Forensics Team Adds Life to College

(Ed. Note – This is an opinion piece.  The contents of the article are the thoughts and opinions of the author alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Writing on the Mall or its staff)

For many students on campus, this team is almost like a secret society, except to the participants’ close friends, and this needs to change immediately. The Marietta College community of students and staff need to stand up and support these bold and lively students.

As a junior here at Marietta, I have only heard of this so-called forensics team of ours a couple of times and those were freshman year when my Communications 101 professor would make an announcement or congratulate them aloud. If you want to know more, you’ve got to talk to the right people. Once you find them and start talking though, it’s hard to stop because the passion for communications runs deep here at MC.

The Marietta College Forensics team is an organization that is dedicated to helping individuals on campus try to perfect the skill of public speaking. From their website connecting to the college’s, you can find out most of the technicalities of the organization and what they are mainly about. According to the department page for forensics, the Greeks organized contests for speakers that developed and recognized the abilities believed to have been central to democracy. I wonder how the Greeks would have felt about the Bush family’s speaking abilities.

In order to better understand what the organization is all about, it’s good to delve into what they go through in practices and competitions. First off, there are three separate categories of events; interpretation, prepared, and limit preparation. Starting in the fall, before semester even begins the seasoned team members start by researching possible topics and possible selections to start writing. New member meetings are held once the semester starts and then the team can choose which tournaments will fit their schedules.

Pieces are prepared as much as possible in the first month of school so the rest of the year can be dedicated to practice making perfect and taking the criticism from judges and making the performances stronger for the next tournament. The meetings are weekly and open to new members at any point as far as I could tell from talking to a few members and Tomeka Robinson, Communications professor and co-leader of the organization. The team usually stays the same year round because students are encouraged to try out early to get in the most tournaments possible but, no matter what your major is, you can be a forensics pro if you’d like.

Scott Burnham, current president of the team states, “I feel that more advertisement would definitely help students learn about the organization. I also feel that students need to realize that the opportunities this organization presents are limitless. This club allows students to practice a practical skill that is a necessity in a professional career. This club also promotes friendships across Universities and on our own campus.”

When asking students what their best team experience is, you might expect to hear things like hitting a homerun in the ninth and scoring that final goal that broke the tie but, on this team, the high moments are much deeper than you can expect from any other team on campus.

“[Winning the National Novice Championship freshman year] showed me that even though I attended a small college, I could still compete against universities that have enormous programs and that dedication is truly the key to your success.” Dedication huh, I think Marietta College knows a little something about that.

To a college with 175 years of history this year, stand up and be proud of the amazing public speakers that are right here in your own body of students. This organization is student-led, the most successful academic organization on campus, and it focuses on helping students reach their highest capacity that they possibly didn’t even know existed! Marietta College plays host to the annual Wilcox tournament so next year, take the chance to see you peers in action. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll make you think a little harder the next time you open your trap.

This article was written by Allison Holton, a student taking Media Writing Two at Marietta College.  Look for more articles from the class to appear on Writing on the Mall in the coming weeks.  If you are interested in writing for Writing on the Mall, please e-mail patrick_h at writingonthemall dot net.