Did you know that a team on campus has won a national championship in the past two years? Are you aware that there is a team on campus who has had three All-Americans in the past five years? Well it is true. The Ball State Speech and Debate teams are among the most successful organizations on campus. The speech team, led by Mary Moore and Tracy Vittone, and the debate team coached by Mike Bauer, are consistently successful both regionally and nationally.
Despite their success, the speech and debate teams have been overlooked on campus. Most people probably do not even know that these teams exist. Nor are most students, faculty and staff aware of how successful these teams are. Our fine student newspaper has even neglected to mention the team's success. Because most of you might have little to no knowledge about the speech and debate teams, I will provide you with a brief explanation of their activities and their major awards during the past five years.
The speech team consists of two coaches; Mary Moore director of individual events, and the fabulous Tracey Vittone as assistant coach. The team also includes three graduate assistant coaches, Christian Norman, Katie Rasmussen and Crystal Lane Swift. These five highly respected and hard working individuals coach around 10 to 15 team participants. The team tends to participate in eight to 10 tournaments a year, traveling mostly within the Midwest, but has had the opportunity to attend tournaments across the nation when they can manage it under their budget.
The speech team participates in events including poetry, prose, dramatic duo, extemporaneous speaking and impromptu just to name a few. Other than dramatic duo, these are individual events with six competitors in each round. The competitors are ranked in each round depending on speaking style, clarity of the message, the effect the speech might have on the judge, among a number of other possible criteria.
The debate team is led by Mike Bauer along with two graduate assistant coaches, myself and Nathan Wade. We coach eight to 10 debaters a year while participating in two-team cross examination debate and some parliamentary debate. The team mostly travels regionally but on occasion has had the opportunity to attend tournaments as far away as Miami, Fla.
The debate team primarily competes in the National Education Debate Association (NEDA), an organization that focuses on developing public advocates. The debate season consists of two topics. The first semester involves a non-policy resolution that attempts to evaluate value-based arguments. For instance the resolution for 2004 fall semester was "The Separation of Church and State is being inappropriately eroded." The spring semester involves a resolution that calls for a particular policy. This semester's resolution involves reforming secondary school education.
Despite their limited resources, the speech and debate teams compete with the best schools in the nation, including Indiana University, Northwestern University, Ohio State University and Michigan State University, to name a few. The speech team has placed in the top 15 in the National Forensics Association over the last five years. The team's individual awards are so numerous that I could not give them justice in this column. The only team on campus who can compare to the speech team's success is the debate team.
The debate team has had consistent success for the past 14 years, since Mike Bauer took over the team. Two years ago, the debate team won the NEDA two-team varsity national championship. While last year, one of the team members won the NEDA one person, Lincoln-Douglas national championship.
The participants and coaches on these two teams understand that they will always play second fiddle to more popular athletic teams. All they would like is some recognition for their hard work and accomplishments. So if you are an administrator, faculty or staff member or student who has contact with someone on the speech and/or debate team, let them know that they are appreciated. If you do not know anyone on these teams, I suggest you try to meet them. Speech and debate team members are among the brightest individuals on campus.
Write to Donny at djpeters@bsu.edu
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
