C&IS holds high school debate tournament

The University's forensics team sat in the front row of the Reese Phifer Hall auditorium Friday, while the rest of the hall was packed with members of the 19 different high school teams from three states competing in the College of Communication and Information Sciences' Hall of Fame Forensics Tournament.

Chatter between friends and foes alike ended as soon as Frank Thompson, the director of the forensics program at the University for over 20 years, took the stage.

He spoke briefly about the next two days' events, which would conclude in an award ceremony at 6 the following evening.

Students listened to the man who had won 16 national championships and transformed Alabama into a perennial competitor for another.

"It's a very good one, and it's a nationally recognized program," said Katie Bell, a senior from Montgomery Academy who attended the event.

After the introductory ceremony ended, Thompson waited in an adjacent room to speak to high school students interested in earning one of the 30 scholarship spots on the team.

This event is used to look at potential new members for the team, which can help pay for the schooling of its members, Thompson said.

"We use this as a good recruiting tool for team members who are looking to come here to UA," said Thompson.

Jeremy Douberly, a freshman majoring in communication studies and a team member, said he was discovered through events such as this.

"I did this event while in high school, I was recruited through this tournament," Douberly said, "This is one of our biggest recruiting events of the year. We also have an open call for people at the University later on."

Some team members, such as Carly Jayne Rullman, a junior majoring in public relations, have been recruited through means other than the tournament.

"I did the Communications 123 speak off and won," she said. "I don't know how, but that's how I got involved."

Following the scholarship information session, there was a small break to give the judges, who were members of the team, time to get to their respective rooms.

Events were held in Reese Phifer, B.B. Comer, Bidgood and Morgan halls. As the time approached for the tournament to begin, students waited nervously in the hallways outside the rooms where they would compete. Some made small talk with fellow competitors and others looked frantically over their notes. Once their number was called, they walked into the room with an anxious confidence.

Throughout the four halls, students competed in a mix of events including the Lincoln-Douglas debate, impromptu speaking, after dinner speaking, original oratory, prose interpretation, poetry, dramatic speaking, humorous speaking and dramatic duo.

The events vary in the way they are prepared and presented. Impromptu speaking begins with a student viewing a quote and then preparing a short speech about their particular stance on the quote.

Being able to think on their feet is just one of the skills students needed to win impromptu speaking.

"Impromptu is a fun one," said Cara Vice, a sophomore majoring in communication studies and a team member. "There are so many things that play into this specific event."

Vice also said criteria for judging might not be solely the content of the speech but also how it's delivered.

"With impromptu you don't necessarily have to agree with their stance, it's how they argue it," Vice said.

On the polar opposite of impromptu is after dinner speaking, where competitors make up their own humorous speech to woo the judges.

Speeches given in this event are well prepared and rehearsed, appearing to be more acting than oratory.

Just like the variations in events, the variation in competitors is vast. Some take the tournament as seriously as possible, and others are just out to have a good time, said Hilary Brown, a high school senior from Vestavia Hills.

"A lot of that depends on the school and the person," she said. "It also depends on the different types of debate. Policy is a whole lot more serious than individual events."