2020 September/October Rostrum

A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

VOLUME 95 ISSUE 1 SE P T. /O C T. 2020

Speech and debate taught me courage, generosity, and an understanding that diversity makes us strong. Our voices are what connect us, and this activity allows me to spread that message.

JAYLON MUCHISON 2020 NSDA National Student of the Year Belleville West High School, IL

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Letter from the Publisher

Board of Directors

At the beginning of every season, I find myself thinking about all the novices heading off to their first tournaments. I remember the looks on my students’ faces as they raced off to round one, racked with nerves and unsure what to expect but ready to try. This year, I think we all feel a little bit like novices. Veteran coach Mellessa Denny sums it up perfectly in the coach profile in this issue when she says, “You’ve been doing something for so long that you’ve pretty much mastered it, and now you’re trying something completely new and you’re scared you’re doing it all wrong, because you don’t know what’s right.”

If you’re feeling that way, you are not alone. We’re all charting a new course and trying to adapt. But necessity is the mother of invention, and I believe we as a community are figuring out not just how to survive, but to thrive and expand in this time.

Every novice needs a coach to give them tools. So in this issue, we’re sharing what we’ve learned about online competition with you, including a first look at our online tournament guide, tips for setting up asynchronous judging in Tabroom.com, and an overview of our low cost tournament hosting solution, NSDA Campus. Learn from our experience (and our mistakes!) as you make your own plans for the year ahead. Plus, you can hear advice from the community, including Mellessa, online national champion Jaylon Muchison, and the new USA Debate team.

While it’s challenging to plan in the current environment, we know there are some things we will always deliver. Competitive resources. Honor Society recognition. Support for programs. A National Tournament. And most importantly, an equitable experience for all. We’re currently planning our commitments for the year ahead, and are pleased to share an equity update with you on page 13.

I hope you’ll also check out the first installment in a three-part series on promoting opportunities for persons with disabilities in the speech and debate community and ideas for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in this issue.

As we all head off into our first experiences this year, let’s remember why we’re navigating this new normal. As Jaylon says in the student spotlight in this issue, “Speech and debate can give people like me the tools to be able to talk about discrepancies in the world and things that matter to us.”

Whether we’re online or in a classroom, providing access to speech and debate can change lives.

ELECTED MEMBERS Pam Cady Wycoff President Minnesota Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr. Vice President California Byron R. Arthur Louisiana David Huston Texas Adam J. Jacobi Wisconsin Jennifer M. Jerome Nebraska Renee C. Motter Colorado James W. Rye III Alabama

Wishing you the best of luck in the year ahead!

APPOINTED MEMBERS J. Scott Wunn Executive Director

Rostrum

Alan H. Coverstone Washington, D.C A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

401 Railroad Place, West Des Moines, IA 50265-4730 | Phone (920) 748-6206 J. Scott Wunn, Publisher Amy Seidelman, Editor Vicki Pape, Managing Editor Emily Bratton, Graphic Design Assistant

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Rostrum (ISSN 1073-5526), Copyright © 2020 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.

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Dr. Mike Edmonds Colorado Thomas M. Rollins Virginia Robert W. Runcie Administrative Representative Florida

To learn more about the Board, visit www.speechanddebate.org/ meet-the-team. You may also contact the Board by emailing board@speechanddebate.org.

The American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest

LOOKING FOR COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS?  LOOK NO FURTHER. The first place finisher of The American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest is awarded a $25,000 scholarship, second place $22,500, and third place $20,000.

As part of the National Speech & Debate Association’s ongoing alliance with The American Legion, those top three finishers may also earn the right to compete in Original Oratory or United States Extemporaneous Speaking at the National Speech & Debate Tournament!



Want to get involved? Follow these simple steps!

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

• Click on “State Contests” to contact The American Legion Department Headquarters located in your state to learn when the first contest in your area 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.

Patrick Junker of Iowa placed first at the 2019 American Legion National Oratorical Contest

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

In this Issue : VOLUME 95 : ISSUE 1 : SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

From the Cover

Inside

24

Introducing NSDA Campus

2

38

Student Spotlight: Jaylon Muchison

Letter from the Publisher

6

2020-2021 Topics

15

News + Notes

Governance and Leadership 8

From Your Board President

16

Membership Minute

9

Board of Directors Minutes

17

Tabroom.com Tip

22

Resource Roundup

48

Advocacy Letter

Community 13

Equity Update

18

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

20

Giving People who Experience Disability a Place at the Speech and Debate Table

by Jan Pizzo and Victoria Freeman

33

Climbing the Ranks: Trinity Debate Team Breaks Top Sixteen in Nation by Brooke Yung

34

USA Debate: Making the Transition to Debating Online

by Liana Schmitter-Emerson

42

Words from the Hall: Mollie Martin Broussard

Recognition 30

Coach Profile: Mellessa Denny by Elena Cecil

40

District in Detail: Northwest Indiana

44

Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award

46

Thank You to Our Individual Supporters

by Bethany Bohall

View this issue online! www.speechanddebate.org/rostrum

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/ speechanddebate Share with us on Instagram @speechanddebate Follow us on Twitter @speechanddebate Follow us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/company/nationalspeech-and-debate-association

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

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

2020–2021

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 Public Forum Topic Release Dates The PF Wording Committee has created a topic area with two resolutions for each topic cycle. There are no longer starter resolutions; all topics that were released as of June 22 are final. One week prior to the topic being released for that topic cycle, chapter advisors and member students will vote on which of the two topics they prefer. The topic that receives the most votes will be the topic for that cycle. This change was made to increase transparency about the topic process and introduce new possibilities for coaches who teach debate in the classroom.

October 1 December 1 January 1 February 1 March 1 May 1 June 19 June 19 Aug. 1 - Aug. 7 August 8

November/December PF Topic Announced January PF Topic Announced February PF Topic Announced March PF Topic Announced April PF Topic Announced National Tournament PF Topic Announced List of Potential PF Topic Areas Announced for 2021-2022 2021 September/October PF Ballot Announced Voting for the 2021 September/October PF Topic Occurs 2021 September/October PF Topic Announced

Lincoln-Douglas Topic Release Dates The LD Wording Committee has assigned a set of three topics to each bi-monthly topic cycle. All potential topics for the year were released on June 22. One week prior to the topic being released for that topic cycle, chapter advisors and member students will vote on which of the three topics they prefer. The topic that receives the most votes will be the topic for that cycle. This change was made to involve more people in the voting process and introduce new possibilities for coaches who teach debate in the classroom.

October 1 December 1 February 1 May 1 June 19 Aug. 1 - Aug. 7 August 8

November/December LD Topic Announced January/February LD Topic Announced March/April LD Topic Announced National Tournament LD Topic Announced List of Potential LD Topics Announced for 2021-2022 Voting for the 2021 September/October LD Topic Occurs 2021 September/October LD Topic Announced

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Public Forum Debate Resolved: The United States federal government should enact the Medicare-For-All Act of 2019.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Lincoln-Douglas Debate Resolved: In a democracy, voting 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.

2020–2021

Policy Debate Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing.

2021–2022 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.

• •

6

Topic meeting to be held in late December 2020.

Watch our website for additional updates in 2021!

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

2020–2021

Big Questions Debate Resolved: Mathematics was discovered, not invented.

J O I N T H E D E BAT E

National Speech & Debate Association

OPEN MINDS .

EARN FUNDS .

2020-2021 DEBATE TOPIC

Students across the country are engaging in

R ESO LVED:

thought-provoking dialogue through the NSDA’s

Mathematics was discovered, not invented.

designed to enhance students’ current debate

Big Questions debate series. Big Questions is experiences, opening their minds and encouraging them to engage in life discussion that may not align with their previously held beliefs.

You can earn up to $2,500 for your team by hosting an event at a tournament or against members of your own team! Online events are eligible. Almost $1.5 million has been awarded to programs since 2016.

Funding is limited, so apply today!

Big Questions is presented by the NSDA through a generous grant provided by the John Templeton Foundation.

APPLY TODAY

OR ACCESS RESOURCES: NSDABigQuestions.org

GOVERNANCE

From Your Board President This past school year has been unlike any I have experienced. I would venture to say that you feel the same. I thought I was informed and aware of the pending pandemic, but it didn’t seem real until the day “busines as usual,” stopped.

For me, reality hit on March 12, 2020.

I was at school for practice. We were going to attend our District Speech Qualifier the next day, and we received news from our superintendent that school district travel to tournaments was suspended because of COVID-19.

Minutes later, I received a call from NSDA Executive Director Scott Wunn to discuss the health and safety concerns for our students, coaches, and judges across the nation attending 14 district qualifying tournaments that weekend.

Within the hour, Scott informed the Board that he was suspending all inperson qualifiers across the county.

It was definitely “a reality check.”

From that moment, as a speech and debate community of students, coaches, educators, district leaders, and Board members, we entered uncharted waters. On March 30, after exploring options and weighing divergent views, the Board voted to hold the 2020 online National Tournament, Senior Open, and Middle School Speech Challenge.

That decision was a defining moment for our organization. It demonstrated the Board’s commitment to support our mission, and to do so in a way that had never been conceived before.

In turn, it set into motion a ripple effect of Herculean efforts by our entire community to keep our students engaged in speech and debate via an online platform. So, it is important

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that we take this moment to recognize and celebrate what our community accomplished in the face of adversity.

Authors Linda Kaplan and Robin Koval, in their book, Grit to Great, identify grit as the key to overcoming adversity. It is fueled by a deep passion to achieve a goal, the willingness to persevere despite the setbacks, and the ability to come up with creative and/ or courageous solutions to difficult problems. Without a doubt, the actions of our community this past school year were an incredible demonstration of grit.

Our district leaders showed their grit from the moment they gathered online to learn the news of a 2020 online National Tournament by diligently creating new systems for students to qualify for Nationals. Our Executive Director and staff carefully conceptualized and executed an entirely new online tournament format, while also devising new ways to insure a great tournament experience. Throughout the week we witnessed joy on the faces of students and coaches as we celebrated their accomplishments.

Our newly formed National Tournament Equity Committee conscientiously reviewed our rules and procedures to address equity issues related to an online tournament format. This included developing competition guidelines, requiring cultural competency training for all judges, and the revising of ballots to include a statement regarding implicit bias. Funds were also raised to provide grants for resources needed to compete online.

Last, and certainly not least, our coaches and students deserve to be

celebrated. They adapted to an entirely new way to practice and perform.

Yet, despite these challenges, our students demonstrated resilience and excellence. The pandemic did not prevent them from sharing their voices. Most importantly, those attributes and skills will serve them long after the tournaments end. All of these collective efforts resulted in the 2020 online Nationals having the largest field of competitors ever!

However, that does not mean that the challenges have ended. They are still very present in 2020-2021.

The new school year is filled with uncertainty, continual adaptation, and risks. Whether you are a new teacher and coach or a veteran professional, everything has changed.

Materials traditionally utilized have to be adapted. Online platforms and hybrid classrooms have changed the dynamics of classroom interaction and management. Coaching, team meetings, practices, and tournaments will largely be conducted online for an undetermined length of time.

Economically, livelihoods are at stake and budgets are tight. All of this is further amplified by the threat of health and safety for yourself, your students, and your families.

We, as a Board, along with the Executive Director and staff, are committed to doing our very best to help and support you and your students. We are in this together, and with grit and grace, we will continue to fulfill our mission to connect, support and inspire a diverse community committed to empowering students through speech and debate! Our students are depending on us.

To be continued.. .

Pam Cady Wycoff NSDA Board President pam.wycoff@speechanddebate.org

GOVERNANCE

Leadership Board of Directors Spring Minutes

T

he NSDA Board of Directors held its virtual Spring meeting March 15-16, 2020. In attendance were President Pam Cady Wycoff, Vice President Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr., Byron Arthur, Dr. Mike Edmonds, David Huston, Adam Jacobi, Jennifer Jerome, Renee Motter, Tom Rollins, and Timothy Sheaff.

President Wycoff called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.m.

MISSION MOMENT To set the tone for the meeting, the Board viewed a “mission moment” video prepared by staff. It consisted of testimonials from student members, past and present, reflecting on their experience in the activity and the positive impact the NSDA has had on their lives, especially during the pandemic. The Board then discussed their greatest takeaways from the messages as they related to the organization’s core mission, vision, and values.

STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS Each Board standing committee provided written end of the year updates. The Board had the opportunity to address questions regarding each committee’s progress on their goals.

GOVERNANCE Moved by Edmonds, seconded by Lindsey: “Approve the Committee Restructuring Protocols as recommended by the Governance Committee.”

Passed: 7-1-1 Aye: Wycoff, Lindsey, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter No: Rollins Abstain: Sheaff

May 15-16, 2020

This topic was presented as part of the Committee Best Practices Proposal presented at the March Board meeting. The Governance Committee was tasked with researching this topic for consideration. Non-profit organization best practices suggest moving from the traditional standing committee structure of Governance, Finance, and Development to Governance, Internal Affairs, and External Affairs to more specifically describe the broad scope of these committees. Note: The Executive Committee and Rules Revision and Evaluation Committee will continue as separate committees.

Moved by Lindsey, seconded by Edmonds: “Approve the Board communication protocols as recommended by the Governance Committee.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) In conjunction with the 2018-2020 Board Priorities, the Governance Committee developed a series of protocols for Board communications. In the past, this has been referred to as the “spokesperson” role. The Governance Committee’s research centered on that area as well as the broader topic of Board communication protocols. These proposed best practices provide general guidance for all Board members and will be utilized for onboarding new Board members. The new communication protocols can be found in the updated NSDA Board of Directors Handbook, which will be available via the NSDA website after the Fall Board meeting. (continued on next page) ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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Calendar Planning

DEVELOPMENT

In order to best facilitate full attendance for general Board and standing committee meetings in 2020-2021, the format, location, timing, length, and dates were discussed to establish a workable framework. In the past, the Board has utilized an electronic calendar centered as closely as possible with quarterly reporting. Major events such as the beginning of the school year, competitive tournaments, and the National Tournament have also been factored into the selections of dates. The schedules of elected and appointed Board members as well as staffing expectations, quarterly reporting, and expectations for membership and organizational deadlines should be considered.

Before establishing a proposed calendar around the status quo, the Board was asked to share suggestions that will help facilitate a level of reasonability and workability for full attendance of all members. The question of an in-person or virtual 2020 Fall Board meeting was also discussed as well as potential location parameters for future Fall/Spring in-person Board meetings.

Moved by Arthur, seconded by Sheaff: “Accept the Quarter 3 Development Report as presented.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff)

Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Rollins: “Adjourn to executive session to discuss and review appointed Board Member recommendations.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff)

Moved by Motter, seconded by Rollins: “Reconvene into general session.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff)

Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Rollins: “Reconvene into general session.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) During executive session, the Board agreed to offer Alan Coverstone appointment to the Board. Alan accepted this appointment. This appointment fills the vacant seat previously held by Monica Silverstein. Alan Coverstone will serve a two-year term beginning August 1, 2020. Alan brings a wealth of experience in private and public school education, fundraising and development, and educational administration. He is currently a Senior Program Officer on the K-12 team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation he most recently served as the Chair of Education at Belmont University where he led the establishment of a teacher residency in partnership with the local Nashville school district. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Officer of Innovation at the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). Alan previously served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA), and also served on the Davidson County school board. Before serving MNPS, Alan was a teacher and debate coach at Montgomery Bell Academy for 14 years, also serving as the Academic Dean of the School.

While at MBA, Alan coached several successful competitors, including the 2005 Policy Debate champion and runner-up teams.

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Executive Director Scott Wunn and Director of Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Nicole Wanzer-Serrano shared highlights and fielded additional questions from the Board concerning the Q3 Development Report and Q4 Development Projections and discussed ongoing development efforts.

Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Rollins: “Adjourn to executive session to review and discuss a special recognition opportunity.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff)

The External Affairs Committee (formerly Development) is charged with initial discussions concerning the naming of specialty awards. Once a recommendation is determined, it is brought to the whole Board for final approval.

STRATEGIC PLANNING REPORT Moved by Arthur, seconded by Motter: “Accept the Quarter 3 Strategic Plan Report as presented.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) Executive Director Scott Wunn and Assistant Executive Director Amy Seidelman shared highlights and fielded additional questions from the Board concerning the Q3 Strategic Plan Report. The Board reviewed the strategies designed to meet our strategic priorities including: 1) Reach More Students; 2) Support More Schools; 3) Earn Loyalty; 4) Drive Inclusive Participation; and 5) Strive for Stability.

The thoughts and recommendations from the Membership Working Group were also incorporated into the ongoing operational plan for 2020-2021.

These areas included school membership and eligibility requirements, prioritization of membership acquisition and retention strategies, and the role that various membership benefits play as well as potential adjustments regarding homeschool and online access.

FINANCE Moved by Rollins, seconded by Lindsey: “Accept the FY2021 preliminary budget as presented.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) To ensure fiscal responsibility, four target areas are addressed: 1) Keep operating expenses below operating revenues to annually contribute to our reserves for protection against unexpected shortfalls.

2) Increased development and alumni giving. 3) Establish an economically sustainable model to maintain and develop Tabroom.com as a membership service.

4) Increase demand for and use of NSDA resources by members and partners. Executive Director Scott Wunn and Director of Business and Finance Laura Stein shared highlights and fielded questions from the Board concerning the Quarter 3 Finance Report, Quarter 4 Finance Projections, and Fiscal Year 2021 preliminary budget’s tie to the strategic plan. The budget goes into effect at the end of the fiscal year (July 31, 2020), but may be adjusted with final approval at the Fall Board meeting.

AD HOC AND WORKING GROUPS The Board and Executive Director established several ad hoc and working groups for the 2019-2020 school year.

These groups have met throughout the course of the year.

Equity Committee Update Motion by Lindsey, seconded by Jacobi: “The Board thanks the friends of the NSDA from the college community along with our membership coaches who joined to address equity challenges and propose solutions for the 2020 online National Tournament.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) This committee was established by the Executive Director in March to focus on equity issues surrounding the 2020 online National Tournament events. The recommendations of the committee were addressed and acted upon as they were presented by the committee.

Constitution and Bylaw Working Group Update The NSDA is in the process of revising these documents to meet current non-profit standards. The group shared a status update and projected timeline for completion.

The plan is to bring forth revised documents for final adoption at the Fall Board meeting.

Centennial Planning Committee Proposal Moved by Jacobi, seconded by Jerome: “Approve the creation of a Centennial Planning Committee as presented by the Executive Director.”

Passed: 10-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Edmonds, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Rollins, Sheaff) Executive Director Scott Wunn presented an initial proposal for consideration. The Board is excited to convene a planning committee to prepare for this yearlong celebration that will culminate with the National Tournament hosted in Des Moines in 2025.

The Board recessed for the evening at 3:15 p.m. on Friday.

The Board reconvened at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.

COMPETITION RULES Copyright Issues The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has been working in partnership with the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA), the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), and other like-minded organizations on an online course to better inform the community on current copyright laws. The Board was updated on this work and will discuss the next steps that will be taken to ensure future compliance within NSDA activities. The topic of copyright has come to the forefront in several educational extracurricular fine arts activities. This plays a pivotal role in the use of literature in oral interpretation events and video taping of performances. The Board reviewed current copyright laws and expectations in addition to the National Federation’s educational training materials and recommendations. The role of performance permission for copyrighted material was addressed. The goal of these discussions is to come to a consensus on our organization’s approach regarding copyright compliance and performance permission to provide a backdrop for ad hoc committee discussions on oral interpretation issues. Per the Board’s request, the Executive Director will seek further clarification and recommendation from legal counsel prior to the Fall Board meeting.

Future Digital Platform Programming and Opportunities Executive Director Scott Wunn and Director of Technology Aaron Hardy provided a brief overview of the short-term vision for the NSDA’s presence in the digital education space, including an early

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

11

conceptualization of NSDA Campus. The Director of Technology gave a presentation on some initial thoughts, ideas, and concepts on how this might be practically applied and executed by the NSDA during the 2020-2021 school year and beyond. The Board was given a chance to ask questions and share their thoughts on the concepts and vision shared. The Board was supportive of pursuing this project. Next steps regarding the need for and use of digital platforms within the speech and debate educational space were considered by the Board.

MEMBERSHIP CORRESPONDENCE In accordance with the Board’s goal of increased membership engagement, letters submitted to the Board were included in meeting materials to inform the Board of ideas, requests, and concerns that have been submitted for consideration.

2020 ONLINE NATIONAL TOURNAMENT UPDATE The Executive Director updated the Board on various logistical aspects of the online tournament.

Content addressed included an overview of current entry numbers, implementation of equity protocols, tournament schedules and competition procedures, and Board member tournament responsibilities including adjudication panel, ombudsperson, and auditing protocols and procedures.

Appointed Board members left the meeting.

to learn and demonstrate in each event. Their work will serve as foundational support for the development of judge training, curriculum development, and educational advocacy.

Moved by Huston, seconded by Jacobi: “Establish a judge training program rooted in equity and pedagogical standards for full completion within two years.”

Passed: 8-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Sheaff) The Board will use the standards developed by the Pedagogy Ad Hoc Committee to develop judge training for each event over the next two years. The Executive Director has also established a working group to ensure that the development of judge training and any future accreditation systems are rooted in equity and uphold all of the organization’s core values.

Manual Revision Working Group Report This working group has offered feedback regarding initial potential revisions. Executive Director Scott Wunn shared a status update and projected timeline for completion. Once this phase is completed, the process will continue with the Middle School Unified Manual.

Public Forum Debate Pilot Rules Moved by Huston, seconded by Motter: “Implement the Public Forum rules as piloted in 2019-2020.”

Passed: 8-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Sheaff) The Board has agreed to fully implement the Public Forum rules changes that were piloted in 2019-2020.

RULES REVISION AND EVALUATION Oral Interpretation Committee Report The Oral Interpretation Ad Hoc Committee met several times throughout the year. Their work will be extended into 2020-2021 in order to finalize recommendations for consideration. Board liaison Jennifer Jerome shared a status update and projected timeline for completion.

Pedagogy Committee Report Board liaisons Renee Motter and Adam Jacobi provided a recap of the committee’s work. This committee has completed their charge to determine the pedagogy of debate, public speaking, and oral interpretation. They formalized the core skills that students have the potential

BOARD MEMBER RECOGNITION Timothy Sheaff was recognized for his 12 years of service on the Board from 2006-2014 and 2016-2020.

Moved by Sheaff, seconded by Huston: “Adjourn.”

Passed: 8-0 (Wycoff, Lindsey, Arthur, Huston, Jacobi, Jerome, Motter, Sheaff) The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

QUESTIONS? CONCERNS? IDEAS? We want to hear from you! Send your feedback to board@speechanddebate.org.

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

COMMUNITY

Equity Update

S

peech and debate is a powerful activity because it gives young people a platform to speak their truths. Our activity teaches young people to use the power of their voice to ask for change to improve their local and global communities.

As the organization prides itself on providing a platform for young people, we take seriously the issue that some people do not feel safe, do not feel safe to speak out, and do not feel that our community has their back.

Sexual violence has no place in speech and debate communities or in our society. We each can do our part to make this community safer and more equitable by engaging in education, holding each other accountable, and keeping the safety of our participants at the forefront.

After receiving feedback from our 2020 National Tournament coaches’ caucuses, from alumni, and from some of our members, we will start this school year with the following two committees in consultation and/or partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations, the Women’s Debate Institute, and the Association of Black Argumentation Professionals.

1

New Judge Accreditation Process Committee

In order to ensure that speech and debate tournaments are a safer and more equitable environment, judges ought to be culturally competent and inclusive educators. Judges must ensure they facilitate a positive learning environment for students and provide culturally competent and inclusive performance feedback and decisions. Nearly every member of the speech and debate community participates as a judge at some point, whether it’s experienced students judging novices, coaches judging at tournaments, or schools hiring community members as judges. We believe a comprehensive judge course with credit for completion is the best way to build lasting change in the attitudes and actions of our community members. The new training will build on our recent Cultural Competency course, the free “Adjudicating Speech and Debate” course, and continue to develop in partnership with the NFHS. Immediately, it will also include the NFHS course, “Protecting Students from Abuse.”

This group will conceptualize a judge accreditation that will meet local and national judge training needs and will equip local tournament directors with actionable steps to create a safer and more equitable speech and debate community.

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Implementing Equity Officers Committee

The addition of equity officers to the National Tournament in 2018 is a step that we are very proud of and we believe can be modeled at tournaments around the country. In 2018, we also recommended that every speech and debate tournament have a harassment and discrimination policy. Please check if your school or school district has a harassment and discrimination policy that applies to your tournament. They may also have guidelines or resources for selecting equity officers to serve at your tournament. Equity officers provide accountability measures to these statements. They also provide a safer place to report violations of these statements at local tournaments. We will be developing more resources on implementing an effective equity office for your tournament to deal with violations of your harassment and discrimination policy, and to facilitate a safer and more equitable speech and debate environment.

In addition to the work from the above committees, we are committed to reviewing the student Code of Honor and Coaches Code of Ethics. We continue to reflect upon other recommendations we have received from the NSDA coaches’ caucuses and other members and hope to take further steps to make the speech and debate community a safer and more equitable space.

THE NSDA ENCOURAGES COACHES TO: Read and discuss your own harassment and discrimation policy with your team members, or inquire about your existing policy with your district.

Talk with your school administrators about mandatory reporting, background checks, best practices on hiring new people, and support for students.

Access our Safe Tournament Resources, including an Inclusive Tournament Checklist which explicitly encourages each tournament to have a Harassment and Discrimination Policy and consider a tournament Equity Office.

Ask any judges working for your school to complete our free Cultural Competency training.

Contact us! If you have thoughts or resources you would like to share, we’d love to hear them.

Please email them to Nicole Wanzer-Serrano, Director of Development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, at nicole@ speechanddebate.org.

Visit www.speechanddebate.org/inclusion to find the above mentioned resources, plus more for your team!

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NATIONAL SPEECH & DEBATE ASSOCIATION

EQUITY STATEMENT

The National Speech & Debate Association is committed to modeling and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for all speech and debate communities.

We are continuously transforming our organization to reflect and operationalize the values of equity, integrity, respect, leadership, and service.

We will take responsibility.

We will heed, learn, and evolve.

We will work conscientiously to model and foster an inclusive and equitable speech and debate experience for all.

LEARN MORE AT

www.speechanddebate.org

www.speechanddebate.org /mission

COMMUNITY

NEWS + NOTES Take the Free Course!

Build Your Team with Recruitment Tools Don’t miss a few of our favorite tools to help recruit new members for your team this season!

Online Recruitment Guide » Pick up 15 strategies for recruiting students for schools that are primarily online this fall by visiting www.speechanddebate.org/onlineteam-recruitment-strategies.

As you begin the season, we encourage you to enroll in our new course, Engaging and Mentoring Black/African American Students. As authors SunHee Simon and Colten White write, it is not enough to say anyone can join your team. It’s also about actively recruiting and making space for Black students.

There’s something for everyone! The course features distinct strategies for engaging and mentoring Black students as a Black coach and as a non-Black coach.

Members can enroll today for free and take the course at their leisure by visiting www.speechanddebate.org/ courses/engaging-and-mentoring-black-students.

Updated Script Database Resource Package subscribers can use our Script Database to explore scripts used at the National Tournament in HI, DI, or Duo dating back to 1985. Filter by title, author, frequency of performances, or scripts used by finalists. To get started, log in to www.speechanddebate.org/script-database.

A basic list of middle school and high school scripts used at the 2020 Nationals is available to all. To access visit www.speechanddebate.org/resources and type “script list” into the Filter resources: search bar on the left.

Event Guide » Help students learn more about different events with our competition events guide, available at www.speechanddebate.org/competition-events.

Advocacy Tools » Access videos, social media graphics, and more tools to promote an existing program or advocate for a new one at www.speechanddebate.org/ advocacy.

Advocacy Webinar Recording In this webinar, Membership Manager Annie Reisener shares how to use NDSA resources to advocate for speech and debate programs.

Access the 30-minute recording online at www.speechanddebate.org/nsda-advocacywebinar. You can also download the PowerPoint presentation used.

Online Fundraising Ideas How are you fundraising for your team online this year? Chime in using our online forum and gather a few ideas from other coaches!

Join the conversation at www.speechanddebate.org/ forums/topic/online-fundraising-ideas.

The NSDA submits an annual postage report for Rostrum as required by the United States Postal Service.

To review this report online, visit www.speechanddebate.org/2020-postage report.

Questions? We’re here to help! Email info@speechanddebate.org or call (920) 748-6206.

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15

MEMBERSHIP MINUTE

Reward Leadership and Success in Your District We invite all District Committees to name winners for these five awards!

E

ach NSDA district has the opportunity to name five local award winners and enter them into the running for national recognition. The local nomination process is overseen by the District Committee. We encourage all districts to name winners for all five awards! They reward leadership and success in your district, are easy for school administrators to understand and celebrate, and can generate press for recipient schools. Plus, the awards are provided by the NSDA as part of your district tournament supplies free of charge!

District High School Coach of the Year Award » This award honors high school

Award Process

District New Coach of the Year Award »

Collecting Nominations » Standard nomination forms are available on the NSDA website, and we strongly encourage districts to use our format to provide consistency at the national level. We receive a copy when each nomination is submitted and so does the district chair!

Selecting and Reporting Your Winners » When a district chair submits the district dates reporting form, they also let us know which awards their district will give out this year. Districts can select their winners any way they like. Each district winner is automatically entered into the running for the national-level award when the district chair sends their information to us via a standard online reporting form. Districts can name winners at any time throughout the year, but the reporting deadline for national consideration is April 16.

National Awards » The national recipient of each award is selected from the pool of district winners and named in June. Winners receive national recognition, are celebrated at the National Tournament, and are featured on our website throughout the year!

If your district does not currently offer one or more of these awards, please encourage your District Committee to add them this year or to appoint a member coach as the district’s award coordinator!

Award Options

coaches who reflect outstanding leadership and commitment to speech and debate activities.

This award recognizes an exemplary new high school coach who is in their first year of NSDA membership. If you’re not sure when a coach membership was paid, please reach out to us!

District Assistant Coach of the Year » This award recognizes an exemplary assistant high school coach serving at an NSDA member school.

District High School Administrator of the Year » This award honors an administrator who has succeeded in providing high-quality opportunities for students in speech and debate programming, as well as demonstrating exemplary contributions to the profession.

District Student of the Year Award » This award honors a graduating senior who best represents the tenets of the Association’s Code of Honor: integrity, respect, humility, leadership, and service.

To access our online nomination forms, visit www.speechanddebate.org/honor-society/#recognition.

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COMPETITION

TABROOM.COM TIP: Asynchronous Speech Judging

I

f you are considering holding speech events asynchronously at your tournament, consider whether Tabroom.com’s asynchronous features can help automate the judging process! Tabroom.com can support events where students have submitted links to a recording of their performance and judges have a period of time to watch and judge those recordings. If you set up your events this way, a judge can log in to Tabroom.com, see their assignments, and click video icons next to each student’s code to watch their videos in order and complete their ballots. This process was used for the online 2020 Middle School Speech Challenge and preliminary rounds of the 2020 National Tournament supplemental speech events.

Follow these instructions to set up asynchronous judging at your tournament:

In Tabroom.com, go to Entries » Data and click “Import CSV/Excel.” Under “Import Video Links,” select your file, the event, and click “Upload.”

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Next, go to Entries » Events and select the event in which videos were uploaded. Clicking on an entry’s name and selecting “Piece/Quals” will show you a link to the video that was uploaded.

4

Tabroom.com will automatically drop any entries that it does not find a matching name for in your CSV file.

This is helpful to automate the drop process for students who do not submit videos, but we recommend going through the students who were auto-dropped (Entries » Events » select event » Drops) and confirming that they did not submit videos.

5

TIP

If a student’s name has characters like hyphens or apostrophes, the system may struggle to match it to the upload. Make sure you double check that entries were not erroneously dropped due to these characters. Additionally, it is important that students upload their videos under the exact name they are listed under in Tabroom.com in order for the matching process to work. A student submitting a recording under a nickname or shortened name would not match in Tabroom.com. Always check the drops!

In Tabroom.com, go to Settings » Events and select your event. From the Online tab, toggle “Online event” and select the setting “Asynchronous links to online videos.”

This setting will create a space for a link to a video to be added in the entry details of any student entered in an asynchronous event. Use this option if you would like competitors to record their video on an external platform and submit the link to you via Tabroom.com. This is what coaches will see on their entry:

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If you are comfortable with coaches adding links to student videos directly into Tabroom.com, step one is the only step you need to follow! However, if students submit videos to you outside of Tabroom.com (using the Speeches.

Cloud recording site, submitting videos via Google form, etc.), additional steps will need to be taken to get these video links into Tabroom.com. Create a Comma Separated Values or CSV file (it must be in .csv format!) of the entries’ video links for each event offered. For example, you should have a Humorous Interpretation CSV file with one column representing the student’s full name as entered in Tabroom.com and a second column representing a link to the student’s video.

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This is what judges will see after they click “Start Round” next to a ballot.

They will click video icons to watch the recordings.

This is how round assignments will appear on a judge’s Tabroom.com account.

Learn More! To read about Tabroom.com features and support, visit http://docs.tabroom.com.

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17

COMMUNITY

CELEBRATING

NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH DISCUR SO Y DEBAT E ME DIO UNA VOZ CON PROPÓ SITO.

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eptember 15 through

Posters: Download our poster

October 15 is National

series featuring speech and debate coaches and alumni, or make your own featuring members of your team with our free template!

Hispanic Heritage Month.

Inspired by recommendations from the Hispanic/Latinx Coaches’ Caucus and in partnership with

Literature Collection: As

the Sam Donaldson Center for

the school year begins, we know many students are looking for new literature for speech events.

Check out our collection featuring stories impacting Hispanic/Latinx communities and recommended texts for historical context.

Communication Studies, we have created a series of classroom and tournament resources to celebrate.

Diversity and Inclusion We believe educators featuring topics, themes, and issues that impact an assortment of peoples and our society at large can create more informed global citizens and a space where students feel heard, welcomed, and encouraged to learn.

Visit our Diversity and Inclusion page for specific competitive resources to diversify the subject matter at your tournament, classroom, or practice.

www.speechanddebate.org/inclusion

View the collection at www.speechanddebate. org/national-hispanicheritage-month.

I STARTE D THE DEBATE TEAM AT MY HIGH SCHOO L AND IT IS THE SINGLE BEST THING I HAVE EVER T DONE! SPEECH AND DEBATE TAUGH ME HOW TO USE MY VOICE AND INSPIR ED ME TO PURSU E A CAREER IN PUBLIC POLICY.

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WE ARE SPEECH & DEBATE

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 www.speechand debate.org

www.speechanddebate.org

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COMMUNITY

Giving People who Experience Disability a Place at the Speech and Debate Table A Philosophical Perspective on Equity and Inclusion—Part One in a Three-Part Rostrum Series on Promoting Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities in the Speech and Debate Community

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s the National Speech & Debate Association works to integrate their mission of inclusion, the organization endeavors to confront discrimination in all forms and to heed and learn from the experiences of marginalized populations in order to strive to eliminate barriers to participation for individuals who have historically been excluded or underrepresented in our activity.

One such population includes students, coaches, and judges who experience a disability. As a group, such individuals are extremely diverse. While some disabilities are obvious, many others are not. This split in public knowledge causes some individuals to be seen for their disability first, while others are forced to “out” themselves to be perceived as having the right to request accommodation.

A three-tiered process can help members of the speech and debate community learn to take proactive action toward providing for, and hearing, the voices of persons with disabilities.

The first step involves an examination of the

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assumptions and beliefs that lead to both intentional and unintentional discrimination against those who experience disability.

The second phase is to incorporate concrete actions that signify teams, tournaments, state organizations, and the NSDA are committed to welcoming those with disabilities.

Finally, our activity can benefit from engaging with additional resources that promote a deeper understanding of the challenges facing persons with disabilities who want to be a part of the speech and debate community.

In a fully inclusive world, one should not need to ask for accommodation.

The information should be both readily available and accurate. In this world, when someone checks off the ADA accessible room box while registering, the tournament administrator knows that the room is truly accessible and not up a flight of stairs, two blocks off campus, or down a long hallway.

To understand step two, coaches, tournament hosts and other speech and debate leaders

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

must consciously think about access issues as a regular practice. Effective integration starts with understanding step one, the assumptions and beliefs that can often result in discrimination.

The inequity experienced by persons who identify as experiencing a disability is often the result of ableism.

According to the explanation of ableism written by Leah Smith on the website of the Center for Disability Rights: Ableism is a set of beliefs or practices that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual, or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be ‘fixed’ in one form or the other.

Ableism is intertwined in our culture, due to many limiting beliefs about what disability does or does not mean, how able-bodied people learn to treat people with disabilities and how we are often not included at the table for key decisions.

Just like most forms of discrimination, ableism often shows its ugly face from nondisabled people with good intentions. 1

by Victoria Freeman and Jan Pizzo

The article goes on to explain: The best way to de-root ableism in our everyday lives, is to ensure that there’s always a seat at the table for those who are like you and those who are not, but also checking ourselves on how we treat people with disabilities once they are at the table...derooting ableism is often as simple as just treating disabled people like you would anyone else. 2 Ableist thinking leads to a related form of discrimination that results from an unintentional place and that has been less discussed and understood than more obvious forms of bias. This issue is the tendency of many people and groups to refer to disabled people as inspirational. While this observation may seem strange at first consideration, the reality is, people with disabilities want to be people first—flaws and all—nothing more and nothing less.

In the April 15, 2015, article “7 Reasons to Stop Calling Disabled People Inspirational,” published in the magazine Everyday Feminism, author Erin Tatum states, “When an able-bodied person calls a disabled person inspirational, they’re usually applauding

The problem with being called inspirational is that it attempts to make our disability our defining characteristic.” — Erin Tatum

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION Am I comfortable talking to persons with disabilities?

Do I let my students with disabilities advocate for themselves?

Do I direct students with disabilities toward literature about disabilities?

them for existing—and in turn, patting themselves on the back for realizing how difficult disabled life must be.” 3 Tatum further explains, “The problem with being called inspirational is that it attempts to make our disability our defining characteristic.” 4 The inspirational label has further deleterious effects, as the article points out. “...[C]alling a disabled adult inspirational almost always comes off as patronizing... when you tell someone with a disability that they’re inspirational, you’re sending the message that the only thing you’ve gained from meeting them is a cursory perspective on disability.” 5 Finally, the essay discusses the damage referring to individuals with disabilities as inspirational does to the diversity in the community. “Suggesting that all disabled people are inspirational just because we’re disabled robs us of the cultural

and socioeconomic contexts that have created and continue to foster our diversity.” 6 By reflecting on both the conscious and subconscious beliefs informing the common perceptions of people who experience disabilities, the speech and debate community can take positive and meaningful action toward promoting equity and fostering inclusion. Structural change can be superficial without a deeper understanding of the root issues underlying discrimination.

In the second part of our three-part Rostrum series, the authors will provide tools and checklists for teams and tournaments to facilitate the practical aspects of inclusion. Our hope is this information will be a guide that will generate other ideas and strategies to be shared within the NSDA community.

End Notes Smith, Leah. “#Ableism.” The Center For Disability Rights. http://cdrnys.org/blog/uncategorized/ableism/ 2 Ibid.

3 Tatum, Erin. (2015, April 15). “7 Reasons to Stop Calling Disabled People Inspirational.” Everyday Feminism. https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/04/stop-callingdisabled-people-inspirational/ 4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

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How do I feel about students without disabilities performing material about disability?

Am I afraid of taking a student with a disability to a tournament, especially out of town?

Do I actively reach out to persons with disabilities to be a part of my team, my coaching, and my judging pool?

Do I discuss inclusion with my team?

If I have team members who experience disability on my team, do they feel comfortable and a part of the group?

Do I actively address any bullying or inappropriate behavior directed at individuals who experience disabilities?

Do I use these situations as educational opportunities for all students/team members?

Do I understand the legal protections afforded students with disabilities within the education system?

Am I prepared to help a student/team member who experiences discrimination find their voice and advocate for themselves instead of taking the responsibility for redress away from them?

Do I have personal beliefs about disabilities that impact how I treat people?

Do I believe that persons who experience disability want to be “cured?”

Victoria Freeman, coach at Lincoln High School in Nebraska, and Jan Pizzo, consulting coach at Summit High School in Oregon, led the NSDA’s Persons with Disabilities Coaches’ Caucus this past June. Jan also served as an equity officer for the National Tournament.

LEARN MORE DOWNLOAD OUR ACCESSIBLE TOURNAMENT CHECKLIST!

www.speechanddebate.org/ inclusion ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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RESOURCE ROUNDUP

Online Tournament Guide: Lessons Learned from the 2020 Online National Tournament compiled by Lauren Burdt

Guide Highlights • Choosing your platform

W

e’ve created an Online Tournament Guide to share our lessons learned from the 2020 online National Tournament so you can build on our experience as you develop your own plans.

Here are some highlights from our section on scheduling!

• Offering and staffing an equity office • Guide to livestreaming your finals or awards • Overview of tab staff duties and trainings • Policies for dealing with judge tech issues • Considerations for certificates or awards • Instructions for setting up asynchronous judging in Tabroom.com • Advice for protecting participant security

Get the complete 50-page guide at www.speechanddebate.org/online-tournaments

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Consider a

Round Zero

Having a round zero on the first day of main event debate and main event speech was the greatest decision we made in regards to scheduling at the National Tournament!

Round zero was a required practice round for all competitors and judges who were participating in the first day of competition. It was a full-length round including check in time, tech testing, all speeches, and submission of ballots. This allowed us to troubleshoot major issues and talk attendees

through any questions they had so that round one started and finished on time.

Number of

Rounds Per Day

Online competition is more draining than inperson competition. On most days, we planned to do no more than four rounds, with PF and LD being double-flighted.

The general schedule (in Central Time) was 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.

Three hours between rounds can feel like a lot, but remember that some

You are not alone. We’re all charting a new course and trying to adapt. But necessity is the mother of invention, and I believe we as a community are figuring out not just how to survive, but to thrive and expand speech and debate in this time.”

— J. Scott Wunn, NSDA Executive Director

rounds were doubleflighted, attendees need meals and time away from their computers, and there is a check in time/coin flip time prior to each round.

With double-flighted rounds including students in each U.S. time zone, it would not have been possible to accelerate this schedule while respecting attendees’ time. Singleflighting rounds is a way to accelerate the schedule if possible given other trade-offs, but it is best to set aside time for meals and breaks and consider if it is reasonable to ask students and judges to do five or more rounds in a day!

Check In Time Our schedule included a comprehensive schedule of all round start times as well as event-specific

schedules. Each eventspecific schedule listed a time that judges and competitors must be in the room for check in, the coin flip time if applicable, and a round start time where students should begin speaking. If a judge was not assigned to a particular round, they were required to report to the judge pooling room by round check in time in case they were needed as a substitute.

The round check in time was 30 minutes prior to the start time of each round. This 30-minute period was used to ensure that every participant was using the correct naming convention of Role Code - Name - pronouns (optional), to test each participant’s audio/video technology, and to start an email chain if needed.

Thirty minutes was not typically needed to accomplish these tasks, although there were a few sections each round that did take the full time to troubleshoot tech issues or track down their partner, and having that 30-minute window prevented a forfeit.

required that debaters from both flights check in 30 minutes prior to the start of flight A. Asking flight B debaters to show up 30 minutes prior to flight A allowed judges to report missing flight B debaters so tournament officials had a full hour to track them down. It also got all tech issues resolved by the time flight B was supposed to start so that flight B could begin immediately at the conclusion of flight A.

Flighted Debates Our schedule allowed for each flight of LD and PF to take 45 minutes and

Sample Round Schedule 12:00 p.m.

12:30 p.m.

12:30 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

1:45 p.m.

Schematic released Judges/competitors in both flights report to assigned competition room Unassigned judges report to judge pooling room Round 1 Start Time Flight A Round 1 Start Time Flight B

Lauren Burdt serves as Competition Manager for the NSDA.

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COVER STORY

Learn about our online platform offering team practice space and tournament hosting space at a low cost!

Introducing compiled by Aaron Hardy and Lauren McCool NSDA Campus offers a low cost and secure way to run an online competition that is integrated with Tabroom.com or SpeechWire.com. NSDA Campus is an affordable option for tournaments that cannot meet in person due to school closures or capacity limitations, or tournaments that opt to go online to avoid travel and/or travel expenses. The platform also offers free practice space for NSDA members, accessible via the left sidebar on the Account page.

Visit www.speechanddebate.org/nsda-campus to learn more. Read on for helpful tips about getting started using NSDA Campus with Tabroom.com!

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Determining How Many Rooms to Purchase

• For each day of your tournament, determine the maximum number of rounds you will run simultaneously—that number is the number of rooms you should purchase. This is equivalent to an in-person tournament—you will need the same number of NSDA Campus rooms per day you would need to hold those same rounds in person per day.

• Example: If you will have 30 rounds happening at the same time on Friday, then 25 on Saturday, and 10 on Sunday, you’ll need to purchase 65 rooms.

• Flighted rounds are possible in NSDA Campus and do not require separate rooms. Determine the number of rooms based upon how many rooms are running simultaneously in a time slot, not how many “rounds” are happening in a room.

• If you need to run more than 150 rooms simultaneously, please contact us before buying so that we can provide you with more information about running a tournament of that size.

Purchasing NSDA Campus Rooms

Although you do not need to be an NSDA member to purchase NSDA Campus rooms, you must have a free SpeechAndDebate. org website account to complete the purchase. For a quicker purchasing process, be sure to be signed into your SpeechAndDebate.org account before requesting rooms in Tabroom.com.

1. After creating a tournament and making decisions regarding entries, schedules, and fees, etc., tournament directors can purchase rooms in NSDA Campus.

2. Under the Settings tab, select Sites & Rooms.

3. In the top right corner of the screen, there is a white rectangle titled NSDA Campus.

4. Click on the yellow rectangle in that box to begin configuring your purchase.

5. Select the total number of rooms needed for the tournament (each “room” is good for a 24-hour period beginning at 6:00 a.m in your local time zone). You will have the opportunity to divide and assign the rooms as needed in the tournament setup after purchase.

6. After filling in the quantity, click the button next to it that says Go. That will load a purchase form with the important details filled in and allow you to complete checkout.

7. Remember—rooms will not be activated until payment is received. The tournament must be created and paid for (a Purchase Order counts as payment) at least two full business days before the tournament starts (e.g., a tournament beginning on Friday should be paid for by 5:00 p.m. CT Tuesday; a tournament beginning Saturday or Sunday should be paid for by 5:00 p.m. CT Wednesday). Rooms can be

added after the original purchase by contacting the NSDA. There are no exceptions to the policy and no refunds or credits available for unused rooms.

Configuring an Event as Online via NSDA Campus

To access NSDA Campus features, follow these steps to denote your tournament is online.

1. Once an event has been created, an Online tab will appear.

2. Use the Online Event toggle to set the event to green (online).

3. Select NSDA Campus by clicking on the circle to the right of the text.

4. Make the appropriate selections under Identify Users in Online Rooms. This gives you the option to set how each user’s name is displayed in the video room. For example, Tab - George Brown, Judge - Alana Green, or Code Student Name. Select the option that works best for your tournament.

5. The section titled Online Support Options gives tabulation staff the ability to list email(s) and instructions that will appear on online room landing pages.

Setting Up Competition Rooms

Once your tournament’s rooms are activated, you can designate rooms for each day of the tournament. All settings are accessed by hovering over the Settings tab, clicking on Sites & Rooms, then selecting NSDA Campus in the upper right corner.

Setting up Free Utility Rooms

(e.g., Judge Pooling, Tab Rooms, etc.)

1. After purchasing NSDA Campus rooms, hover over the Paneling tab and click on Rooms.

2. Select Utility and add a room name.

3. Determine if this room is for Entries, Judges, Coaches, or Tab, and whether it’s for a specific event, and click Save.

4. Remember—we suggest that rooms host no more than 15 people at a time. If you need a room that can easily manage more than 15 people, you may want to set up a room on a different platform (e.g., Zoom) for better quality.

Linking Student Performance Videos

IN THEIR WORDS Being able to use NSDA Campus as a part of our membership for practice debates made my students and me feel at ease before using it at tournaments.

The interface was easy to use and learn. We can’t wait to use it at tournaments this season.”

— Jeffrey Miller, The Marist School, GA

Note: NSDA Campus does not provide a means for recording or storing videos, but it does allow tournaments to upload links to videos recorded elsewhere.

1. Once your tournament is created, hover over the Entries tab and then click Data.

2. Click the blue rectangle with the words Import CSV/ Excel.

3. Upload a CSV file that has columns for Code and Link.

4. Visit our Online Tournament Guide for “Detailed Instructions for Setting Up Asynchronous Speech Judging in Tabroom.com” at www.speechanddebate.org/onlinetournaments.

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ONLINE PRACTICES AND TOURNAMENTS: A SNAPSHOT We know district and state plans are still taking shape, but we invite you to take a look at the current landscape of speech and debate for the fall, including plans for practices and tournaments.

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Holding Asynchronous Prelims

and Synchronous Elims

1. For prelims, hover over Settings, then click on Events, and then select the event you wish to edit.

2. Click the Online tab, then set the event to “Asynchronous links to online videos.”

3. Upload your video links.

4. Once prelims are over, go back to Settings » Events » <Event> » Online, and set to “NSDA Campus.”

5. At this point, your rounds will be synchronous and will have links to NSDA Campus rooms.

6. Remember—NSDA Campus rooms must be purchased in advance and assigned to the correct day of your tournament.

Livestreaming/Recording Options

We recommend you use the free Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), available at https://obsproject.com. OBS allows anyone to record or stream what they see on their screen (including an NSDA Campus room) directly to YouTube or other streaming services.

1. For tournaments considering streaming via YouTube, please remember that YouTube requires the streamer to have a verified YouTube streaming account, which takes approximately 24 hours and must be set up before the day of the tournament.

2. You may also opt to use a different video platform (e.g., Zoom) for your later elimination rounds that you wish to stream. You can then save a URL to a specific external room in Settings » Sites & Rooms to be used on a Tabroom.com pairing.

3. You also have the option to host your elimination rounds on a public server that has the ability to livestream to YouTube enabled directly from NSDA Campus. However, this comes with significant downsides and is entirely at your own risk: • Security – While issues are unlikely, these public rooms are much less secure and susceptible to unauthorized access.

• Quality – Additional observers in public rooms will degrade the audio/video quality, potentially significantly.

• Stability – Since the public rooms are not under the NSDA’s control, we can’t guarantee their stability or performance.

Several tournaments hosted on NSDA Campus have shared positive feedback: “THE SECURITY! I LOVE the fact that

you need to have a valid Tabroom.com account linked to a specific school…”

“This was a welcome opportunity and

bodes well for the fall if we’re still online.”

“I found the platform to be simple and

easy to maneuver!”

“I just found the whole experience

exceptionally easy.”

“Experience connecting and

communications was in general, seamless.”

“Pleasantly surprised with the simple

user interface (UI) and functionality.”

Need Support?

If you have questions about NSDA Campus, please email info@speechanddebate.org so your question may be directed to the appropriate staff member. If you need assistance with setting up a tournament on Tabroom.com, please contact the Tabroom support team for further assistance at help@tabroom.com. For SpeechWire.com support, contact support@speechwire.com.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What technology do I need to use NSDA Campus?

Any device that accesses the internet and can use Google Chrome or a mobile app (iOS/Android) is required. Depending on your event, you may also need access to a microphone or camera.

What does it cost?

The cost is $6 per room, per day. We are committed to keeping the pricing simple and as low as we can sustainably provide, which is why NSDA Campus is not customizable.

There are no exceptions to the policy and no refunds or credits available for unused rooms.

Are there any limitations on use of NSDA Campus?

Because equity is a priority of our organization, we have created NSDA Campus with the goal of providing a platform for the hundreds of local tournaments that normally occur every weekend. We do not anticipate limiting the number of tournaments that can be held. To ensure that we can scale to serve as many tournaments as possible, we may need to consider limits on the size of individual tournaments.

Furthermore, we will not be able to support customizations to the platform.

Do I have to be an NSDA member to use NSDA Campus?

No, NSDA Campus is available to members and nonmembers at the same low cost, but requires an adult representing an educational institution to purchase. Practice rooms are available exclusively for NSDA members for free through their NSDA account.

What features does NSDA Campus have?

Currently, NSDA Campus has the basics you need to run a virtual speech and debate competition. This includes videoconferencing, chat, in-round file sharing, contact forms, hand raising, the ability to create general purpose tournament rooms, a meeting squad room for each participating school, access to online ballots via Tabroom.com, livestreaming via an external application, and room access permissions aligned with Tabroom.com tournament permissions. NSDA Campus is a synchronous use platform. Tournaments wishing to use asynchronous video (as was done for speech events at the National Tournament) should reach out separately for availability and pricing of accessing that feature, which is hosted on a separate platform. We will not be able to support customizations to the platform or specific feature requests from individual tournaments.

What features does NSDA Campus not have?

Some features your tournament may need that are not currently part of NSDA Campus include event management and tournament setup support, event insurance, the ability to brand the space for your tournament, automated Extemp draw, event recording, on-call technology and tournament

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administration support, the ability to control screen view at the tournament level (and therefore offer split-screen Duo), and breakout rooms.

Does this use Zoom?

No. NSDA Campus is built using open source video conferencing software and does not use a commercial service like Zoom.

Is this secure?

Yes. There are several layers of security built in to the system to prevent things like â&#x20AC;&#x153;bombing,â&#x20AC;? trolling, and other forms of unauthorized use. Because rooms are only accessible via a Tabroom.com or NSDA account, they will be very secure.

Is there a limit to the number of people in each room?

It is recommended that no more than 15 users be in a room at a time to ensure video and audio quality. The platform will not automatically limit the number of users in a room. Larger room spaces needed at the tournament (for judge pooling, event staff, or tab rooms) may require tournament staff to set up and use an external room through a robust commercial video provider (like Zoom).

Can participants share evidence within this platform?

Participants can share evidence files directly from their NSDA Campus room. A user can drag a Word/PDF file on to the page, and it will be immediately available for download by everyone else in the room. No emails necessary!

Are observers able to access NSDA Campus rooms?

In order to keep costs low and provide a high quality experience for participants, NSDA Campus competition rooms are only open to participants and judges, not observers.

Guidelines are available for tournaments wishing to livestream rounds to make them available to a wider audience.

What if NSDA Campus has glitches during my tournament?

NSDA Campus has successfully run dozens of tournaments with no technical problems. However, no system is perfect, and NSDA Campus has addressed some minor glitches while rapidly scaling up the system. While the system is becoming more stable every day as we learn from experience, it is always possible bugs or other issues could arise. Fortunately, the NSDA has a robust set of backup plans in the event of any issues. These plans allow us to quickly overcome even a large scale NSDA Campus outage to get your tournament back on track. For more details about how to handle an issue that arises during your tournament, or for any questions about the stability of the platform, please check our training materials or contact us directly.

Aaron Hardy serves as Director of Technology and Lauren McCool serves as Manager of District and Tournament Services for the NSDA.

A new online platform from the NSDA

Are you exploring how to provide online speech and debate in a socially distanced environment?

NSDA Campus is an online platform offering team practice space and tournament hosting space at a low cost.

Host tournaments using either Tabroom.com or SpeechWire.com OUR PRIORITIES:

The NFHS is supportive of the efforts of the NSDA in providing this affordable and secure option for online activities and programs. The NFHS and NSDA work together to provide options and opportunities for students to participate in speech and debate programs. In these unusual times the NSDA Campus is an accessible and affordable option for participating in speech and debate activities.”

DR. JAMES WEAVER

Director of Performing Arts and Sports National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

• Participant security • Low-cost option • Simple, integrated user experience

PER ROOM, PER DAY VISIT:

www.speechanddebate.org/nsda-campus

COACH PROFILE

MELLESSA DENNY: A New Normal Means New Possibilities

by Elena Cecil

M

ellessa Denny has been coaching speech and debate for 23 years. For the past 16 she has been coaching at Amarillo High School in the Texas Panhandle. It is clear Mellessa is committed to her students’ success and development of skills. That commitment has become even more clear as Mellessa navigates what many are calling a “new normal.”

Like many educators, Mellessa is working toward teaching her students the skills they need to succeed and excel in speech and debate activities and to become caring and concerned citizens of the world around

Amarillo High School students take their NSDA degrees seriously! Whenever they earn a new seal, they rearrange their certificates on the wall so the ones with the most points and degrees are in the middle next to Coach Denny’s.

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them during the age of COVID-19. Not only does Mellessa coach debate at Amarillo High School, she also teaches the class as part of the curriculum. As both teacher and coach, she has the opportunity to offer students opportunities to practice their skills in class and then use them in competition and other activities she requires as part of their coursework and participation.

Her students are required to participate in a number of tournaments each year, but that is flexible depending on the schedule and tournament availability, which often changes from year to year. Certainly, that will look very different this year as the tournaments during the first semester have all moved online. Now Mellessa finds herself having to juggle teaching the necessary debate skills while also training her students to perform in an online platform.

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Adapting to Online Speech and Debate When asked about speech and debate moving into this year, Mellessa feels a lot of positivity about the situation despite the difficulties. There are no captains or officers on her team; everyone is expected to be a leader. She suspects returning students will desperately miss the oneon-one connection they get from being in a round and at a tournament. For new students, it will be very hard to build the types of communities that previous generations have. As for coaches, they will miss the collegiality of being with others who share their love of the students and the activity. But, they are also scared to host online tournaments.

Mellessa says they are all learning something completely new and it feels very overwhelming. “We all have this mindset of the

past because that’s all we’ve known, so we’re all working to do something new and right by our students.”

She says by far the hardest thing will be engaging students. Previously she could walk into a classroom and know exactly what she’s going to do that day and do it without any real struggle because she’s been doing it for years. That is all suddenly gone. “It’s like being a new teacher all over again.”

She says more than anything, they crave normalcy. “It’s like this,” she says. “You’ve been doing something for so long that you’ve pretty much mastered it, and now you’re trying something completely new and you’re scared you’re doing it all wrong, because you don’t know what’s right.”

Despite all the obstacles and trepidation about this new situation, Mellessa finds the silver lining. “There are a lot of possibilities,” she explains. “Now you can communicate and connect

with people in the state without having to drive four hours round trip to see someone. It creates a lot of opportunities for collaboration.”

Not only that, she explains, “This is teaching us patience, how to work through problems and fail better”—concepts educators hope their students will learn when they first get started in speech and debate. Now everyone is being asked to put those principles into real world practice.

Mellessa’s advice is, “We are all shifting from the known to the unknown, and we have to be there for each other, with patience.”

Where to Go from Here With all the new possibilities online tournaments and practices bring, it is clear speech will adapt and grow. In Mellessa’s classroom, practices inlcude students in hallways, foyers, and auditoriums six feet apart listening to each other and bouncing questions off one another.

Even recruiting is different. Mellessa typically asks other teachers for recommendations about students she should recruit.

She then sends them a personal letter inviting them to join her team. This year she was unable to do

that, so she sent emails to every student. “It worked out great!” she says. “There was an automatic response and excitement because the emails happen in real time.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean all of the season will be smooth sailing. There will be growing pains, and Mellessa stresses it is very important “we are all there for each other.”

On the local, state, and national levels, Mellessa says, “We must show up. Show the kids we’re still invested in them, that these programs and this activity still matter.

Be honest and humble about learning.” It’s about finding a way to bring the community together during a time when everyone is six feet apart. Mellessa says that to keep a sense of normalcy, she is still going to try to get her students in front of people.“That’s what they are going to miss most. They are performers after all!”

A Little Bit of Everything Mellessa values the skills necessary to be successful in competitive speech and debate, but also encourages her students to use those skills in other activities including Model UN and Mock Trial. She knows all of these activities will help her students to hone their craft while allowing them to see how those concepts can be applied in multiple settings.

Mellessa is a consummate teacher in all she does.

Mellessa is dedicated to ensuring her program is all inclusive. Some students absolutely love the competitive aspect of speech and debate, while others want to participate because they like the way debate forces them to think and argue.

“This team is about finding your place,” she says. Mellessa wants her students to be well-rounded, because there is so much more out in the world after

You’ve been doing something for so long that you’ve pretty much mastered it, and now you’re trying something completely new and you’re scared you’re doing it all wrong, because you don’t know what’s right.”

competitive speech. Mellessa has students who participate in all kinds of activities including sports, choir, and drama. They take dual credit and AP courses and are involved in clubs and other activities at school. Mellessa also encourages her students to participate in community service projects and school functions that sometimes require speakers.

Her students are involved in many activities that take up a lot of time outside of school hours, but they are so worthwhile toward the ultimate goal of helping them find their passions and their purpose. Mellessa doesn’t want kids to “have to choose between the things they love, because it is possible to do it all. We as coaches just have to be willing to make it work for our kids.”

Building Communities Mellessa is very grateful she has a school that supports the arts and communication skills so much. Her team and classes have always been student focused. It’s about what the students need to grow not only as competitors but also as people.

She has spent years helping foster a positive community in Texas, not just on her own team, but in the entire district. “It’s a family,” she says. Mellessa explains that all the coaches are very close, and the students have

— Mellessa Denny, three-diamond coach from Amarillo High School in Texas

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friends from different schools across the state. Some of the fiercest competitors in rounds are the best of friends as well. They have met through this activity, and it has created a larger community that transcends one team.

The biggest challenges facing every program in the new season are to recognize the fear, embrace the opportunity for growth, and remember the things people love about speech and debate. “You don’t have to be in person to do what you love,” she says.

Mellessa wants to focus on what makes speech and debate so special and what made her fall in love with coaching in the first place. She enjoys watching those quiet students find their voices. “When everything finally clicks, when they find out they love it. It’s not about the competition or the trophies, it’s about watching kids learning all the things they are capable of and falling in love with themselves.”

BUILDING YOUR PROGRAM ONLINE Tips for Starting the Season Recruiting looks a little different this year. As you consider how to bring in new students via an online format, use our adapted guide as a jumping off point.

Create a Team Website »

Online Activities Fair »

If your school has a website, talk with the webmaster about creating a space for your team.

The team site can include a membership roster, your mission, a note about online speech and debate, a tournament calendar, team/school forms, news/press releases on the success of the team, and most importantly, your contact information.

Check with your school activities office to see if they have any plans for an online activities fair.

If an event is planned, make sure your program is represented!

Utilize Social Media » Check with your school for information on specific policies and procedures for using social media. If allowed, a team Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok could be a great way to communicate, provide live results, and bring in new members.

Get into Online Classes » (top) A portion of Amarillo’s 68-member team poses with their awards following a local tournament. (bottom) Coach Denny captures fun memories from a road trip taken pre-COVID.

Elena Cecil is the 2018 NSDA National Student of the Year and a graduate of Larue County High School in Kentucky.

Upon graduation, she later became an assistant coach to their program. She is currently studying at Western Kentucky University to become an elementary school teacher.

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Work out your schedule so you or select students can pop in to every online English classroom for a 3-minute recruitment speech about speech and debate, designed to make the students interested in either you or the concept of speech and debate.

Explicitly Recruit BIPOC »

As you begin the season, we encourage you to enroll in our new NSDA Learn course, Engaging and Mentoring Black/African American Students. As authors SunHee Simon and Colten White write, it is not enough to say anyone can join your team. It’s also about actively recruiting and making space for all students, but especially Black students who have been historically and systematically excluded. The course features distinct strategies for engaging and mentoring Black students as a Black coach and as a non-Black coach. NSDA members can take the free online course www.speechanddebate.org/learn.

Find more recruitment tips at www.speechanddebate.org/ online-team-recruitment-strategies.

COMMUNITY

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Trinity Debate Team Breaks Top Sixteen in Nation

by Brooke Yung About Trinity University Trinity University, San Antonio’s premier liberal arts and sciences university, is one of the nation’s top undergraduate institutions.

The University is known for its challenging and supportive academic environment, personalized attention from outstanding faculty, large school resources, postgraduate preparation, and vibrant campus life. Trinity

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LEARN MORE Brooke Yung (’20) helped tell Trinity’s story as a writing intern for Strategic Communications and Marketing.

https://trinity.edu/

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COMMUNITY

DEBATE

Making the Transition to Debating Online

by Liana Schmitter-Emerson

T

his past spring, five members of the 2019-2020 USA Debate team were selected to represent the nation at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC), originally slated to take place in Mexico City, Mexico, in late July.

As the continued threat of COVID-19 made it clear it was not safe to hold the tournament in person, the WSDC Committee worked diligently to hold an online event that would allow debaters to experience the competitive environment and international engagement the WSDC provides in a safe way.

Prior to the tournament, the team consisting of Anh Cao (’20), Elyse Dewbre (’20), James Hu (’20), Jack Johnson (’20), and Liana Schmitter-Emerson (’21) worked with coaches and alumni via Zoom, participating in two training weekends normally held inperson. The five debaters drafted and refined cases for the three WSDC prepared rounds, drilled

34

impromptu preparation, and debated a series of practice rounds with the guidance of team alumni Danny DeBois (’14), Aditya Dhar (’17), Ellie Singer (’17), Ella Michaels (’18), Ishan Bhatt (’19), and Luke Tillitski (’19) and team coaches Cindi Timmons and Aaron Timmons.

everyone speaks one at a

The Upsides of Practicing Online

upside to online debate.

While the team is used to working on cases and meeting weekly via Zoom, WSDC preparation required more than a little bit of adaptation to the entirely online format. The following are a few of the five’s favored practices for preparing and debating online that other teams may wish to adopt.

different time zones and

Drills like 20-minute impromptu prep are almost identical online. Debaters simply brainstorm framing and their outlines, and share out one-by-one before discussing as a group what the team’s case should look like. As long as

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

time (the raise-your-hand

Tips for Competing Online

feature is helpful if you’re using Zoom) and keeps track of time on their own, the process looks the same as it would in person.

More dynamic and diverse practice rounds are perhaps the greatest The WSDC five were able to scrimmage teams in locations than normally possible.

Rounds are most comfortable when debaters make sure that they have good lighting, a solid surface to hold both computer and paper, and an undistracted background behind them (the WSDC team tried for a blank wall whenever possible).

Finally, if scheduling practices longer than around 45 minutes, debaters should be sure to incorporate five-minute breaks every hour or so!

Debating online in tournaments can be slightly overwhelming, but the team found the following practices helpful.

In the online impromptu process, it’s more important than ever for the captain (or whoever is in charge of the prep hour) to continuously check in with team members, making sure they are understanding arguments, concepts, and most importantly, the motion itself! It is harder to read people’s body language and facial expressions online, so verbally making sure the team isn’t confused is absolutely essential to a cohesive and productive prep. Communication was probably the biggest challenge the team faced prior to the WSDC, but the most rewarding to overcome.

Debaters should decide before the round

Congratulations!

2020-2021 USA Debate Team {pictured left to right, top to bottom)

Genevieve Cox – W. B. Ray High School, TX Cameron Kettles – Greenhill School, TX Jason Luo – Westlake High School, TX Kaitlyn Maher – The Potomac School, VA Jonathan May – Palisade High School, CO Guyberson Pierre – A. W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, FL Ria Raj – Laurel School, OH Liana Schmitter-Emerson – Campbell Hall, CA Ashley Shan – Greenhill School, TX Rodrigo Trujillo – Alief Elsik High School, TX Miles Wang – A. W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, FL Abbey Xu – St. Paul’s School, NH

2020-2021 USA Debate Development Team Suzanna Ahmed – Grand Oaks High School, TX Diego Casillo – Alief Elsik High School, TX Milla Chavez – Polytechnic School, CA Xinni Chen – Deerfield Academy, MA Hannah Heeger – Millennium High School, NY Jennifer Lin – Richard Montgomery High School, MD Vinayak Menon – Lambert High School, GA Mady Murray – Phillips Exeter Academy, NH Vari Patel – Blue Springs South High School, MO Max Perin – Sage Hill School, CA Tanya Richards – Mira Loma High School, CA Claire Schulter – Northland Christian School, TX Nazli Soysal – Hockaday School, TX Victor Tong – Phillips Academy-Andover, MA Skylar Wang – The Blake School, MN

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

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whether they want points of information (POIs) to be offered verbally or visually, making sure they keep their opponents and the judge apprised of their preferences. Generally, the team found that it’s easier to receive points verbally, in case debaters aren’t making eye contact with

team about clarifications, argument prioritization, refutation generation, and the best way to handle strategic errors. While it is possible to audio call one’s teammates, the five found simultaneous phone calls and Zoom calls to be logistically confusing and more complicated Five members of the USA Debate team competed at the online 2020 World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC): Jack Johnson, Elyse Dewbre, James Hu, Liana Schmitter-Emerson, and Anh Cao.

their screen, but there’s no harm in asking for either/ both. Conversely, teams should always ask about their opponents’ individual preferences ahead of time and respect them (each team member should have a large piece of paper with POI written in bold, dark font prepared ahead of time). The team found that the importance of asking points is substantially magnified in an online setting, as it’s one of the only tangible ways the judges can verify debaters are engaged and paying attention.

Debaters should decide how they will be communicating with their teammates during the round. Bench communication is no less important online than it is in person. Debaters still need to confer with their

36

than written messages.

If the team decides to use a messenger app like iMessage, WhatsApp, or Facebook Messenger, before every individual speaks they should either ask their teammates to converse in a private chat or turn notifications on Do Not Disturb to ensure the debater won’t be distracted during their speech.

Teams can also use online spreadsheets or Google Docs to communicate during the round.

Though it can be difficult, debaters should make a conscious effort to communicate with their team at least as much as they would ordinarily. It’s helpful to discuss ahead of time what style/frequency of communication each teammate prefers.

Some individuals get overwhelmed by many

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IN THEIR WORDS | James Hu recalls that one of his favorite parts of the WSDC tournament experience was “watching [the] team grow. By the end of [the] run, [the team] knew each other’s strengths extremely well and functioned as one unit during the impromptu prep process. Whenever [someone] was confused about an argument, one of [their] teammates would make sure to re-explain it or calm [them] down. Even during rounds, each speaker was actively helping the next prepare.”

consecutive messages and others can process high volumes of information quickly.

Have a backup plan in case your internet or cellular service fails and your speech becomes inaudible. Usually, the team would delegate responsibility for calling and checking in with the person whose technology failed to the prior speaker, since that

person is not about to give a speech.

Finally, be patient with your team, opponents, coaches, and judges. Almost everyone is outside of their comfort zone during this time, and online debate has a steep but rewarding learning curve!

Liana Schmitter-Emerson is a senior from Campbell Hall in California.

THE

1925 SOCIET Y Leaving your legacy with the NSDA can be done in three easy steps: 1. Add a simple paragraph to your will stating the NSDA as a beneficiary. You can revise your gift at any time.

2. Notify Nicole Wanzer-Serrano at nicole.wanzer-serrano@ speechanddebate.org that the NSDA has been added to your will.

3. Celebrate knowing that you are impacting future generations by joining the 1925 Society!

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

Byron Arthur

Lanny and B. J. Naegelin

Phyllis Flory Barton

Albert Odom, Jr.

James Copeland

J. W. Patterson

Don and Ann Crabtree

Capt. Joseph L. and Jan Pizzo

Dr. Mike Edmonds

Dr. Polly and Bruce Reikowski

A. C. Eley

Donus and Lovila Roberts

Vickie and Joe Fellers

James Rye, III

Bill and Charlotte Hicks

Steve and Anna Schappaugh

David and Judy Huston

David Seikel

Jennifer Jerome

Michael Shapiro

Harold Keller

Sandra Silvers

Kandi King

Richard Sodikow

Cherian and Betsy Koshy

William Woods Tate, Jr.

Dr. Tommie Lindsey, Jr.

Nicole and Darrel Wanzer-Serrano

Aarzu Maknojia

Cheryl Watkins

Pam and Ray McComas

J. Scott and Megan Wunn

H. B. Mitchell

Joe and Pam Wycoff

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Jaylon Muchison:

A Story Takes Shape

by Annie Reisener “There is so much power and magic in storytelling.”

I

f you wander the aisles of Target, you’re browsing aimlessly. When Jaylon Muchison does it, he’s doing research.

The habit that began in the fall with meandering through the shelves in Barnes & Noble has picked up its pace. It’s April: he’s running out of time to find a piece for the season. As he walks through the aisles at Target, he passes a book he’s seen several times before and not given more than a passing glance, The New Kid by Jerry Craft. It’s crunch time, so this time he picks it up and begins to read. And right away he thinks, this is it.

CREATING CONNECTIONS Jaylon has done almost every possible speech event. He’s crafted informative messages, spoken beautiful prose, and delivered other’s speeches as his own.

He’s directed theater and become a thespian. He’s organized community

38

shows for drama, poetry, and dance. He’s made audiences laugh, think, and reflect. He’s become an expert at connecting with people he’s never met.

Through a performance, he can reach out and make an audience feel something.

But after his friend Kameron Dorsey was killed by gun violence, Jaylon looked around the halls at Belleville West High School in Illinois and realized that for spending so much time with the people around him in school, he didn’t really know that much about them. And they didn’t know what he was struggling with, either.

“We didn’t talk about anything deep,” he says. “Everything was surface level.” So Jaylon collaborated with a team to conceptualize the RealTalk Teen Summits as a place for teens to discuss difficult topics facing them in the community, from gender identity and sexuailty to gun violence— things that mattered to them deep down. Through Harambee, a school

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Jaylon Muchison is the 2020 NSDA National Student of the Year.

organization focused on African American heritage and education, Jaylon helped members of the community come together to have a conversation about topics that may normally go unaddressed, from barriers between parent and child to the effects of mental health on Black families.

Jaylon took the space he’d created for himself on a stage to share his experiences and innermost feelings and expanded it into a place for a whole community to do the same.

“It was amazing because a lot of the people who came weren’t close, but at the end, we were closer because we understood the confusion and the pain and the basic feeling that the people around us were going through telling their story,” Jaylon says.

“Knowing that you have an outlet and that other people are struggling too lets you know you are not alone. We have a lot of kids speaking, but parents or friends aren’t listening, so what’s the point? Here, people would listen, even if they couldn’t relate.”

A PIECE TAKES SHAPE When Jaylon picked up The New Kid from the shelf that day, the subject matter hit home.

The graphic novel is about Jordan Banks, a seventh grader sent to a prestigious private school where he is one of the few students of color in his entire grade.

As an African American student in predominantly white classes, this was an experience to which Jaylon could relate, and one he planned to share with his audience in his favorite way: by infusing humor into a serious topic.

“The piece was about misunderstanding and how communication between people today and in the past is not as good as we think it is,” Jaylon says. It was the issue he was seeing in the hallways at school, and in the country at large.

“We pretend like we are connected, but I think there

is a general disconnect.

And that’s why we have riots, because we feel like people aren’t listening to us. That’s why talking is important. It’s okay to feel frustrated because you’re the only African American person in a class, to feel pressured by doing something new. My piece really showed that when we talk it out, we can come to a consensus about trying to do better.

We can make change and live together.”

PREPARATION AND ADAPTATION With his piece in hand, Jaylon began cutting, blocking, and preparing for an audience. He spent two weeks straight practicing.

“I ran it close to 60 times,” Jaylon says. “I wanted to work really hard. The message of the piece drove me to new heights.”

When Jaylon won a national championship in

ON JAYLON’S SELECTION “Within just a minute of talking to him, it’s clear that Jaylon is a thoughtful, gracious, empathetic, powerful, passionate young man who truly embodies the fundamental tenets of our Honor Code. A number on the panel were really impressed with Jaylon’s work with Harambee, a school organization focused on African American heritage and education on campus and beyond. Jaylon’s coach said in the nomination, ‘To meet Jaylon is to admire him,’ and I think our entire selection committee would agree totally with that. Jaylon is an extraordinary representation of the absolute best of our activity.”

Humorous Interpretation, he didn’t have a fancy camera, or a special microphone, or a professional backdrop, or perfect lighting. “At first I worried about not having the fanciest tech to help during my performance,” he says. But he set up his phone in front of a plain wall and performed. That simplicity is something he wants to encourage others to take to heart.

“I just made sure I was in shot, gave myself enough space to do what I wanted, and played with my interaction with the audience through the camera. But you shouldn’t have to change too much.

Just do what you do. As long as you are genuine and stick to what you’ve practiced, the work shows.”

REACHING AN AUDIENCE Whether he’s performing on a stage, leading a community conversation, or standing in a school hallway, Jaylon is always thinking about connections. To him, that’s what storytelling is all about—it’s a way to bridge the gap between our different experiences.

“There is so much power and magic in storytelling. It can include people, give you a voice, and invoke so many emotions. Speech and debate can give people like me the tools to be able to talk about discrepancies in the world and things that matter to us. The only way we can do that is by speaking.”

Annie Reisener serves as Membership Manager for the NSDA.

About the Student of the Year Award The District Student of the Year award is presented to a graduating senior in each district who best represents the tenets of the Association’s Code of Honor: integrity, respect, humility, leadership, and service. From this pool of district winners, one student is selected to represent the organization. At the 2020 National Speech & Debate Tournament, Jaylon was named the 2020 NSDA National Student of the Year.

— Angelique Ronald, Selection Committee Representative

Nominate a deserving student for your district award this year at www.speechanddebate.org/student-of-the-year-nomination-form.

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

39

DISTRICT IN DETAIL

Northwest Indiana District:

Mentoring Success Jeremy Starkweather (JS)

2020 National Qualifiers in Policy Debate Luke Brown and Lyvia Li from Penn High School

Head Coach, Penn High School; Northwest Indiana District Committee Member I competed throughout high school as a Policy debater and also in Duo on the speech team. I was a two-time national qualifier in Policy and also a state champion my senior year. Throughout college at Indiana University South Bend, I would frequently come back and judge for our team, when one day our previous coach, Dave Dutton, asked me to do my student teaching with him and to take over the team when he retired the following year. I’ve been here teaching and coaching ever since, and I love what I do!

Kevin Burgun (KB)

Head Coach, Bishop Noll Institute; Northwest Indiana District Chair I had zero experience in high school or most of my teaching career with speech and debate. Six years ago, the then-principal of BNI said he wanted more academic teams at the school, and, after doing high school theater for 15 years, I was looking for something different. BNI had previously had a team for decades, but it had died out.

So, BNI is now going into its sixth year with the “Volume 2” team. We had our first Nationals experience this past virtual tournament in World Schools Debate. Last year, I was honored to be chosen by my district to be their chair.

40

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

Two members of the Northwest Indiana District Committee share their perspectives on coaching speech and debate and how they will adapt to online challenges in 2020.

Please tell us a little about the Northwest Indiana District and what makes it unique.

What are some best practices you would like to share with other district leaders?

KB: I’m still relatively

unique or not, but mentoring new teams with practices has been transformative, at least for my program. My first year, Chris Lowery and Chesterton High School invited us to their summer camp, and then Jordan Mayer and Munster High School invited us to several of their practices that season. Having the students who were completely new be able to practice within veteran programs was probably the difference between my program dying before it started and blossoming into what it is today.

The mentoring of new coaches from veteran coaches that has taken place in our district has been key.

I think every new coach in recent memory has had a pre-season sit down with Jordan from Munster. And

new to coaching, and just attended my first National Tournament this past summer, so I do not have a good grasp of what other districts are like. I like our diversity.

I like our camaraderie.

I like that we seem to all have a genuine love of speech and debate that transcends the competition. There is a respect for each other.

I think we all want what is best for speakers and debaters, no matter the school affiliation. That’s not to say everything is sunshine and rainbows, of course. There are protests at tournaments.

There are rivalries. There are frustrations. But I am idealistic about the core of our district.

KB: I’m not sure if this is

then we pay it forward. The BNI team invited new-tothe-NSDA East Chicago High School this past year to come and practice with us. Having a junior or senior who has done Original Oratory for three or four years talking to a new student who wants to do OO is invaluable. It is something I cannot recreate as a coach. Do not undervalue your veteran leadership! These joint practices allow new programs without veteran leadership to have it by proxy.

When you have practiced with another team already, that first tournament is not as overwhelming or scary because there are familiar faces.

Invite new coaches into the tab room. I still remember the day Mary Fridh from Valparaiso High School asked me to help tab their tournament. I felt very honored. She instilled in me the idea that now it was my turn to start hosting tournaments. That sort of encouragement to a new program is not forgotten.

What do you expect this school year to look like for your district when it comes to practicing and competing with your teams online?

JS: My first strategy for keeping students engaged will be the possibility of practicing and competing virtually in our building, while also practicing social distancing. I noticed at the National Tournament over

the summer that some of the debaters competed together, socially distanced in their classrooms, and I thought this was a great way to be safe, while also allowing students to feel like they are a part of a team. I think the biggest challenge we’ll face as a team and as educators is allowing the students to feel less alone and more like they are a part of something larger than themselves. I’m hoping to work with my administration to allow for that if necessary.

There are plenty of negatives to our competition going virtual, (Zoom exhaustion, etc.), but there are also some positives.

My second strategy for keeping students engaged is to “travel” without actually traveling. We are planning to compete in some national circuit tournaments throughout the year, which is something we’ve never done before due to the costs of travel. With things being virtual, that gives us a unique opportunity to participate in tournaments that we normally couldn’t access.

KB: I think traveling and competing at tournaments does a lot of the bonding work during the season.

Now we have some gaps to fill. Being in building as

a team will help, but I also realize nothing can replicate an in-person tournament experience. We are blessed at BNI to have a supportive administration (shameless plug: BNI’s principal, Lorenza Jara-Pastrick, was named our district’s “Administrator of the Year” for 2019-2020).

We have been told as long as our building is “open” we can have practices in person, so long as we are observing social distancing, seating charts, limited numbers, masks, etc. We also have received permission to gather at the building for virtual competitions.

I am having both in-person and virtual practices. So, if students or parents do not feel in-person is for them, they can practice virtually.

And, to be honest, I am encouraging my students to practice virtually at least a few times simply to get used to performing on a screen, which is quite different than performing in person.

From a district perspective, there are challenges. We recently started holding our District Congress qualifier in December. This year, that is a no-go as we do not have buildings in our area that will allow an in-person tournament. Will this change next semester? Will we be

doing a virtual qualifier?

An alternative qualifier? As someone who likes to have a concrete plan, I have to be comfortable with things just being up in the air this year.

And we have to be able to communicate that to our students while also trying to give them a sense of stability.

What tips do you have for new coaches joining the NSDA? JS: My best advice is to set realistic expectations for yourself, to not put too much pressure on being perfect, and to have patience with your program. In my first year of coaching, I had to overcome more than a few obstacles. I had trouble finding judges to travel to tournaments, I had bus drivers not show up to pick us up, and I had trouble fundraising the money to take my students to the National Tournament. I put way too much stress on myself during these times, and it took me a while before I gave myself a break.

These things will take time, and that’s alright! As you continue in your career as a coach, you will build relationships with

parents, community members, and former students, and start to grow a network of judges to travel with the team to tournaments. You’ll get to know your co-workers to create a better system of communication among your treasurer, bookkeeper, transportation department, and other administrators in your building. You’ll find better and more effective ways to fundraise. If you are doing the best you can, and getting students excited and motivated about being a part of the team, then you are already on your way to becoming a great coach.

Speech and debate is an incredible activity for students that will leave them with memories and skills that will last a lifetime, and even if things don’t go as planned, it’s always worth it.

Northwest Indiana District Committee Kevin Burgun, Chair Bishop Noll Institute • Hammond, IN Mary Fridh Valparaiso High School • Valparaiso, IN

Chris Lowery Chesterton High School • Chesteron, IN

These things will take time, and that’s alright!

If you are doing the best you can, and getting students excited and motivated about being a part of the team, then you are already on your way to becoming a great coach. It’s always worth it.”

Jordan Mayer Munster High School • Munster, IN

Jeremy Starkweather Penn High School • Mishawaka, IN

— Jeremy Starkweather, Head Coach, Penn High School, Indiana ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

41

COMMUNITY

Words from the Hall Mollie Martin Broussard Devoted Her Career to Training Effective Communicators “Never before have so many diverse voices clamored for public attention and competed for our acceptance.” — Mollie Martin Broussard

by Tom Broussard

I

’ve been asked to accept on behalf of Mollie Martin Broussard the honor you’ve bestowed on her by electing her to the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame. As her husband of 50 years, and as the former president of the Bellaire High School NFL/ NSDA chapter in 1961, I’m pleased to do so.

It doesn’t seem necessary to recite Mollie’s incredible record of success as a debate coach at Purcell, Oklahoma, and Bellaire, Texas. Instead, I would like to share some of her own words explaining why she thought it was worthwhile to devote so many hours, so many days, so many nights, so many weekends, so many holidays trying to teach high school students to become proficient persuasive speakers and debaters.

No doubt many of her

42

economic advancement.

student as a citizen in

Yet some people are

a democractic society

indifferent if not hostile

to understand the

to the idea of studying

history and theory of

to improve their ability

oral communication,

to communicate because

to understand the

they’ve been led to believe

principles underlying

that experience, and not

the composition of

knowledge and training,

communication, and

is the real teacher. But

to think coherently and

Never before in the

learning through trial and

communicate clearly.

history of civilization

error can be both time

has the ability to

consuming and costly.

thoughts will describe your own reasons for devotion to the same task.

Mollie published a course guide entitled, “Fundamentals of Oral Communication.” In the introduction, she wrote the following:

ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

communicate effectively

A nation in search

One of the greatest dangers facing any society that believes in

been more important

of a leader will not wait

freedom of speech is

than it is today. Never

while he learns to reach

the unrestricted use of

before have so many

the people. An employer

that freedom. Freedom

diverse voices clamored

will promote the man

of speech should not

for public attention

who is prepared to

be used to destroy, to

and competed for

speak, not the man who

distort, or to deceive.

our acceptance.

is almost prepared.

The best defense of

The inability to

Effective oral

communicate can be

communicators are

is an understanding

costly. An ill-conceived

not born that way,

of the nature of the

phrase may bring a

though many have an

communicative act,

nation to the brink of

innate talent. Every

an appreciation of

war. A failure to reach

successful communicator

the spoken word, and

an audience can cost

must develop his

a knowledge of the

a political candidate

talents with years of

principles of thought

his election. And the

study and practice.

in communication.

inability to articulate his thoughts can deny a man

The purpose of this course is to enable the

this most vital freedom

The ability to speak effectively will enable us

About the “Legends” Inductee to challenge those who will use freedom of speech for their own unjustified ends.

Silence may be golden, but silence is no defense against the tyranny of words.

A democratic society such as ours demands citizens who are trained communicators: men and women who can think clearly, listen critically, and respond effectively by speaking persuasively.

Most of us may never be called upon to render the final decisions on the great issues of national policy, but each of us must be able to communicate effectively our position on the questions that affect our daily lives. No citizen who is concerned can justify his inability to participate in the public debate on his failure as a communicator.

Mollie also believed that no teacher who is a concerned citizen can justify her failure to train her students to become persuasive speakers.

Thank you again for recognizing Mollie’s contribution to the efforts you all share, to train citizens and future leaders of our free society.

In addition to the four inductees elected by their peers, a fifth “Legends” inductee is chosen annually to join the ranks of the National Speech & Debate Association Hall of Fame. This individual can be an older or deceased coach or non-coach who is worthy of consideration. Service to the NSDA, chapter awards and recognition, and record of student success in NSDA competition and state tournaments are among the criteria for nomination.

It is recommended (but not required) that the selection committee seek out individuals who have either appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot several times with no selection and have since fallen from annual consideration due to failed attempts at selection, or who have never been considered on a ballot due to the unique situation of their relationship with the organization (longtime staff member, collegiate coach, longtime supporter, etc.).

SELECTION PROCESS

By January 1 of each year, the current Board President selects a committee of five to seven current Hall Fame members to serve on the Hall of Fame Legend Selection Committee. One of the individuals selected is chosen as the chair and in the future will be one of two repeat members from the prior year, having served as a member of the committee. The committee consists of both newly selected and longtime hall of fame members, as well as individuals who represent diversity of geography, school size, ethnicity, etc. Individuals can be selected to the committee multiple times, but not consecutively (beyond the two mentioned above) and never more than twice in a five-year period.

Between January 1 and March 1, the committee accepts nominations from current Hall of Fame members and the Executive Director in addition to doing their own research into potential nominees for the Legends selection for that year.

This research is provided as documentation to the committee to determine the credibility of the nominees.

In March, the Legends committee deliberates and selects one individual as that year’s Legends pick for the Hall of Fame to be announced with the other four elected inductees.

Tom Broussard is the former president of the Bellaire High School NFL/ NSDA chapter in Texas.

Mollie’s students were often recognized for their competitive success.

Learn more about the NSDA Hall of Fame! www.speechanddebate.org/ hall-of-fame

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RECOGNITION

Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award The following coaches earned the Donus D. Roberts Coaching Excellence Award in our Honor Society in 2019-2020! This achievement indicates they have earned at least 10,000 coaching points, reflecting the hard work they and their students put in. The next award on their horizon is the First Diamond, earned when they receive 15,000 points and have been coaching in the NSDA for at least five years since achieving the degree of merit (25 points).

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Jacob Abraham

Stoneman Douglas High School

FL

Sydney Crank

Raytown High School

MO

Megan Aleshire

Neosho High School

MO

Tyler Curtis

Bandon High School

OR

Griffin Allman

Hoover High School

OH

Jared Daggit

Prior Lake High School

MN

Prabhat Aluri

Interlake High School

WA

Kyle Daniels

Cyprus High School

UT

Ryan Andersen

H. D. Jacobs High School

IL

Burton Davis

Franklin High School

WI

Thomas Andriello

Byram Hills High School

NY

Matt Delateur

Bellarmine College Prep

CA

Gregory Arnold

Timpview High School

UT

Jose Denis

Nova High School

FL

Matthias Austin

Hinsdale Central High School

IL

Lyndsy Denk

Falmouth High School

ME

Jordan Bakken

Watertown High School

SD

Matt Deters

Oakwood High School

OH

Michaela Barnes

Cheyenne Central High School

WY

Said Dibinga

New Design Charter School-University Park CA

Keith Barnstein

Maine East High School

IL

Amber Doughty

Norfolk High School

NE

Ian Beier

College Prep

CA

Christopher Esparza

Harlingen High School

TX

Miranda Berry

Hoehne High School

CO

Linda Esquivel

Tuloso-Midway Middle School

TX

Michael Bischoff

North Mecklenburg High School

NC

Molly Evans

Vista Heights Middle

UT

Chloe Bjorklund-Smith

Capital High School

MT

Tara Farr

Hinkley High School

CO

Brian Bohr

Wheaton Warrenville South High School

IL

Pennie Fike

Fargo Shanley High School

ND

Lucy Boydston

Soddy Daisy High School

TN

Brandon Forinash

Winston Churchill High School

TX

Cathy Brown

Apopka Sr. High School

FL

Melissa Garlock

Palmer High School

CO

Michael Buck

Munster High School

IN

Mallory Gebers

Sylvania Southview High School

OH

Eric Bumperson

Evanston Twp High School

IL

Sydney Gelling

Aberdeen Central High School

SD

Kellyn Burke

Dulles High School

TX

Brent Goetzinger

V. J. & Angela Skutt Catholic High School

NE

Gail Burkel

Messmer High School

WI

Malcolm Gordon

The Meadows School

NV

Brittnay Burns

Eagle High School

ID

James Grace

Rocklin High School

CA

Daniel Caudle

Russellville High School

AR

Noah Grosfeld-Katz

Richard Montgomery High School

MD

Emily Cave

Cherry Creek High School

CO

Marissa Gurtler

BASIS Ahwatukee

AZ

Matthew Cekanor

Northview High School

GA

Greg Hansen

Alexander Dawson School

CO

Isaac Chao

Heights High School

TX

Derek Hanson

Glacier Peak High School

WA

Von Christiansen

Beaver High School

UT

Daniel Hearn

Advanced Technologies Academy

NV

Kelly Cimino

Hartselle High School

AL

Emiley Henry

Independence High School

TX

Mollie Clark

Eagan High School

MN

Timothy Henry

Skyline High School

UT

Kathryn Cole

Homewood-Flossmoor High School

IL

Catherine Hepworth

Franklin High School

WI

Abigail Connolly

Glacier High School

MT

Rebekah Hoffman

University High School

IL

John Cooper

Iowa City West High School

IA

Ian Hopkins

Kent Denver School

CO

Alyssa Corrigan

Glenbrook South High School

IL

Valerie Howard

Edmond North High School

OK

Leslie Crady

Louis D. Brandeis High School

TX

Michael Jennings

L. C. Anderson High School

TX

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Brett Johnson

Pillager Public Schools

MN

Jaime Sadich

Raytown High School

MO

LaRinda Johnson

Jackson High School

OH

Jon Saliman

Littleton High School

CO

Nadia Joudeh

College Preparatory School Of America

IL

Jennifer Sandman

Olympia High School

FL

Megan Justice

William G. Enloe High School

NC

Sydnie Schoepf

Alta High School

UT

Katie Kantrowitz

Silverton High School

OR

Daniel Shatzkin

Cypress Bay High School

FL

Noah Kaplan

Denver East High School

CO

Kari Shelkey

Frenchtown High School

MT

Ken Kasee

Chagrin Falls High School

OH

Alysia Shepard

Bixby High School

OK

Kathleen Kennedy

Munster High School

IN

Gavin Skiles

Cozad High School

NE

Jake Keuhlen

Fairview High School

CO

Daniel Smith

West Lafayette High School

IN

Lannette Lahey

Lander Valley High School

WY

Michael Smith

West Ranch High School

CA

Alexander Libkind

Hebrew Academy Five Towns Rock

NY

Tom Smith

John Hersey High School

IL

Bobby Lint

American Heritage HS Boca Delray Campus FL

Tommy Snider

Casady School

OK

Kati Littleton

Park Hill South High School

MO

Lauren Sodono

Matawan Regional High School

NJ

Danielle Lucas

C. Leon King High School

FL

Emily Markussen Sorsher Fullerton Union High School

CA

Brandon Mader

Jackson High School

OH

Ricinda Spatz

Union High School

OK

Emily Mandile

Reservoir High School

MD

Garrett Stalder

Pittsburg High School

KS

Frankie Marchi

Desert Vista High School

AZ

Steve Stanley

Oakwood High School

OH

Rebecca Marks

Hawken School

OH

Anna Steed

STRIVE Prep - RISE

CO

Richard Marshall

Science Hill High School

TN

James Stroud

W. B. Ray High School

TX

Rachel Mauchline

Cabot High School

AR

Daniel Terzulli

Chaminade High School

NY

Steve McCartt

Sedro Woolley High School

WA

Thomas Thomsen

Mission San Jose High School

CA

Patrick McGhee

Holy Ghost Prep

PA

Brandon Thornton

Bloomington High School

IL

Ben McGugin

Jackson High School

OH

Thomas Tobin

Willard High School

MO

Tammy Trout McIntyre East Ridge High School

MN

Lyndsey Toce

Grapevine Faith Christian School

TX

Melonie Menefee

Buffalo High School

TX

Michael Tristano

Phoenix Country Day School

AZ

Noah Mengisteab

Duchesne Academy Of The Sacred Heart

TX

David Umstot

Brookfield Central High School

WI

Kathryn Metcalf

Keller High School

TX

Ricardo Velasquez

Moore Middle School

CA

Luca Moretti

Davis Senior High School

CA

Michael Villacrusis

Turner Ashby High School

VA

Benjamin Morris

Madison West High School

WI

Miranda Villanueva

Harlingen High School South

TX

Brittany Newman

Middleton High School

WI

Christopher Vincent

Isidore Newman School

LA

Alysha Nordwall

Flathead High School

MT

Daniel Waks

BASIS Phoenix High School

AZ

Debra Orendorf

Berlin Brothersvalley High School

PA

Ben Wallek

Elko High School

NV

Spencer Orlowski

American Heritage School - Plantation

FL

David Wells

Bakersfield High School

CA

Isaiah Parker

Thomas Jefferson High School

WA

Dillon White

Woodbury High School

MN

Lily Parker

Emerson Community Charter

CA

Trudy White-Matthews Sage Hill School

CA

Pollyanna Parker

Rossview High School

TN

Seth Willden

Holy Family High School

CO

Taylor Parks

Kickapoo High School

MO

Krista Williams-Clark

Seminole High School

OK

Danni Petak

Billings West High School

MT

Frances Wong

Maryknoll High School

HI

Mac Phrommany

Manhattan High School

KS

Melody Woodson

Perry High School

OH

Kimberley Reeder

Rowan County Sr. High School

KY

Tim Young

Mason High School

OH

Ellen Robinson

North Raleigh Christian Academy

NC

Karen Zimmer

Perry High School

OH

Kit Rodgers

Harrisburg High School

SD

Peter Zopes

Chelmsford High School

MA

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45

COMMUNITY

THANK YOU! Your support makes the life-changing benefits of speech and debate possible.

Individual Supporters From August 1, 2019 through September 15, 2020

FINALIST

($5,000 and up) Adam and Ashley Johnson Dale DeLetis In Honor of Debbie Simon The Lanier Law Firm, P.C. Faisal and Hina Habib Tom and Vicki Rollins Joe and Pam Wycoff

THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS IN THIS ASSOCIATION.. .

YOUR DEDICATION HAS MADE A SMALL, NERVOUS, FRIGHTENED GIRL INTO WHO I AM TODAY. IT WILL ALSO MAKE THOUSANDS OF OTHER CHILDREN INTO A GENERATION OF GLOBAL LEADERS. JACQUELINE WEI Plano West Sr. High School, TX – Class of 2019 2018 and 2019 United States Extemporaneous Speaking National Champion

SEMIFINALIST

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Dear Colleagues, In this year of virtual learning, disrupted schedules, and lost opportunities, our students need an activity that brings them joy, companionship, and learning. They need an activity that allows them to bond with supportive adults as well as with fellow students who share their passion for performance and argumentation. In these unprecedented times, many of our students need speech and debate more than ever.

Speech and debate allows students to find their voice. What could be more important today in our changing world? Our society is currently facing social unrest that has not been seen at these levels and intensity in decades. We are experiencing a complicated time where the ability to find common ground has become increasingly difficult. The news is full of confusing and conflicting headlines, and social media is polarizing our nation. Finding where the truth lies can be difficult for young adults (and older ones, too). Yet, through speech and debate, students are taught to identify reliable sources, to write persuasively, to research and connect with scripts that speak to them on a personal level, to collaborate with peers, to formulate a point of view, and to demonstrate empathy through developing characters.

Additionally, students learn to truly listen. What could be more important in these uncertain times? Speech and debate fosters the skills that we need now—skills that can be used to be part of true national and global understanding. Speech and debate helps students connect to their passions. They are learning what it means to be an advocate, and they are developing lifelong skills that will serve them in their personal life and in whatever career path lies ahead. Speech and debate teaches students how to rely on one another, to support one another, and to be part of a team. Participating in speech and debate provides opportunities for students to learn genuine caring for others, humility with success, and graciousness in defeat.

This is going to be a challenging year. One of the things we love most is traveling to tournaments. Many tournaments will be happening virtually. The mourning we are going through is magnified for the students tenfold. Their losses must be acknowledged.

I urge you to find the ‘teaching moments’ the pandemic is providing. Your students are learning by watching you every day. They need to see you modeling joyful grit and tenacity with grace. They need your heart this year, and they need your courage. This noble, historic, and sometimes wacky activity of speech and debate is where their personal joy sits. Find strength in helping them, every day—for as you know, they are discovering who they are in their work with you.

Photo: Josh Huskin

My hope for each one of you is that you stay the course and focus on supporting and stretching your kids. My bet is that you, your students, and your team will come out of these trying times even better than before. Good luck, break legs (virtually), and most of all, find joy and have fun!

Bethany Bohall Bethany Bohall Wanda Wiley Atkinson Director of Fine Arts Saint Mary’s Hall, Texas 2020 NSDA High School Administrator of the Year

Find this and other letters of support on our website:

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ROSTRUM | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020

#W E A R E S PE

PE EC H AN

D D E BATE

BE AT YO U CA N H ER N ED TH AT EL D, W H ET I’ VE LE AR FI R U YO OF EE RI N G , TH E TO P CE , EN G IN OT N IE SC TH AT BE U CA N N BU T IF YO KN O W LE DG E, IF O R LAW, AT IC AT E TH PE RT IS E, UN M M CO E TH AT EX N OT SH AR YO U CA N ’T IT DO ES N M AT TE R.

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SP EEC H AN D DE BATE NOT ON LY PROV ID ED ME TH E KN OW LED GE , SK ILL S, AN D GU IDA NC E TO QU EST IO N MYSE LF AN D TH E WO RL D AR OU ME , BU T AL SO A CO MM UN ITY ND WI LL CH ER ISH TH AT I FO RE VE R.

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GET A FREE GIFT

ISH

AN BHATT St. Andrew’s Episc opal School, MS – Class of 2019 2018 Lincoln-Do

www. speec handd

uglas Debate cham

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ebate .org

NC HE Z GI NA SA

ss of 2018 ool, NM - Cla ain High Sch Year Finalist East Mount ent of the ional Stud Nat 2018 NSDA

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ndd ebat e.or

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AT A TIME WHEN I WAS AFRAID TO SPEAK UP, DEBATE TAUGHT ME HOW TO USE MY VOICE TO FIGHT FOR A BETTER WORLD. CARLOS MAZA Christopher Columbus High School, FL â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Class of 2008 Video Producer, Vox

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