OU Forensics Students to Compete in Nationals
by Katie Schlegel
FOR THE POST
Twenty-five OU students will head for Western Illinois University in April for a four-day national speech and debate tournament.
The students will compete April 18-22.
They have qualified for 52 events in 12 categories, including After-Dinner and Impromptu speaking, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Debate.
The students, said Director of Forensics Roger Aden, will compete against students from 90 to 100 colleges and universities from across the country, with a total of about 500 students.
This year's trip will be interesting for the team because there will be an unusually high number of OU participants, Aden said. The number has risen because of an increase in funding two years ago from the University Planning and Activity Council.
The students participating in forensics at OU have worked all year to qualify for the national competition. Speech writing started in September, even over summer break for some students, and the first unveiling of the speeches was in October.
The students attended a number of invitational tournaments at colleges and universities during Fall and Winter quarters. They were required to reach the final competition at any one of these invitational tournaments to be able to attend the national competition.
Sean McLaughlin, a senior journalism major, will compete in six categories in the tournament. Of the categories, which include Persuasive Speaking, Poetry, and Prose Interpretation, he said Poetry Interpretation is his favorite because he is able to provoke reactions from people.
McLaughlin has participated in forensics for two years, and said it's not just a resume-booster.
"The people you meet and the rewards - they're really worth it. Provoking reactions from people and the judges is really great," he said.
Aden said the OU students should be successful in their trip.
"I'm pretty optimistic. We have been historically among the top ten teams ... and I'm optimistic it'll happen again."