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Lifestyles
Article by Sarah Currie Graphic by Jaidyn Holt
May 2O21
SPEECHLESS:
Junior Lillian Nguyen competed for the petitor expressing their views on a topic and Speech and Debate team on February 13 at hoping to persuade, while most debate events Harvard. As a petite person, Nguyen said it’s consist of multiple competitors sharing their hard to find suits that fit her, so at Harvard, views and expecting a rebuttal. she rolled up her skirt to ensure it wouldn’t fall “It’s different for the speech side … and down. After being on her feet all day walking the debate side of the circuit,” Nguyen said. the campus, she decided to take off her high “Speech is all about inclusion. I think we’ve heels and put on flats before her next round. taken great strides in achieving equality to all Like any speech and debate hopeful, Nguyen races, all genders, all religions. Debate is a difexpected to receive concrete, professional feed- ferent scene. Judges’ perspectives on how legitback. imate female debaters [are] … is still antique.” “Your skirt is ill-fitting and a little short,’’ Director of Forensics, Benjamin Gaddis was the feedback Nguyen received. “It is un- said that some females feel more comfortable professional for a woman to wear flats.” in certain events than in others. Nguyen felt that her ballot, a sheet of paper “I would say they [females] find it easier to used to judge, was anything but professional. be rewarded [in speech],” Gaddis said. “In deAccording to Nguyen, this experience with bate, females get talked over, and they have a exclusionary behavior was just one of many lot of things happen to them that are inherentthat other females like her have faced in speech ly or what I would call structurally sexist, that events. occur all the time.” “I’m always happy when I get a female According to Shraddha Bhatia, a junior judge, but it doesn’t mean that all male judges on the Speech and Debate team, there are are bad,” Nguyen said. improvements to be made in the speech comTrinity alumni and debater, Alexis Huang, munity as well. Bhatia competes in extemporathinks the problem neous speaking, an goes beyond male event where com“Speech is all about inclusion. I think petitors are given a judges. “It’s not just we’ve taken great strides in achiev- topic and create a from male judgspeech with limited es,” Huang said. ing equality to all races, all genders, preparation. “Sometimes fe- all religions. Debate is a different “[Extemporamale judges can be neous speaking is] scene. Judges’ perspectives on how a very male-domisuper sexist. A lot of the comments legitimate female debaters [are] ... nated event,” Bhathat I got [were] is still antique.” tia said. “People about what I was believe, especially wearing, or the - Lillian Nguyen, in extemp, that way that my voice women aren’t as Junior k n o w l e d g e a b l e or tone sounded was actually from a or as confident as lot of mom judges. A lot of moms would be men. There’s that stigma that women just can’t like, ‘I would never let my daughter wear that be as good as men … about current events.” in round.’ or ‘You don’t look professional.’” Bhatia explains how she deals with the stigCompetitions will ask parents of the com- ma around women in this event. petitors to volunteer as judges, so it is common “I just do my own thing and give my own to see older people judge. Parents can judge speeches,” Bhatia said. “I don’t try to get on any event in speech and debate, and within the bad side of a lot of these guys. A lot of the speech and debate there are multiple events. time … you have to have a constant smile … Most speech events consist of at least one com- to draw them in so they don’t think you don’t
You sound so competent!
Love the suit! It looks so professional!
