’m out there in the field.”

Whether she’s face-to-face with constituents, or speaking to them on the phone, Yvanna uses the skills she learned in high school debate every day. “I think the best thing about debate is that it forces you to listen, whether or not you agree with the other side. The same should be done in the political world. We should be listening a lot more, not just to craft our answers, but to truly listen and engage. There are valid ideas on both sides, and when we have respectful but tough conversations, we can come up with great policy.”

Yvanna put those skills to work by crossing party lines last June to help create one of the strictest and most extensive drug pricing laws in the country. When her bill was vetoed by Republican Governor Brian Sandoval, she merged it with a Republican bill and was able to increase transparency and combat rising prices for drugs used to treat diabetes.

Yvanna has grown from a high school debater with an unusual

The best thing about debate is that it forces you to listen, whether or not you agree with the other side.

— Yvanna Cancela, pictured below with her Carrolton Debate teammates

amount of knowledge about public policy and current events to a well known and powerful political figure in Nevada. But she remembers well how it felt to be politically engaged before she had a vote to express her views.

“Young people are affected every day by decisions made by policy makers they didn’t vote for,” she says. “They must remember just how powerful they are, even if they can’t vote. Students also experience things in their schools that policy makers make decisions about on a day-to-day basis, like dealing with an underfunded school or a school with too few full time teachers.

If policy makers don’t hear from young people, they aren’t making fully informed decisions.” She advises students to “know who your representatives are. Reach out to them and let them know you have a voice. Then channel your ideas into suggestions of how things could be better, like improving lunches by creating a school garden.”

And to the debaters who hope to follow in her footsteps? Yvanna encourages them to give back to the activity. “Debaters are equipped with the research and advocacy tools that are needed now more than ever,” Yvanna says. “They really are preparing themselves to be the leaders of today and the next generation, and they should be proud of that work and share it with as many people as they can. Volunteer and give back to make sure that debate continues to thrive across the country and play the same role for others as it did for you.”

We’d vote for that!

Annie Reisener serves as Operations Specialist for the NSDA.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 45

DISTRICT IN DETAIL

COLORADO DISTRICT: Communication at its Finest

E

ach year, the National Speech & Debate Association identifies an exemplary communicator to honor at our District Leadership Luncheon held during the National Tournament. The 2016-2017 recipient of the Best Chair Communications award was Martha (Marti) Benham of Cherry Creek High School, chair of the Colorado District.

Marti was selected because of her commitment to sharing clear and concise information with her membership. When talking to Marti about communication, she states, “While it may sound simple, my hope with communication is that we actually communicate. My hope is that the coaches in our district have the information they need to take care of their students and to support their students, but they also need to have the opportunity to ask questions, raise concerns, and be heard.”

It’s clear that Marti does just that, and what stands out most is

46

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Martha Benham, Chair Cherry Creek High School

by Steve Schappaugh

Martha Benham (left) receives the 2017 Best Chair Communications plaque from NSDA Board Member Jennifer Jerome.

MEET THE COMMITTEE

Greenwood Village, CO

the interaction she creates among her peers. In a visit to the Colorado Coaches Conference in August of 2016, it was evident to me that she invited conversation and worked to create a collegial environment for all coaches. This spirit I felt was shared by her entire committee. “When we are seeking feedback, we want every school to respond, and we work to follow up when we do not hear from someone. We work to build consensus whenever possible,” Marti continues. And to coordinate that communication takes her entire leadership team.

The environment that Marti creates is best captured by District Committee member Sally Graham.

“I moved from a district in a distant state to the Colorado District relatively late in my coaching career, and was immediately impressed with the community and leadership I saw there,” Sally explains. “Marti has provided unswerving support and advice to all of us, and that is certainly one of the many reasons we are growing. As committee members, we work to follow Marti’s lead.”

The focus on communication and strong leadership is not new to the Colorado District. This is a district with long-standing tradition and history both locally and nationally within the NSDA. When Marti was a student in Colorado speech and debate, the late Frank Sferra was the district chair. He also served as former president of the NSDA Board of Directors. “Frank established many of the norms that we continue to use about transparency, openness, and decision-making,” Marti recalls fondly.

Kevin Brich Chatfield Senior High School Littleton, CO

Sally Graham Castle View High School Castle Rock, CO

Ashley McCulloch Eaglecrest High School Centennial, CO

Brent C. Oberg Highlands Ranch High School Highlands Ranch, CO

IT TAKES A VILLAGE “Sally Graham brings wisdom, calm, and patience to all situations. Ashley McCulloch brings energy and enthusiasm along with her hard work and creativity.

Kevin Brich is a team player willing to jump in wherever help is needed—and his bellowing voice is a huge asset, too. Terry Rubin, Kent-Denver School, has been a tremendous recruiter of judges and a great problem solver. Unfortunately, Terry retired in June, but we are thrilled to have Brent Oberg join our committee. Brent’s patience and detail-oriented nature ensures we run tournaments accurately and efficiently. Our Judges’ Table has been run for several years by Carlye Holladay, Cherry Creek High School, and Forrest Sayrs, Kent-Denver School. Carlye and Forrest work magic to schedule judges and keep the tournament moving. I also am really blessed to have amazing assistant coaches who support me, which allows me to serve as a district leader.

And there are so many more people to thank and acknowledge!” — Martha Benham

VIEWPOINT

Marti considers a number of Colorado coaches influential in her leadership experiences, who are critical to the way her entire district operates. She credits mentors like Paula Reed, Lowell Sharp, Pauline Carochi, and Peggy Benedict as sources of “mentoring, guidance, resources, and a welcoming presence to me and so many other coaches.”

The Colorado District continues to make history with the NSDA. This past August, Cherry Creek High School hosted the inaugural NSDA National Conference in Denver, Colorado (see page 14). “I love having the time to listen to and talk with others about their best practices so that I can be a better teacher and coach for my kids,” Marti notes. The effort to encourage attendance is shared by her entire committee and others from across Colorado. “We were delighted to host the NSDA’s premiere educational conference and hope participants enjoyed the camaraderie, knowledge, and Denver air,” Sally says.

Despite the long history of success and recent accolades Marti shares with her colleagues, the Colorado District continues to push itself to accomplish more for students. While the work is constant and the goal remains the same, it’s the spirit to involve all that enables new success to be a benchmark for others to follow. Marti captures what many strive for in coaching speech and debate and in being a district committed to inclusion of all members. “We want to do what needs to be done to provide all kids with an opportunity to find their voice in speech and debate,” she concludes. It’s clear that communication is the primary means of striving toward their goal!

Steve Schappaugh is the Director of Community Engagement for the NSDA.

Stephen Black of ImpactAlabama graciously accepted the 2017 Communicator of the Year award this past June.

Below are excerpts of his inspiring remarks to attendees at the National Speech & Debate Tournament.

“YOU KNOW WHAT DEBATE IS. You know how valuable this is. . . One thing I want to say, because I can’t resist: this is an exceptional room full of people. I want you all to remember enough about human psychology to know that your mind will always be leading you to believe what’s around you is normal. In other words, everyone here...who will be going to college and succeeding in college—that will seem normal to you.

That will become average. You’ll have students next to you who you may think are a little smarter, some who maybe are not; that becomes the mean. What I think is unbelievably important, especially for this room, especially for you all—who are literally the most exceptional, thoughtful, prepared citizens in the most successful, abundant, wealthiest nation in the history of the world—is to remember that your psychology about that is wrong. There is nothing normal about this.

“You think about all the children alive, younger than you, in this state and every other state in our country. . . The majority of children alive right now in every other room in America, other than this one. . .will never go to college. It’s not a meritocracy. We have less than 30 percent of our population moving into college. You could say, well, the smartest, hardest working ones go to college.

That’s factually not true.

“If you happen to grow up in a neighborhood where you’re blessed to be born to a family where your parents’ income is in the top 25 percent, there’s an 88 percent chance you’re going to successfully complete four years of college within six years. If you happen, through no fault of your own, to be born into another family 15 minutes away in another neighborhood that represents the bottom 25 percent—that’s not the poverty line, that’s not the super poor, the bottom quarter—what percentage of those children, our children, your brothers and sisters in our country, are successfully completing four years of college in six years? Eight percent.

“There’s never a day in your lives from this point forward where you should be done with debate. The growing majority of your nation are living in more and more homogenous communities with less and less connectedness and personal relationships to anyone unlike themselves, and we culturally as a nation have accepted annually a lower level of information in debate and thoughtfulness and nuance and consideration before we form judgments—and it’s unacceptable. It’s beneath us as a people.

“I accept this award on behalf of 13 years worth of talented college graduates who have moved to Birmingham, Alabama, from all over the country to make $1,000 a month to teach a room full of kids who, through no fault of their own, happen to be going to a school system that’s malfunctioning. Yet these kids—on their own, with no grades or extra credit—decide to stay after school for three hours a day, three days a week, for four years of high school, to do everything they can to reach their God-given potential.

“I want you all to remember, you all attend the exceptions. The majority of high schools do not offer debate. The majority of schools in our country do not offer a platform for any child regardless of the wealth or circumstance to achieve their dreams. And that’s not good enough. And it will be on us— particularly on your shoulders, with your debating abilities, what literally this Association is, this organization—this is crafting citizenship. This is crafting advocates for a lifetime. You will never be done with debate.”

Watch the video of Stephen Black’s speech at www.speechanddebate.org /resources.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 47

TEAM PROFILE

MUSCATINE HIGH SCHOOL Husband and wife coaching duo are changing lives in the great state of Iowa

by Aarzu Maknojia

C

hartered by the then National Forensic League in 1930, Muscatine High School (MHS) has sent students to the National Tournament more times than any other school in Iowa. Their speech and debate history is strong, and in recent history is getting even stronger.

MEET THE COACHES Davis Schrock was encouraged to join the speech and debate team when a woman with a keen eye saw him perform a stand-up comedy routine at his middle school talent show. After taking first in Humorous Interpretation at his initial tournament, he was hooked.

After completing basic training for the Army, he left the University of Northern Iowa and found a place for himself at his alma mater, Muscatine High School, located 50 miles southeast of Iowa City, coaching the same activity in which he had competed.

Davis says speech and debate’s impact on him has been visible time and time again. He says it’s what helped him obtain one of his first jobs at a local radio station and what helped him figure out how to approach and speak with his superiors in the military. He “always really loved the activity” and “felt that it was

(above) Five freshman attended the National Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2016. It was the first national showing for MHS since 2013. Pictured above, left to right: Karrisa Burton, Wyatt Mason, coach Betsy Schrock, Jeremiah Daniels, coach Davis Schrock, and Ezekiel Ellis. Not pictured: Bria Holte.

natural” for him to invest in an activity that had done so much for him.

Betsy Schrock says she was roped into speech and debate when she began dating Davis and realized that, if she wanted to see her boyfriend, fiancé, and now husband, that she would have to be a part of the MHS team. At first, she was hesitant since she had never participated in any type of speech and debate program, but then she fell in love with the students, and the activity, and she’s never looked back.

Fast forward several years later, and Davis and Betsy now coach a team of 24 very successful students.

BUILDING A FAMILY ENVIRONMENT Davis constantly emphasizes the importance of building a family environment among their entire team. He says his team’s greatest strength is that “[they] all like each other.”

On any given evening, the Muscatine speech and debate team can be found gathered in the library, eating pizza or running through pieces. The team practices Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. They also have non-mandatory team bonding on Wednesday evenings where they eat together and play softball. The schedule is set up in a way where students are able to

“When I took over this team three years ago, we had four students. Now we have 24 competitors. I am so proud of the atmosphere they create, their willingness to work, and how they have become a family that truly looks out for one another.” — Davis Schrock, coach (pictured with wife and fellow coach, Betsy)

48

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

have time for an after-school job, take care of family commitments, or take part in other school activities.

Davis explains that everything is optional on their team—but he emphasizes to his students “they can only be as good as the time they put into getting better.” He believes this has successfully created an environment where students want to come to practice, rather than being required to come to practice.

Fostering a team environment of mutual respect and trust is what allows Davis and Betsy to be brutally honest with their students—and for the students to be receptive to them. Davis believes this open line of communication is what has helped his students improve constantly. He acknowledges that students could simply “nod and keep doing what they’re doing,” but they respect and trust him and want to get better, so they work on changing.

Davis constantly returns to the idea that speech and debate is an activity that unites people. The team consists of students from all kinds of backgrounds— from band and show choir performers to dancers and football players. He says, “The best part is, they never would have talked to each other. . . and now they yell at each other across the hallway.” He says, “I marvel at how much my team loves me,

loves each other, and I love them.”

While the students affectionately call him and Betsy their “debate dad and mom,” in some ways, they have come to fulfill that role. Davis recalls a student on the team who was struggling with depression and how speech and debate gave him two more parents and a whole host of siblings to talk to and engage with any time he needed or wanted their support.

Kjirsten Osland, a rising sophomore, explains that some of the students on the team have difficult home situations and that Davis and Betsy make sure all of their students have clothes in which to compete, dinner each night, and are otherwise taken care of, whether or not they’re attending a tournament that evening. Davis also has what he calls an “in-a-pickle jar.” Students are invited to contribute their loose change, and the extra cash is used to help purchase meals for students at tournaments who might not have enough money for whatever reason.

Kevin Aguilar, a rising senior, laments not having joined speech and debate sooner, but is thankful he has gotten the opportunity to compete under the Schrock’s leadership. He says, “Davis is highly adaptive” and constantly working to improve the team, not only as a coach but also as a mentor.

WORK ETHIC IS KEY Davis emphasizes that while a strong family environment along with trust and respect are essential to their team, the majority of their success comes from their work ethic.

His students work incredibly hard—from September through March for the regular season, and if they qualify to Nationals, from March until June. He feels like he “never worked this hard” when he was competing.

He says he is “lucky to have [students] who think it’s cool to be in speech and debate” and who actively promote the activity and want to share it with others.

He believes that effort and motivation “trickle down” to a team, and that it’s up to him and Betsy to provide the fire and motivation that sparks a desire to improve and work hard within their students. Davis says it’s the students who “work really hard and who deserve a lot of the credit.”

This team’s hard work has definitely paid off and is apparent in Muscatine’s 47 appearances at Nationals. They hope to compete many more times under the Schrocks’ continuing leadership.

Aarzu Maknojia is a speech and debate alum from Texas. She is a student at the Elliott School at George Washington University. She is interested in Security Policy and South Asia.

She worked as a summer intern for the NSDA and is currently studying abroad in Jordan.

(below) MHS students pose with their awards following a recent state tournament.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 49

COMMUNITY

Best Showing Since 1999:

Team USA Places Third in the World

by Ella Michaels The USA Debate team had its best showing since 1999 at the 2017 World Schools Debating Championships hosted in Bali, Indonesia. Pictured below (left to right): Sarah Lanier, Aditya Dhar, Colette Faulkner, Ellie Grossman, and Ella Michaels.

W

hen the five members of the American team at the 2017 World Schools Debating Championships handed their tickets to gate agents at MSP, SFO, LAX, and IAH in late July, we had a feeling that the World Championships would be like no other tournament we had ever experienced.

This year, students from 50 countries met in Bali, Indonesia, to go head-to-head at a competition that spanned eleven days at more than a dozen different venues across the island. During our two weeks in Bali, we represented the United States both in rounds (with some selfdeprecating political humor) and out of rounds (by wearing blinding amounts of

American flag paraphernalia at Culture Night). We would leave the tournament with incredible memories, amazing new friends from across the world, and the best result from a U.S. team since 1999.

The final results actually began a few weeks before, in training. With Colette Faulkner as captain, Aditya Dhar, Ellie Grossman, Sarah Lanier, and I spent a week in Colorado Springs running practice rounds, writing cases, and doing drills, all in final preparation for the competition.

Our time in Colorado Springs provided invaluable training for what would be two of the most incredible weeks of our lives at WSDC 2017. The Rocky Mountains and the beautiful campus of Colorado College

were a perfect backdrop for preparation assisted by the Global Debate Symposium.

Ellie Grossman remarked that “training at Colorado College was what took us from an alright team to a really competitive team that earned multiple speaker awards.

The coaches and [USA Debate] alums worked incredibly hard to practice with us, research the motions, and help hone our skills.” She added, “Those 12+ hour days were hard but amazing, and we couldn’t have done as well as we did without that work.”

At the end of training, we paid a visit to a veritable monument of athleticism: the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. In addition to inspiring us to

Follow the team on social media and at www.speechanddebate.org/usa-debate.

50

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

For each of the ways we differed [from our international counterparts], there were innumerable things we shared—a passion for engaging in discourse and debate, tackling the tough questions, and exploring how those questions impact people and ideologies around the world.”

work out more, seeing the unbelievable dedication of American athletes putting everything they had into making their country proud inspired us to strive for the same at the World Championships.

We all went home feeling very patriotic and spent about a week resting up and finishing cases before the tournament.

By the afternoon of July 29, all five student members, three coaches (Aaron, Timmons, Cindi Timmons, and Fanele Mashwama), and one judge (Shane Stafford) had arrived in Bali, greeted with warm air and warm welcomes from the tournament hosts. NSDA Executive Director J. Scott Wunn would arrive a few days later. We continued to be supported by coach Sandy Berkowitz and alums back home.

The competition would not begin for another week, but we settled in, fine-tuned cases, and debated eight practice rounds against India, Canada, Singapore, Slovenia, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, and later England and Mexico. Getting to share this incredible activity and experience with debaters from so many countries, backgrounds, and cultures is still an unreal privilege, and one we got to keep having in our preliminary rounds against nations ranging from Australia and Pakistan to Denmark, Japan, Uganda, Indonesia, and China.

We learned about how much education systems differ in Qatar and the Czech Republic, and about how we and Team Netherlands probably need to shore up our resilience to spicy foods before undertaking Team Mexico’s habanero salsa challenge at Culture Night. We also learned how bad our Australian accents are. (To be fair, Australia’s American accents were equally grim.) Debaters at the World

Championship came from dozens of incredibly diverse countries and countless different cultures; what was remarkable, however, was that for each of the ways we differed, there were innumerable things we shared—above all, a passion for engaging in discourse and debate, tackling the tough questions, and exploring how those questions impact people and ideologies around the world.

Team USA broke out of prelims as the ninth seed and got ready to debate in partial octafinals. In each elimination round, the four senior members on the team prepared and gave what always could have been the final speeches of their high school career. We listened to each adjudication speech with bated breath to see if we would continue our journey at the World Championships.

We won the partial octafinal against Ireland. We won the octafinal against South Korea. We beat the top seed in the tournament when debating Peru in the quarterfinals. And then came semifinals.

There were only four teams left. We were up against Singapore.

The semifinal round was an impromptu motion with one hour to prepare the motion: This House prefers benevolent dictatorships to weak democracies. The United States was proposition. Singapore was opposition. The irony was lost on no one. The debate that followed was one of the most engaging, complex, challenging rounds we’d had at the tournament, and it ended in a split decision in favor of

Team Singapore who went on to become the World Champions. We ended the tournament third in the world and also had the 24th, 18th, and 14th speakers at the tournament (Dhar, Grossman, and Michaels, respectively).

At the end of the trip, Colette Faulkner reflected, “When I first was told that I had been chosen as captain, I felt excited that I was chosen but anxious about not messing up. I would say that finishing third in the world maybe proves I didn’t completely fail at my job” (we agree) “but would argue that our success is owed to the other four people on our team. Despite their corny jokes and strange taste in memes, they are some of the most talented, driven people that I have ever known.”

Over the past year, and especially over this summer, spending hundreds of hours together sharing debate, food, laughs, and some unforgettable experiences, we became more than a debate team. Saying goodbye in the airport was tough. We had to remember that while we were saying goodbye to our time debating together, we still share some incredible memories. We have a wonderful result to show for our work, and above all, we’ll always be family.

Ella Michaels is a senior from North Hollywood High School in California.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 51

MILESTONES

Diamond Coach Recognition Seventh Diamonds

u SEVENTH DIAMOND u GAY BRASHER Leland HS, CA April 12, 2017 • 27,917 Points Fifty years ago in 1966, Gay Brasher began teaching and coaching at Carencro High School. In 1967, she was named Louisiana Speech Teacher of the Year. She moved to California in 1970, and started teaching and coaching at San Jose High School. Later, on her own initiative, she started forensic programs concurrently at all six San Jose Unified high schools and continued to simultaneously direct these programs for more than a decade. At that time, Gay started teaching and coaching at Leland High School. In 1998, she was named San Jose Unified’s Teacher of the Year. She retired from full-time teaching in June of 2002, but continues to teach, coach, and direct the Leland Speech and Debate team. Gay also works at Burnett Middle School. Under her leadership, the Burnett program has grown to five speech and debate classes. In addition, Gay teaches speech to students at Burnett feeder elementary schools in grades three through five. This year, she will work with school district administrators to establish speech and debate in all 25 SJUSD elementary schools. Leland and Burnett students run a middle school speech and debate tournament at Burnett in the fall and a larger two-day version in the spring. She also established and leads a weekly speech and debate middle school program of 120 students from Bret Harte Middle School, Leland’s feeder middle school.

Gay is a member of both the National Speech & Debate Association and California High School Speech Association Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was named the NSDA Coach of the Year. In 2008, she was an honoree for the Tribute to Women Award honoring Silicon Valley’s Executive Women. She recently received the 2016 Marcella E. Oberle Award for Outstanding Teaching in Grades K-12 from the National Communication Association. She hopes to continue teaching and coaching for years to come.

52

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

u SEVENTH DIAMOND u PAM CADY WYCOFF Apple Valley HS, MN April 26, 2017 • 23,167 Points Pam Cady Wycoff began her teaching and coaching career in 1979 at Mankato Loyola High School, Minnesota, a school of 200 students, where she initiated a new chapter, started a Lincoln-Douglas Debate team, and coached a speech team where more than a quarter of the school population was on the team. In 1989, she became the Director of Speech and Debate at Apple Valley High School, where she built a nationally recognized program and has been a full-time classroom teacher for the past 28 years. In 2009, Pam was named the Apple Valley High School Teacher of the Year. During her tenure as Director of Forensics, Pam coached more than 40 NSDA national finalists, including 18 runners-up and 10 national champions. Pam was named Coach of the Year in 2009. Apple Valley High School was awarded the Bruno E. Jacob Award in 1998 and has been recognized with a Team Sweepstakes or Team of Excellence award in 24 different years. In addition to coaching, Pam enjoys “giving back” to the organization. She has been a presenter for instructional videos and has offered coaching workshops around the country.

For 28 years, Pam has been a District Committee member and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2005. She currently serves as the Vice President. She has served on the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Topic Selection Committee and as a Board liaison to the Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Interpretation Committees. For her consistent service, she received her Sixteenth Distinguished Service Plaque in 2017. Pam was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2016, the NSDA named the event of Original Oratory after Joe and Pam Wycoff.

DIAMOND COACH RECOGNITION

u FOURTH DIAMOND u AARON P. SMITH West Lafayette HS, IN April 3, 2017 • 10,914 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u DAVID R. LONG Southern Lehigh HS, PA January 8, 2017 • 6,000 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u ROBERT CROTEAU Catholic Memorial School, MA March 5, 2017 • 6,000 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u ADAM JENKINS Belleville West HS, IL March 14, 2017 • 6,084 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u MICHAEL STOVERN Mead HS - Spokane, WA March 14, 2017 • 6,994 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u LEE ELLEN BEACH Rossview HS, TN April 7, 2017 • 6,002 Points

u THIRD DIAMOND u CANDACE JANE CAIN Burwell Jr.-Sr. HS, NE April 19, 2017 • 6,001 Points

u SECOND DIAMOND u KIRSTEN NASH Hendrickson HS, TX February 6, 2017 • 6,895 Points

u SECOND DIAMOND u TOMAS G. COSENZA Clear Falls HS, TX February 6, 2017 • 3,000 Points

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 53

DIAMOND COACH RECOGNITION

54

u SECOND DIAMOND u AMBER TOTH Fort Scott HS, KS February 9, 2017 • 4,958 Points

u SECOND DIAMOND u DONNA L. YEAGER Auburn HS, AL March 7, 2017 • 3,001 Points

u SECOND DIAMOND u CAROL HALBUR Punahou School, HI April 13, 2017 • 3,003 Points

u SECOND DIAMOND u DEBBIE SMITH Branson HS, MO April 12, 2017 • 3,050 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u DAVID H. BROWN Carroll HS - Southlake, TX November 15, 2016 • 3,793 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u ALLISON ARMSTRONG Kickapoo HS, MO November 18, 2016 • 1,520 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u JOSEPH CURRY Austintown Fitch HS, OH January 23, 2017 • 1,503 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u MYRA L. WHITLOCK Irma Rangel Young Women, TX February 1, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u JON MARC BANEY Kickapoo HS, MO February 14, 2017 • 9,249 Points

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

DIAMOND COACH RECOGNITION

u FIRST DIAMOND u KATIE SCHOLZ East Ridge HS, MN February 18, 2017 • 2,466 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u MARIE BAKKE West Springfield HS, VA February 21, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u TALANA D. HINSON Cassville HS, MO February 21, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u KAYLA CROOK Marshfield HS, OR February 22, 2017 • 1,619 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u KIM JERAL Hawley Public Schools, MN February 27, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u AMY M. ZUCCARO Trinity HS - Louisville, KY March 5, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u RACHEL CLAPPER Madison Central HS, MS March 7, 2017 • 1,562 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u JOHN KEREZY Revere HS - Richfield, OH March 12, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u JULIE MCMERTY Orono HS - Long Lake, MN March 14, 2017 • 1,500 Points

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 55

DIAMOND COACH RECOGNITION

56

u FIRST DIAMOND u MATTHEW PROST Luther Preparatory School, WI March 14, 2017 • 1,806 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u SANDRA M. PEEK West Hardin HS - Saratoga, TX March 14, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u ALEX CARLSON East Ridge HS, MN March 18, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u JOSHUA SEEMATTER Northridge HS - Greeley, CO March 21, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u ALLEN M. MATTHEWS L. D. Bell HS, TX March 28, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u KEVIN L. KING Marshfield HS, MO April 4, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u BEN TULLY Presentation HS, CA April 9, 2017 • 1,511 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u BRIAN KARSTEN Grand Rapids Christian HS, MI April 12, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u HOWARD R. RITZ Legacy HS - Mansfield, TX April 12, 2017 • 1,500 Points

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

DIAMOND COACH RECOGNITION

u FIRST DIAMOND u JOHN MICHAEL HARDIN Blue Valley Southwest HS, KS April 15, 2017 • 1,501 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u AMEENA AMDAHL-MASON Clackamas HS, OR April 25, 2017 • 1,500 Points

u FIRST DIAMOND u KATIE CARLSON East Ridge HS, MN April 28, 2017 • 1,501 Points

SEEKING STATE EDUCATORS OF THE YEAR

Submit nominations online by October 30.

Nominations will be accepted from fellow educators, administrators, school board members, or parents for the State Educator of the Year awards. Additionally, state speech and debate organizations may nominate an individual from their state who is also an NSDA member. More details can be found on our website.

u FIRST DIAMOND u ZACHARY DINGES Seaman HS, KS May 10, 2017 • 1,500 Points

Criteria for Selection To be eligible, nominees must: • Be high school or middle school coach member of the NSDA. • Be an active classroom teacher in the field of speech and debate.

• Have a minimum of five years of classroom experience.

• Demonstrate broader contributions to the field of education outside of their own classroom (e.g., presenting at an education conference; writing curriculum and/or education standards for speech and debate; publishing articles on the educational benefits of speech and debate; instructional coaching to non-speech and debate teachers on how to incorporate speech and debate into their curriculum).

• Provide significant and ongoing support to others in the field of speech and debate education (e.g., mentorship, peer observation, modeling lessons).

The National Speech & Debate Association is proud to continue the National Educator of the Year award. Beginning with the 20172018 school year, the NSDA will also recognize state winners. Each State Educator of the Year will be considered for the national award!

• Model the Association’s Coaches Code of Ethics.

Minimum Requirements Each State Educator of the Year will be considered for the national award. State winners will not be announced unless quality nominations that both meet our criteria and demonstrate and exceptional standard have been submitted. Incomplete nominations or a lack of competition does not guarantee a state winner.

www.speechanddebate.org/educator-of-the-year-nomination-form

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 57

Donus D. Roberts Quad Ruby Coach Recognition The Association is proud to honor coaches who have earned their first 1,000 points.

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

Tim Huth

The Bronx High School Of Science, NY

1,422

Jennifer Raymond

Pattonville High School, MO

Mat Marr

Ashland High School, OR

1,303

Lucy Jayne Lloyd

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa High School, MN 1,045

Courtney B. Chipman

Nova High School, FL

1,158

Michael Stewart

Millburn High School, NJ

1,045

Brian Manuel

Edgemont High School, NY

1,152

Shea McLaughlin

Pittsburg High School, KS

1,045

Amber McLeod

Crescenta Valley High School, CA

1,148

Lyndsey Miller

Comanche High School, OK

1,043

Dakota Breen

West Fargo High School, ND

1,134

Denise L. Atkinson

Cottage Grove Park High School, MN

1,043

Brent G. Dysart

Denver East High School, CO

1,128

Andrea Bakken

Moorhead High School, MN

1,042

Dan Loving

Maize High School, KS

1,122

Elizabeth Wood Weas

Mountain Brook High School, AL

1,041

Angie Klein

Pequot Lakes High School, MN

1,118

Jennifer Christi Linnell

Grand Rapids High School, MN

1,039

Karen Heine

Douglas High School - Minden, NV

1,101

Lori D. Zyla

Parkersburg High School, WV

1,038

Christina Manukyan

Crescenta Valley High School, CA

1,097

Tracey Spinelli

Moon Area High School, PA

1,038

Dan Hodges

Apple Valley High School, MN

1,096

Jessica Skoglund

Olathe Northwest High School, KS

1,037

Kyle Vareberg

Rugby High School, ND

1,092

Julie Krause

Unionville High School, PA

1,033

Keith Eddins

Oak Hill School, OR

1,080

Ben Sigrist

Bellarmine College Prep, CA

1,029

Caroline Campbell

South Medford High School, OR

1,078

Florence Petit

Pompano Beach High School, FL

1,026

Maura Brew

Benilde-St. Margaret’s School, MN

1,076

Sharon Ellsworth-Nielson Park City High School, UT

1,019

Tiffany Dacheux

Dallastown Area High School, PA

1,068

Andrew Gegios

Whitefish Bay High School, WI

1,018

Frank Patrick Egan

Enderlin High School, ND

1,065

Ursula Gruber

Latin School Of Chicago, IL

1,018

Genise Thorsen

William G. Enloe High School, NC

1,062

Larry Bailey

Judson High School, TX

1,007

Mary Geier

Pittsburg High School, KS

1,061

Matthew Neil McDaniel

Lakeview Christian Academy, PA

1,005

Amy McCormick

Tahoma Senior High School, WA

1,057

Karen Romang

Sumner Academy, KS

1,003

Deb Denton

Harvest Christian Academy, Guam

1,053

James David Courim, Jr.

Chaney High School, OH

1,002

Tim Greenfield

Edina High School, MN

1,053

Lily Bolig

San Dieguito Academy, CA

1,002

CONNECT. SUPPORT. INSPIRE.

58

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

1,050

Triple Ruby Coach Recognition Celebrating speech and debate coaches who have earned their first 750 points.

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

Heather Beach

Valparaiso High School, IN

985

Mitchell Kline

Smithville R-II School District, MO

795

Jessica Patterson

ILEAD North Hollywood, CA

982

Amber Doughty

Norfolk High School, NE

794

Keith West

Boston Latin School, MA

979

Shawn Nix

Cary Academy, NC

790

Charles Hyatt, PhD

Lambert High School, GA

929

Pennie Fike

Fargo Shanley High School, ND

787

Nick Malinak

Big Sky High School, MT

926

Maryjane Burton

Choctaw Sr. High School, OK

785

Wanda Harrell

Alief Early College High School, TX

917

Lance Leslie

Cherokee High School, OK

784

DeLona Campos-Davis

Hood River Valley High School, OR

889

Andrew Hanson

West Plains High School, MO

782

Kevin Lee Briscoe

Rock Ridge High School, VA

889

Claire Sagstuen

Ekzarh Yosif I, Bulgaria

779

Gregory D. Arnold

Timpview High School, UT

864

Skyleen Willingham

Okmulgee High School, OK

778

Dustin Kay

Cypress Creek High School - Houston, TX

861

Kevin McDougal

Perry High School - Massillon, OH

777

Amy Jo Johnson

Trinity Academy - Wichita, KS

843

Stewart Reed

Southridge High School, OR

776

John Steere

The Independent School, KS

838

Jonathan Lim

Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep, CA

775

Jerrod Nelson

Wayzata High School, MN

834

Jamie Lindsey

Seneca High School, MO

773

Amanda Daquelente

Howland High School, OH

832

Dylan Robb

Lawrence High School, KS

771

Gurbir Kahlon

West High School- Torrance, CA

829

Amanda Trost

Harmony School Of Science High, TX

771

Scott Huggins

The Independent School, KS

827

Cody Proctor

Savannah R3 High School, MO

770

Tyler Tigges

Bishop Heelan High School, IA

826

Kaelyn East

Gig Harbor High School, WA

767

Christine Barker

Rocori High School, MN

826

Lester Stone

George Bush High School, TX

766

Jamie Morgan

Washtenaw International High School, MI

825

Victoria Freeman

Lincoln High School - Lincoln, NE

765

Mark Woodhead

Archbishop Mitty High School, CA

817

Kelli Donais

Eastview High School, MN

762

Alisha Morris

Neosho High School, MO

817

Cody Morris

Mount Pleasant High School, TX

762

Barbara Bryan

Mountain View High School, CA

816

Kinsey Martin

Cross Roads High School, TX

761

Helen Williams-Wicker

Hazard High School, KY

815

Joseph Vincent Kalka East Grand Forks Sr. High School, MN

758

Grace Gill

Vermillion High School, SD

815

Logan Scisco

Danville High School, KY

756

Melanie Popovich

Gloria Deo Academy - Springfield, MO

813

Nicholas Petsas

Salpointe Catholic High School, AZ

755

Molly Harris

Durham Academy, NC

812

Alex Charlambides

Advanced Math & Science Acad Charter, MA

753

Gianna Castoria

Desoto Central High School, MS

811

Cramista Volz

Savannah R3 High School, MO

752

Aaron Langerman

Bellarmine College Prep, CA

809

Yvonne Palmer

American Heritage School - Plantation, FL

752

Rosemary Cundiff Brown North Oldham High School, KY

808

Cory Okular

Cardinal Mooney High School - Youngstown, OH 752

Ariel Yager

Field Kindley Memorial High School, KS

803

Asim Gaffar

College Preparatory School Of America, IL

752

Laura Humphrey

Dobyns Bennett High School, TN

801

Shelby Randolph

Lampasas High School, TX

752

Joanne Stowitts

Cajon High School, CA

798

Stevan Jechura

Maumee High School, OH

750

Steve Barth

Marist Catholic High School, OR

797

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 59

“We produce more than 2,400 awards for the National Tournament alone. Imagine what we can do for your school or — Chad Wagner, tournament!”

Trophy Shop Manager for the NSDA

NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

TROPHY SHOP Order tournament trophies, school awards, plaques, medals, and more from the National Speech & Debate Association’s Trophy Shop!

We have thousands to choose from, or you can create customized awards for your event! As a member, you have access to wholesale prices and early invoicing.

Learn more at www.speechanddebate.org/trophyshop

Full ride, four-year merit scholarship to any American university!

Scholarship includes full tuition, fees, and room and board expenses.

ONLY high school juniors are eligible to apply.

Apply Online This Fall:

CoolidgeScholars.org

RECOGNITION

Student Service Citations The following students have received Student Service Citations from the National Speech & Debate Association in recognition of outstanding service to speech and debate education. Students receive a citation for every 100 service points earned through activities such as community speaking or outreach. A single act of service usually garners between two and five service points. These citations were earned between March 1, 2017 and August 1, 2017.

62

Student Service Citation, 6th Degree (600+ points) Emily Corn Yucaipa High School Sean Rogers ILEAD North Hollywood

CA CA

600 600

Student Service Citation, 4th Degree (400+ points) Cole Vaughan Bowling Green High School Sarah Slanaker ILEAD North Hollywood Brenna Crow Bixby High School Tiernan Hughes Bixby High School Kadie Thomas Kickapoo High School

KY CA OK OK MO

439 414 408 401 400

Student Service Citation, 3rd Degree (300+ points) Hannah Grace Kelly Conway High School Autumn Andrews Bixby High School Ava Ewald Chanhassen High School Arin Zwonitzer Carlsbad High School Amelia Zerbe Hoover High School - North Canton Brady Hagen ILEAD North Hollywood Logan Pratt John F. Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids Calder Meis Victoria East High School Matthew Lorentz Wooster High School Steven Ha Alief Taylor High School Tyrese Avery Democracy Prep Endurance High School Jessica Mendoza Bixby High School Nicolas J. Gonzalez-Stuver Oak Park & River Forest High School Shelby Jacobson Chanhassen High School Jeylin Yavas Chanhassen High School Emmanuel De La Rosa Democracy Prep Bronx Preparatory Charter School Miller Johnson Trinity Presbyterian School Brandon Arenson ILEAD North Hollywood Timothy A. Mosco Rio Grande High School Ethan Gambriel Willard High School Ari J. Moore ILEAD North Hollywood Marlynn Pollard Democracy Prep Harlem High School Reanna Saldivar Yucaipa High School Jayce Burney Willard High School Claudia Brown Bixby High School

AR OK MN CA OH CA IA TX OH TX NY OK IL MN MN NY AL CA NM MO CA NY CA MO OK

395 370 360 359 351 349 349 341 339 332 325 323 320 320 315 314 313 312 306 305 305 305 305 303 300

Student Service Citation, 2nd Degree (200+ points) Daniel Turner Carlsbad High School Lilah Molina Buffalo High School

CA TX

296 282

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

Student Service Citation, 2nd Degree (200+ points) Chance Smith Resurrection Christian School Celeste Riley-Norman ILEAD North Hollywood Lexi Nolletti Wooster High School Connie Ose Ogiamien Alief Taylor High School Gabrielle Wahe John F. Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids Jaden Henderson Bixby High School Tara Yazdan Panah Carlsbad High School Jenny Ekwere Alief Taylor High School Genesis Gomez Democracy Prep Bronx Preparatory Charter School Ashley Caroline Rice East Carteret High School McKinlie Webber Bixby High School Quintin Alexander Harry Pascagoula High School Hannah Ekwere Alief Taylor High School James DeCamp Chaminade High School Clayton Fountain Democracy Prep Harlem High School Sean Lochner Chaminade High School Sabrina Sexauer South Anchorage High School Claire Thomas Collierville High School Nikola Sowa Elk Grove High School Amelia Lemons McKinney North High School Jayden Kannedy Alief Taylor High School Elise Williams John F. Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids Kanishka Ragula Skyline High School - Salt Lake City Joseph Picchi St. Joseph Notre Dame High School Anna Vaughn Central Catholic High School - Canton Andrea Bly Princeton High School Cooper Lee Boss Henry Clay High School Gerard Seig Noblesville High School Zachary Peick Lakeville North High School Olivia Rahal Bixby High School Allisen Hunter Savannah R3 High School Carly Michelle Crawford Assumption High School Anahita Farishta W. B. Ray High School Camden Hare Shikellamy High School John Baker Willard High School Summer Austin Princeton High School Gary Brown Resurrection Christian School Colby Menefee Buffalo High School Brandon K. Schloss Wellington High School Shelby Tigges John F. Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids Cale Dowler Bixby High School Daniel Hepworth Chaminade High School La’Rayja Hill Chaney High School Jonathan Reagan Musselman Bob Jones Academy Linda Wakamoto North Hollywood High School Keturah Bridges Alief Taylor High School Milady Simmons Bixby High School Madison Mitchell Mulvane High School Claire Predtechenskis THEO Christian Spencer Snell Princeton High School Kyler Balliet Shikellamy High School Destiny Colville Chanhassen High School Autumn Franklin Norman High School Alison Mundfrom Valley City High School Scott EricWylie HARC Cayden Christopher Jake Owens Burwell Jr.-Sr. High School Mark Young Yucaipa High School

CO CA OH TX IA OK CA TX NY NC OK MS TX NY NY NY AK TN IL TX TX IA UT CA OH TX KY IN MN OK MO KY TX PA MO TX CO TX FL IA OK NY OH SC CA TX OK KS TX TX PA MN OK ND NC NE CA

275 269 268 261 260 255 251 250 250 250 250 248 242 240 240 240 240 238 237 234 232 228 226 225 225 220 220 220 218 218 217 216 216 215 214 213 212 212 212 212 210 210 210 210 209 208 208 206 206 206 205 205 205 205 205 204 204

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 63

Student Service Citation, 2nd Degree (200+ points) Ethan Carlson Norfolk High School Anusha Vajrala Cherry Creek High School Isaiah Meek Carrollton High School Brady Baylis Chaminade High School Heather Beveridge Shikellamy High School Jessica Cajina Ardmore High School Carlie Cowgill Conway High School Mohammad Diallo Democracy Prep Bronx Preparatory Charter School Elizabeth Bettye Early J. Frank Dobie High School Anne Eigenbrodt John Paul II High School Hannah Ferguson Conway High School Keishon Groves J. Frank Dobie High School Kallie Hudson Rogers High School Asim Khan Miramonte High School Kelli King Conway High School Jade Isabella Kropp Henry Clay High School Adam Macro Elk Grove High School Toheed Mahmood Central High School - Springfield Daniella Martinez-Samayoa North Hollywood High School Michael McKay Corvallis High School Abdullah Moizuddin College Preparatory School Of America Tanvir Mondair Conway High School Britton Musall THEO Christian Dallin Myers Conway High School Eliot Paek THEO Christian Fahmida Rahman North Hollywood High School Moizuddin Rizwan College Preparatory School Of America Sulaiman Sajed College Preparatory School Of America Zain Shaikh College Preparatory School Of America Sidnie Thompson Conway High School Shawn Walls Westlake High School Elaine Werren Hoover High School - North Canton Caitlyn Juliette Woitena J. Frank Dobie High School

2016-17 POSTAL REPORT

64

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

NE CO OH NY PA OK AR NY TX TX AR TX TX CA AR KY IL MO CA MT IL AR TX AR TX CA IL IL IL AR OH OH TX

202 202 201 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS

The Academic All American award recognizes students who have earned the degree of Superior Distinction (750 points); completed at least 5 semesters of high school; demonstrated outstanding character and leadership; and earned a GPA of 3.7 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent). NOTE: If the GPA is between 3.5 and 3.7 on a 4.0 scale (or its equivalent), students also must have received an ACT score of 27 or higher, or a New SAT score of 1300 or higher.

ALABAMA Ford Cleveland Aubrey Grant Miller Johnson John Koo Ellen Park Griffin Payne

The Montgomery Academy Trinity Presbyterian School Trinity Presbyterian School The Montgomery Academy The Montgomery Academy The Montgomery Academy

ARIZONA Aimee Cheng Jordan Cohen Shayna Cohen Alexander Quinn Curry Emma Moriarty Lindsay Newfeld

Tempe Preparatory Academy Scottsdale Preparatory Academy Scottsdale Preparatory Academy Scottsdale Preparatory Academy Tempe Preparatory Academy Tempe Preparatory Academy

ARKANSAS Jessica Hernandez Rylie Mackenzie Slone Anna Stroud

Dardanelle High School Bentonville High School Dardanelle High School

CALIFORNIA Imani Branch Mia Coates Anthony Kolshorn Michelle Lee Angelina Liang Juan Nathaniel Gilbert Neuner Dipashreya Sur Jason J. Tran Zoe Wasserman Claudia Yu

University High School - Fresno Marlborough School Bonita Vista High School Gabrielino High School Gabrielino High School Gabrielino High School Bonita Vista High School Notre Dame High School - San Jose Gabrielino High School Marlborough School Gabrielino High School

COLORADO Cassidy Allen Sage Brown

Woodland Park High School Woodland Park High School

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

COLORADO (continued) Alec Greven Christopher Jachimiak Emily R. Richards Ethan Schweissing Alevtina M. Sideleva Madelyn Wampler Cailyn Wolberg

Castle View High School Centaurus High School Greeley Central High School Fruita Monument High School Smoky Hill High School Greeley Central High School Mullen High School

FLORIDA Tatiana I. Butkevits Sabrina Callahan Jonathan Gant Mason J. Graham Lalee Ibssa Alexandra Lipton Caramen H. McDaniel Lee Place Philipp Reutter Ryan Rose Amy Sukserm James Steven Toscano Valerie Trapp Connor Yeackley Selena Zhao

Boca Raton Community High School West Broward High School Trinity Preparatory School Wellington High School Trinity Preparatory School Trinity Preparatory School Wellington High School Trinity Preparatory School Boca Raton Community High School Boca Raton Community High School Trinity Preparatory School Trinity Preparatory School Trinity Preparatory School Wellington High School Trinity Preparatory School

GEORGIA Max Abramson Tripp Haskins Alanna Pearson Arjun Srinivasan

Woodward Academy Woodward Academy Woodward Academy Woodward Academy

IDAHO Emma Freitas Katie Hansen Emilee Johnston Derek Priest

Columbia High School - Nampa Highland High School - Pocatello Highland High School - Pocatello Columbia High School - Nampa

IOWA Olivia Tidwell

Sioux City East High School

KANSAS Isabel Marie Ashley Hazel Carson Holly Carter Danniel Christensen Hunter James Church

Topeka High School Shawnee Mission East High School Mulvane High School Shawnee Mission West High School Topeka High School

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 65

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS

66

KANSAS (continued) Brody Jay Cunningham Sam Day Nell DeCoursey Brennan Brianna Empson Gabe Esquivel Hirsh Guha Carolyn Hassett Madeline Grace Hatesohl Makenna Bess Hayes Kate Higgins Victoria Jansen Isaach Johnson Cameron Jones Kyra Larson Amy Leuszler Christopher Munar Taylor Nickel Ian Pultz-Earle Sandhya Ravikumar Dennis Rice Meredith Shaheed Ashley Sherrow Austin Shively Logan Stenseng Evan Svetlak Benjamin K. Thoeni Collin Thompson Alexander Wheeler Desmond Williamson Benjamin L. Zhang

Topeka High School Olathe East High School Topeka High School Shawnee Mission West High School Wichita East High School Lawrence Free State High School Shawnee Mission East High School Topeka High School El Dorado High School Shawnee Mission East High School Mulvane High School Topeka High School Olathe Northwest High School Olathe Northwest High School Olathe Northwest High School Shawnee Mission East High School Derby High School Lawrence Free State High School Lawrence Free State High School Shawnee Mission East High School Lawrence Free State High School Derby High School Olathe Northwest High School El Dorado High School Olathe Northwest High School Topeka High School Olathe Northwest High School Olathe Northwest High School Mulvane High School Topeka High School

KENTUCKY Shelby Kathryn Amato Emma Thomas Bellomy Cooper Lee Boss Madeline Claire Butler Amanda Martin Byerman Austin Cobb Rachael Elaine Gilbert Zaynab Ott Khan Jade Isabella Kropp Katherine Renick Maddie Rose Elizabeth Suzanne Salamanca Phoebe Elizabeth Shown Anya Petrone Slepyan

Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Murray High School Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School Murray High School Murray High School Henry Clay High School Murray High School Henry Clay High School

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

KENTUCKY (continued) Henry Louis Stone Walther Henry Clay High School Wendy Waltrip Murray High School LOUISIANA Trevor Blackstock

Ruston High School

MARYLAND Chris Garliss Luke Scaletta

Loyola-Blakefield High School Loyola-Blakefield High School

MASSACHUSETTS L. Karina Aguilar Devika M. Albert Gil Alon Aidan S. Bassett Lily G. Borak Kayla X. Chang Yuval Dinoor Mitchell L. Gamburg Jaehun Lee Hannah Nguyen Phan Michael K. Ryter Ayush Upneja

Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School Newton South High School

MICHIGAN Harry Bagenstos

Greenhills School

MINNESOTA Tori Chillscyzn Claire Doty Hailey Frye Noah Gallagher Sarah Grambo Jacob Greathouse Brent Hauck Grace Hjort Jane Michaelson Justin Myrah Elijah Rockhold Andrew Sauvageau Noah Schetnan Michael Stefanko Kassidy Tocco

Chanhassen High School Apple Valley High School Chanhassen High School Lakeville North High School Apple Valley High School Marshall High Schooll Lakeville North High School Lakeville North High School Apple Valley High School Rosemount Sr. High School Chanhassen High School Rosemount Sr. High School Lakeville North High School Rosemount Sr. High School Marshall High School

MISSISSIPPI Madison Alliston

Sacred Heart Catholic School

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS MISSISSIPPI (continued) Justin Bell John Walker Bethea Sophia Bowley Hannah Cantrell Assata DeMyers Arko Dhar Sabine Horne Riley Katherine Houston Nyah Jordan Ruby Liang Parth Malaviya Cameron Miller Jose Navas Atticus Nelson Silas Nelson Sarah Berry Pierce Jacob Ratliff Virginia Sciolino Trevian Strong Alex Wade

Murrah High School Madison Central High School Murrah High School Oak Grove High School - Hattiesburg St. Andrew’s Episcopal School St. Andrew’s Episcopal School Laurel Christian School Madison Central High School Sacred Heart Catholic School Oak Grove High School - Hattiesburg Madison Central High School Sacred Heart Catholic School Murrah High School Desoto Central High School Desoto Central High School Sacred Heart Catholic School Sacred Heart Catholic School Sacred Heart Catholic School Murrah High School Sacred Heart Catholic School

MISSOURI Maleah Ahuja Madison Paige Allman Joseph Amundson Jacob S. Anderson Romeo Bagunu Spenser Bartholomew Kelsey Bartlett Brett Andrew Baxley Isaac Behnke Alyssa Bethards Catherine Blotevogel Hannah Boyd Allysa Brayfield Alana Chandler Sujung Chung Alexis Cook Michael (Burke) Craighead Lizzie Cremer Taylor K. Crossley Ian Crowder Katelin Danaher Caleb DeWitt Quinn Foose Keturah Gadson

Lee’s Summit North High School Glendale High School - Springfield Willard High School Glendale High School - Springfield Raytown High School Jefferson City High School Jefferson City High School Glendale High School - Springfield Bolivar R 1 High School Bolivar R 1 High School Jefferson City High School Jefferson City High School Republic High School Lutheran High School North The Pembroke Hill School Fort Osage High School Jefferson City High School Jefferson City High School Lee’s Summit North High School Carthage High School Blue Springs High School North Kansas City High School Fort Osage High School Pattonville High School

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

MISSOURI (continued) Grant Austin Harris Connor Healy Corbin Healy Tanner Henley Gillian Morgan Hoogstraet Jillian Jetmore Chloe Grace Jones Marko Jovanovic Zachary Kauffman Maxwell Keeney Margaret Briann Kelly Lucy Liao Katie Liu Evalynn Lomax Jakob Lund Michael Manda Alyssa Marshall Joshua Metje Austin Rene Moulder Leticia Adjeiwaa Nketiah Gunner Christopher Noble Jonah Perry Elijah Pitts Hailey Brooke Raw Samuel Riggs Dalton Russell Jessi Schoolcraft Nafi Seife Ronald Blake Sivils Joseph David Stark Holly Sullivan Jessica Thomas Sydni Turner Elizabeth Vasko Madison Wade Ashlyn Wadle Audrey Warters Taylor Williams Morjanne Withrow Connor Woodward Caleb Jordan Wotring

Glendale High School - Springfield Summit Christian Academy - Lees Summit Summit Christian Academy - Lees Summit Jefferson City High School Glendale High School - Springfield The Pembroke Hill School Glendale High School - Springfield The Pembroke Hill School Willard High School The Pembroke Hill School Glendale High School - Springfield Jefferson City High School Jefferson City High School Raytown High School Blue Springs High School Jefferson City High School Willard High School Blue Springs High School Raymore-Peculiar High School Jefferson City High School Glendale High School - Springfield Willard High School Willard High School Raytown South High School Pattonville High School Raymore-Peculiar High School Willard High School Blue Springs High School Glendale High School - Springfield Glendale High School - Springfield Raytown South High School Carthage High School - Carthage Raytown South High School Jefferson City High School Seneca High School - Seneca Willard High School Raymore-Peculiar High School Blue Springs High School The Pembroke Hill School Raymore-Peculiar High School Glendale High School - Springfield

NEBRASKA Oliver Borchers-Williams Matthew L. Coffey Daniel Fu

Nebraska City High School Creighton Preparatory School Millard North High School

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 67

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS

68

NEBRASKA (continued) Nathaniel J. Lorenz Vishnu Menon Naman Nisheeth Tori Qiu Anthony J. Reyes Jia Yu Shao Brooke Wilczewski Christina Youn

Creighton Preparatory School Millard North High School Millard North High School Millard North High School Creighton Preparatory School Millard North High School Millard North High School Millard North High School

NEVADA Leah Broadaway Caitlin Fagan Ragya Kaul Dawson Mullen Mirlana O’Keefe Valielza Okeefe Torria Petrie Jessica Phillips Rylee Rawson Vincent Rendon Julian Sarabia Kaitlyn Willoughby

Northwest Career And Technical Acad Northwest Career And Technical Acad Sage Ridge School Northwest Career And Technical Acad Northwest Career And Technical Acad Northwest Career And Technical Acad Elko High School Northwest Career And Technical Acad Reno High School Spring Valley High School Northwest Career And Technical Acad Desert Oasis High School

NEW JERSEY Bryn Bennett Samuel Brumer Shefali Das Caitlyn Dempsey Asher Gilani Carly Goldsmith Andrew Hong Alan Lai Brian Laurito Andy Lee Daniel Jin Lee Emily Liao Amy Pu Andrew Sun-Yan Ravi Upadhya

Randolph High School Montville High School Randolph High School Randolph High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Montville High School Randolph High School Montville High School Montville High School

NEW MEXICO Rebecca Cai Will McCumber Benjamin Reidys Andy Shen Katherine Wang

Los Alamos High School Los Alamos High School Los Alamos High School Los Alamos High School Los Alamos High School

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

NEW MEXICO (continued) Wilbur Wang Los Alamos High School NORTH CAROLINA Michael Smith

Charlotte Latin School

NORTH DAKOTA Rachel Andrus Skylar Berthold William Lloyd Egan Twyla Luella Gross Erik Luke Johnson Marlen Wayne Meester Abigail Moberg

Dickinson High School Dickinson High School Enderlin High School Enderlin High School Valley City High School Valley City High School Dickinson High School

OHIO Angie Bittar Vinay Bodapati Cecilia Caputo Oriana Cruz Mariam Fneiche Omair Hasan Pranav Iyer Juliana Janatowski Billy Jiang Kevin Johnson Adesh Labhasetwar Isha Lele Michael Li Max Liu Rishi Narahari Nikki Peter Nathan Podolsky Amaya Razmi Nicholas Sattele Vishal Sundaram Nick Vitello

Sylvania Southview High School Solon High School Whitmer High School Hathaway Brown School Sylvania Southview High School Sylvania Southview High School Solon High School Whitmer High School Sylvania Southview High School Solon High School Solon High School Hathaway Brown School Sylvania Southview High School Solon High School Solon High School Vermilion High School Sylvania Southview High School Hathaway Brown School Solon High School Solon High School Kenston High School

OKLAHOMA Brady Bell Savanna Benn Isabella Cefalone Trinity Cohee Katherine Kemmet Ryan King Ella Fahl Moxley Brandon Rogers

Norman North High School Haskell High School Haskell High School Norman North High School Norman North High School Haskell High School Norman North High School Norman North High School

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS OKLAHOMA (continued) Tanvi Saran Anna Smist Robert Wasoski Matthew Wylie

Norman North High School Norman North High School Norman North High School Norman North High School

OREGON Avery M. Beckius Jamie Bikales Hannah Borel Zoie Brauser Benedicte Hamilton Bethany F. Scholes Clara Schwab

North Valley High School Lincoln High School - Portland Woodrow Wilson High School Lincoln High School - Portland Woodrow Wilson High School North Valley High School Lincoln High School - Portland

PENNSYLVANIA Oluremi Akindele Anmol Anand Rebecca Avigad Kimberly DelSignore Brendan Grzyb Julia Gyourko Jessica Hood Damian Hunt Suchi Jain Russell Legate-Yang Ashwin Singh Jack Swartzentruber Jonathan Wang Alex Wang Nicholas Yang Samir Yellapragada

North Allegheny Sr. High School North Allegheny Sr. High School North Allegheny Sr. High School North Allegheny Sr. High School North Allegheny Sr. High School Strath Haven High School North Allegheny Sr. High School Unionville High School Unionville High School Strath Haven High School Unionville High School Strath Haven High School North Allegheny Sr. High School Unionville High School Unionville High School North Allegheny Sr. High School

SOUTH CAROLINA Sooruj Prakash Bhatia Jared Boggs Carolyn Bubanich Jordan Childs JD Dawson Michael Gallagher Stephanie Gonzalez Neil Gramopadhye Katherine M. Jones Sandeep Kattepogu Cindy Li Monique Louw Julia Kate Murray

Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Bob Jones Academy Bob Jones Academy Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer Riverside High School - Greer

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

SOUTH CAROLINA (continued) Ellie Myers Bob Jones Academy Nicole Patterson Riverside High School - Greer Devin Remley Riverside High School - Greer Bjore Shawn Samard Riverside High School - Greer Emma Simonis Riverside High School - Greer Matt Lawrence Thomas Riverside High School - Greer Kelly Wang Riverside High School - Greer Lucy Wang Riverside High School - Greer Joshua Woo Riverside High School - Greer Ahva Zadeh Riverside High School - Greer SOUTH DAKOTA Grace E. Aasheim Elise Ackerman Hayden M. Cole Izzy Curry Landon Dinger Hunter R. Dunteman Bridger Gordon Benjamin W. Menke Carter Munce Evan D. Papka Claire E. Tufty

Harrisburg High School Sioux Falls Christian High School Harrisburg High School Washington High School - Sioux Falls Harrisburg High School Harrisburg High School Sturgis Brown High School Harrisburg High School Washington High School - Sioux Falls Harrisburg High School Harrisburg High School

TENNESSEE Benjamin Ball Emma Capitanelli Natalie Estes Zack Helberg Clare Frances Kennedy Nathan Kruse Emma McCaleb Matthew Ernest Rozanski Kayla F. Smith Claire Thomas

Battle Ground Academy Collierville High School Collierville High School Battle Ground Academy Battle Ground Academy Battle Ground Academy Battle Ground Academy Collierville High School Collierville High School Collierville High School

TEXAS Anshika Agrawal Uzair Alpial Josiah Atkinson Mary Barnett Jordyn T. Benavides Ankur Bhagwath Robert Boley Siegen Bretzke Scott Brinen

Hendrickson High School Jasper High School - Plano West Hardin High School - Saratoga Saint Mary’s Hall High School Princeton High School Jasper High School - Plano Hendrickson High School Hendrickson High School Clear Falls High School

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 69

ACADEMIC ALL AMERICANS TEXAS (continued) Hannah Bryant Christy Caudle Philip Clement Cara Day Alexa DeCarlo Ashwin Desai Sean Elsik Michael Eng Alex Evans Emma Fairfield Trevor Matthew Fruci Michael Gao J.T. Garcia Aashna Gupta Maddie Guy Cindy Hao Cassidy Hayes Peter Huang Victoria Huggler Marghi Jani Derek Ji Apoorva Kakkilaya Mishan Kara Elizabeth Khalilian Kelsi Kilgore Sarah Koshy James Kosub Ranie Lin Ron Long Christina Lu Danielle Maldonado Cesar Martinez Nicci Mattey Afi Momin Sandipan Nath Pauline Nguyen Sammy Nguyen Ashleigh Pevear Rishika Prakash Nikhil Ramaswamy Ashley Ray Chetan Reddy Grant Root Shaaswat Singh Corban Sorrells Cole Sutton

70

THEO Christian Lake Travis High School Saint Mary’s Hall High School St. Agnes Academy - Houston John Paul II High School Jasper High School - Plano La Vernia High School Shepton High School St. Agnes Academy - Houston St. Agnes Academy - Houston John Paul II High School Allen/Lowery High School Saint Mary’s Hall High School Jasper High School - Plano Saint Mary’s Hall High School Jasper High School - Plano Hendrickson High School Jasper High School - Plano All Saints Episcopal School - Tyler Jasper High School - Plano Jasper High School - Plano Shepton High School Jasper High School - Plano Jasper High School - Plano Lindale High School Round Rock Christian Academy La Vernia High School Jasper High School - Plano Princeton High School Jasper High School - Plano La Vernia High School Saint Mary’s Hall High School Saint Mary’s Hall High School Saint Mary’s Hall High School Jasper High School - Plano Hendrickson High School Hendrickson High School Hendrickson High School Jasper High School - Plano Jasper High School - Plano Lindale High School Jasper High School - Plano Lindale High School Jasper High School - Plano Lindale High School Round Rock Christian Academy

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017

(March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017)

TEXAS (continued) Chandler Trosclair Vincent Vasquez Ashish Wadhwani Elan Wilson Carlyn Yang Jerry Yang Angelina Zhang Stephanie Zhang

Jasper High School - Plano Saint Mary’s Hall High School Dulles High School Hendrickson High School Jasper High School - Plano Jasper High School - Plano Dulles High School Jasper High School - Plano

UTAH Jordan Abdalla Zachary P. Baker Madeline Brague Joseph Brimhall Skylar Diamandis Kenzo Okazaki Amanda M. Shepherd Jamie Steiner

Rowland Hall-St. Mark Layton High School Rowland Hall-St. Mark Woods Cross High School Rowland Hall-St. Mark Rowland Hall-St. Mark Woods Cross High School Rowland Hall-St. Mark

VIRGINIA Quentin Levin Thomas Robert Rollins William Thompson

The Potomac School The Potomac School The Potomac School

WASHINGTON Baylee Easterday Malene Garcia

Chiawana High School Chiawana High School

WYOMING Marisela Burgos Sariah Durrant Serenity Kinswoman Taelor Nielsen Anna Savage Jayden Stebritz

Greybull High School Worland High School Greybull High School Worland High School Greybull High School Greybull High School

Does your student have what it takes?

Coaches, visit our website to access the online nomination form!

www.speechanddebate.org/AAA

Welcome New Schools (March 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017) Odyssey Institute For Advanced & Int’l Studies

AZ

Crookston Secondary

MN

Willow Canyon High School

AZ

Minnesota Math & Science Academy

MN

Benicia High

CA

Kansas City Academy

MO

Elite Open School

CA

Oakes High School

ND

Valley View High

CA

SciCore Academy

NJ

Viewpoint School

CA

Veritas Classical Academy - Norman

OK

FAU High School

FL

Blackman High School

TN

John A. Ferguson Senior High School

FL

Bridgeland High School

TX

South Walton High School

FL

International H S

TX

York Community High School

IL

American Preparatory Academy - Draper

UT

Olathe West High School

KS

Braxton County High School

WV

Roxbury Latin

MA

Thunder Basin High School

WY

Stone Ridge School Of The Sacred Heart

MD

SPEECH & DEBATE

STORE

s t o re . s p e e c h a n d d e b at e . o rg

SUPPLIES AND GE AR

HONOR SOCIET Y INSIGNIA

OFFICIAL NSDA APPAREL

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 71

THE

1925 SOCIET Y The National Speech & Debate Association is grateful to acknowledge the following 1925 Society members for pledging a generous planned gift contribution.

Phyllis Flory Barton

Albert Odom, Jr.

James Copeland

Dr. Polly and Bruce Reikowski

Don and Ann Crabtree Dr. Mike Edmonds

Donus and Lovila Roberts

A. C. Eley

James Rye, III

Vickie and Joe Fellers

Steve and Anna Schappaugh

David and Judy Huston

David Seikel

Jennifer Jerome

Sandra Silvers

Harold Keller

Richard Sodikow

Kandi King

William Woods Tate, Jr.

Cherian and Betsy Koshy Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr.

Nicole and Darrel Wanzer-Serrano

Pam and Ray McComas

Cheryl Watkins

H. B. Mitchell

J. Scott and Megan Wunn

Lanny and B. J. Naegelin

Joe and Pam Wycoff

To join the 1925 Society, or to learn more about making a planned gift to the National Speech & Debate Association, please contact Nicole Wanzer-Serrano at nicole.wanzer-serrano@speechanddebate.org.

WOM E N ’S R OUND R O BIN November 9-10, 2017 JOIN US FOR THE ANNUAL HOCKADAY WOMEN’S ROUND ROBIN

The Women’s Round Robin is a celebration of diversity in debate, and we feature an evening round table discussion about issues of inclusion in the debate community. Entries into the tournament are on a first come, first serve basis and will open on September 1.

For more information, please contact: DR. CHARLES WALTS cwalts@hockaday.org

www.speechanddebate.org Newsstand Price: $9.99 per issue Member Subscription: $24.99 for 5 issues Non-Member Subscription: $34.99 for 5 issues