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Students shine in forensics
Brian Billings triumphed in the competition Parliamentary Debate in the Minnesota Collegiate Forensics Association State Championship Tournament held this past weekend here at SCSU.
Billings also placed sixth in the Oratory event.
Although did not place, Marian Meyer did contend in the POI and Oratory events, and helped SCSU attain third in the Limited Sweepstakes challenge � a challenge designed for schools entered in ten or less events.
Schools competing in the tournament included Bethany Lutheran College; Bethel College; Carleton College; Concordia College; Gustavus Adolphus College; Minnesota State University, Mankato; Minnesota State University, Moorhead; SCSU; Southwest State University; University of Minnesota-Morris and Winona State University.
As a grueling, sparring event, Parliamentary Debate is not as popular as some of the other speech events such as After Dinner and Informative Speaking.
With Billings as the only participant from SCSU in Parliamentary Debate, it's fortunate that he was able to pair up with Jenkins.
During the second of four challenges, Billings and Jenkins were the opposition arguing against the resolution: This house would uncover the truth.
As the hybrid team, Billings and Jenkins, and another college team, left the room to prepare for the debate.
Freelance judge Gabriel Ertsgaard said, "Parliamentary Debate is an exercise in individual communication skills. First you define what you're arguing, make a point, and allow for rebuttal in a limited amount of time."
After the government team defined "this house" as U.S. Congress, and "the truth" as private meetings that members of the executive branch have with private industry, they argued for a bill to do away with the secrecy, ensure these meetings be made public, and use the meetings between Vice President Dick Cheney and the Enron corporation as its example.
Billings counter argued that Congress is limited in its power, and can't advise the executive branch how to act. Billings said that congress overreached their power when Andrew Jackson was president and the Supreme Court found Congress' actions unconstitutional.
Billings was also confident in his Informative Speech. He spoke on the destruction of Sacred Sites.
Billings gave guidelines for visiting Sacred Sites, and concluded that if these sites are destroyed, this society will lose touch with diversity that this country was founded on.
Meyer's Informative Speech was most intriguing. On the benefits of music, Meyer first explained how Neanderthals used a thigh bone as a flute. She said every cell in the body has a small ear, and playing soothing music decreases the heart and respiration rate, lowers stress, increases hormone levels, and helps the immune system.
"Music is successfully being used in medical procedures such as surgery and child birth," said Meyer.
Most recently, music has been used to break apart kidney stones. Meyer said the sound waves are similarly sent when opera singers are able to break crystal with the singing voice.
Meyer said giving a good speech takes "a lot of time � first you have to do the research, then organize it into a logical sequence and then memorize it."
Meyer's coach, Professor Michael Kirch, agrees that giving these speeches is process oriented. "You practice and refine your skills, and work with the coach one-on-one."
Meyer also gave a lovely speech on the prestige of being a woman. Called POI � this speech uses multiple genres. Interspersed in the works of literature that framed these creatures as eminent, Meyer chose Maya Angelou and her poem, Phenomenal Woman.
Besides one-on-one with Meyer and Billings, Coach Kirch trains eight other students who are on the Forensics team. He said four areas of careers that could benefit from being in the Forensic club are teaching, training, theatre, and law.
Start practicing your performance for next year's state tournament � Feb. 14, 2003 at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Tom Meyer can be reached at: [email protected]
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