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Forensics team to host high school tournament this weekend
The Advocate
The MHCC Forensics team is hosting a high school invitational tournament today from 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The event is a chance for high school students from across the region to come to the college campus and test their skills against one another.
Although this event is open to high schools across the nation and 27 are currently enrolled, most of the schools are from the Northwest. “We have a couple schools from Spokane that usually show up, schools from Vancouver, too. Once we even had a school from Nevada come,” said Shannon Valdivia, MHCC forensics director.
This year the turnout shouldn’t disappoint though, with high schools on the register from Hermiston to Florence. “The tournament hasn’t been this big in years. We normally average around 20 to 21 schools. We’re at 27,” Valdivia said Tuesday, with a day left before the registration deadline.
There is no limit to the number of schools that can attend, but there is a restriction for debate teams: six entries per school. This is due to space constraints on campus. “As the numbers stand, we will have 40 rooms dedicated to the debates and that’s pushing it. I mean, we’re almost literally using closets because were so tight for space,” said Valdivia.
Tournament proceedings will take place all across the campus but the central communication hub for individual round information will be the College Center.
Valdivia said, “This event provides an opportunity for high school students to get a chance to get some good competition in with each other. They have been working really hard all year and the idea is that through their season (which starts in September) they gradually improve and get to district qualifying tournaments, which then qualify them for state.”
As far as tournament events, there will be four debate styles that the students will be subjected to: cross-examination (consists of teams of one or two debaters debating), Lincoln-Douglass (strictly one on one), public forum (a high-speed, public-oriented style of debate) and public, which is more or less impromptu and based on the parliamentary system in England.
Forensics is basically a speech and debate group, Valdivia explained. “It’s like how athletics is more physical sport; speech and debate is the sport of the mind,” she said.
Valdivia said forensics program need support. “Speech and debate is one of the student activities that is normally one of the first issues on the chopping block as far as budget cuts are concerned, even though it enables students learn some very valuable skills that they can take with them in their professional and personal lives,” she said.
Awards will be assigned after preliminary and elimination rounds conclude. Those deemed master debaters will earn trophies.
MHCC will host a similar event for college students the following weekend. Anyone with questions should call Valdivia at 503-491-7634.
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