Forensics team ‘likes to win’

“We like to win; that’s one thing we like to do,” said student Jennifer Sewell about Mt. Hood’s forensics team, which placed first at the recent Lower Columbia College sweepstakes.

The travelling team is heading to San Diego to participate in a tournament at Point Loma Nazarene University’s annual Sunset Cliffs Classic Invitational forensics tournament, which runs Saturday and Sunday.

Mt. Hood’s forensics team spends the entire academic year participating in various events, debating and using other forms of public speaking, said Liz Kinnaman, assistant coach and argumentation instructor.

“We debate, and then (there are) individual events. Individual events can be anywhere from informative speaking, to excerpts from a prose, a book or poetry, or dramatic interpretations,” Sewell said.

The forensics team usually does International Public Debate Association (IPDA) events. IPDA events focus “on globally well-rounded topics,” said Kinnaman. When participating in IPDA events, debaters are expected to “not intervene from a U.S. perspective at all, that’s kind of frowned upon,” she said. “You’re supposed to be a more global debater.”

Countless hours of research are required for preparation for debates. The team travels with large tubs filled with information from major newspapers. “There’s a lot of it (competition) that’s research-based, and there’s a lot of it that’s just logic-based,” said Kinnaman.

The team looks forward to about nine more tournaments this academic year, and also will run a few of those events on campus, as a fundraiser for the team. “We’re a big hub for high school debate tournaments, so they always like to have their tournaments here because it’s accessible to the students,” Kinnaman said.

Hosting events is also a way for Mt. Hood to attract students to attend the college.

Although the forensics team has been highly successful for years, students still have to learn to deal with the common stress of stage fright. “In an environment where everybody is nervous, and you know it, it is easier to outperform your own expectations because other people expect so much more of you,” said Kinnaman.

Sewell said that speech and debate has really built her skills, in general. “Speech has really helped me develop into an actual person who could actually talk to people,” she said.

Kinnaman underscores the point that individuals should make themselves heard. “Regardless of whether they know that they’re being empowered right now, they are,” she said.