2009-2010 Season Results IE and Debate WSU Speech reaches Quarterfinals at the National Forensics Association national tournament, 9th place in the nation! April 13: The speech team finished the season by competing at the National Forensics Association (NFA) national tournament, hosted by Ohio University. In impromptu, Arthi Chandrasekaran reached Quarterfinals, an outstanding achievement! With only four students qualified, Wayne State finished 9th in the nation for Division III, which includes schools such as Emerson College, Florida State University, Indiana University, Marshall University, University of Michigan, New York University, Seton Hall University, Truman State University, UCLA, and United States Air Force Academy. Way to go!
WSU Debate Reaches Elimination Rounds at Jr Varsity Nationals March 14: The debate team traveled to Towson University in Baltimore to debate at Junior Varsity Nationals. The team of Jake Justice and Kristen Messina went 4-2 and reached elimination rounds. They defeated Fordham in Double Octafinals and then lost to top seeded Binghamton in Octafinals. It's been a great season for this team of freshman! (The debate team in Baltimore: From Left: Brad Meloche, Marshall Dodson, Kristen Messina, Jake Justice and coach John Koch. Photo taken by coach Noriaki Tajima) WSU Speech Team Excels at State Championship March 9: The speech team debated at the Michigan Interscholastic Speech League (MISL) State Championship and had a great deal of success! Congratulations to Patrick Joyce for his 2nd place finish in After Dinner Speaking and 3rd place in Extemp. Arthi Candrasekaran was 4th in Extemp, while Shay Johnson was 6th in Prose. Congratulations on a great showing at the State Championship! WSU Debate Finishes 3rd, Two Quarterfinals appearance at National Championship Tournament March 9: The debate team traveled to Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) to compete at the American Debate Association (ADA) National Championship. Novices Rachelle Ketchum and Melinda Mishark finished 3rd in Novice, reaching the semifinals after defeating Clarion in Octafinals and George Mason in Quarterfinals. Ketchum was also 8th Novice speaker. In Jr Varsity, the team of Jake Justice and Kristen Messina reached Quarterfinals, after defeating Liberty University in Octafinals. Justice was 5th JV Speaker. In Varsity, Mark Jarrett and Alex
Pasquinelli reached Quarterfinals after defeating James Madison in the Octafinals, Pasquinelli was 7th Varsity speaker. (Photo: The WSU debate team talks with Capital University debaters during a lunch break. Pictured: Dr. Kelly Young, John Koch, Jake Justice, Marshall Dodson, Noriaki Tajima and Nicholas Tabarias.) WSU Speech dominates the competition at EMU! February 14: The speech team traveled to Eastern Michigan University for the Michigan Interscholastic Speech League (MISL) Spring tournament. Congratulations to Patrick Joyce for his 1st place finish in After Dinner Speaking and 2nd place in Impromptu. Arthi Chandrasekaran placed 2nd in Persuasion and 5th in Poetry. With only 3 students, the team placed 3rd in overall sweepstakes--an impressive feat! WSU Speech Has Novice State Champion! February 7: The speech team traveled to Delta College for the Michigan Interscholastic Speech League (MISL) Novice State Championship tournament. Freshman Grace Hardin won a novice state championship in Informative speaking and finished 5th in Impromptu and extemporaneous speaking!
WSU Director of Forensics Discusses the Need for Civility, yet Open Argumentation and Debate February 2, 2010: Wayne State's Center for the Study of Citizenship hosted Rep. Jim Leach, the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to discuss the subject, "Civility in a Fractured Society." Dr. Kelly Young, director of forensics and assistant professor of communication, was one of three respondents to Leach's speech. Video of Leach's speech and Young's response can be found here: mms://streaming.wayne.edu/civilcitizen.wmv WSU Debate Reaches Finals at Augustana College! January 31: The debate team traveled to Augustana College in Rock Island, IL to compete, where Novices Rachelle Ketchum and Melinda Mishark defeated Capital University 3-0 in Semifinals to reach finals. In finals, they lost to John Carroll University on a split decision. Ketchhum was 4th speaker and Mishark was 5th. In Varsity, Brad Meloche and Marshall Dodson advanced to a partial Octafinal debate where they lost a split decision to Wisconsin Oshkosh. The team in the hotel lobby at Augustana College
WSU Debate Travels all across the Nation, Wins Awards at the Naval Academy and Missouri-Kansas City! January 24: The debate squad split into two teams and traveled in opposition directions for competition. One group traveled to Annapolis, MD to debate at the US Naval Academy. There, Jake Justice & Kristen Messina reached finals in Jr Varsity and finished in 2nd place to Trinity University. Messina was also 9th Jr Varsity top speaker. In novice, Rachelle Ketchum & Melinda Mishark reached partial Octafinals before losing to West Point. The rest of the squad traveled to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. At that tournament, Alan Gocha and Carlos McMath reached Octafinals before losing to a team from Minnesota. WSU Debate reach Semi-Finals at Illinois State! January 14: After the holiday break, the debate team traveled to Illinois State University for competition (ISU is where former WSU graduate coach Donny Peters is Director of Debate and Dr. Joe Zompetti is Associate Professor). Alex Pasquinelli and Mark Jarrett when 7-1 in preliminary debates, won Quarterfinals against Michigan, but lost in Semifinals to Michigan State. The teams of Jake Justice and Kristen Messina and Marshall Dodson and Brad Meloche both went 5-3 and met in Quarterfinals. Dodson and Meloche advanced and debated the top seeded Michigan team and lost in Semifinals. In Junior Varsity, Rob Sembarski and Nick Tabarias reached Jr Varsity finals and finished 2nd place. Speaker awards went out to Pasquinelli for 5th in open, Alan Gocha 3rd in Open and Sembarski 2nd in Jr Varsity. Alex Pasquinelli showing off her 5th place speaker award
WSU Individual Events head into the Holiday Break with strong showing in Ohio! December 9: The individual events team traveled to Ohio State University, where Grace Hardin finished 4th place in Novice Impromptu. Shay Johnson was 5th in Novice Dramatic Interpretation and 5th in Novice Prose. Patrick Joyce reached semi-finals in Open Impromptu. Additionally, the team finished 2nd in the prestigious holiday sing-off award :). December 13: At the Fall Michigan Interscholastic Speech League (MISL) Tournament, the team finished 4th overall. Individually, Patrick Joyce finished in 1st place in Impromptu, 2nd in Extemp and 2nd in After Dinner Speaking. Arthi Chandrasekaran was 2nd in Persuasion, 5th in Extemp and 3rd in Individual Sweepstakes. Finally, Shay Johnson finished 4th place in Prose. WSU Debate finishes Fall semester strong! December 7: The debate team traveled to Cleveland for a tournament at John Carroll University and cleared four teams to elimination debates. Alex Pasquinelli and Mark Jarrett, Harry Singh and Amrit Kamboj, and Jake Justice and Kristen Messina advanced to Open Octafinals while Melinda Mishark and Rachelle Ketchum reached Quarterfinals in novice. Pasquinelli was 5th top open speaker, Rob Sembarski was 5th top Jr Varsity speaker and Mishark was 10th top novice speaker. Additionally, finally National Debate Tournament (NDT) rankings for the Fall Semester have WSU ranked 12th in the nation. Kristen Messina and Amrit Kamboj in between rounds at John Carroll University
WSU Outreach to Urban Debate League in the News December 18: The WSU forensics teams co-hosted a Detroit Urban Debate League tournament at Manoogian Hall over the weekend. The other host was Life Skills Center, a Detroit charter school. An article in the Free Press about Life Skills and prep for our tournament can be found here. WSU Individual Events Excels in Limited Prep Events at Bowling Green State! Nov 25: At Bowling Green State University (OH), the individual events team took home three awards in limited prep events. Freshman Grace Hardin won 1st place in Novice Impromptu and Top Novice in Extemp (she placed 4th overall, but was the top novice in the mixed varsity/novice division). Junior Arthi Chandrasekaran finished in 4th place in Varsity Impromptu, which was highly impressive given the unusually large (60 entries) and high quality entries in the event. Congratulations on the great weekend! WSU Individual Events reaches Semifinals at Bradley (IL)! Nov 7: At one of the nation's top individual events tournament at Bradley University,Junior Patrick Joyce reached the semifinals in Impromptu speaking. This put Joyce in the top 12 out of 99 entries. Limited prep has long been a major strength for Joyce, who was a state champion in limited prep his freshman year. Congratulations on the outstanding performance! From Left to Right: Grace Hardin, Patrick Joyce, Sharayah Johnson at Bradley.
WSU Debate Team has Two Teams in Quarterfinals at Liberty University Nov 8: At Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, the debate team had two teams reach the elimination debates. Continuing their strong run this semester, freshmen Kristen Messina and Jake Justice went a perfect 6-0 in Jr Varsity debate before losing to Clarion University on a 1-2 decision in Quarterfinals. Messina was recognized as the 2nd speaker at the tournament, while Justice was 3rd. Junior Harry Singh and Amrit Kamboj went 4-2 in varsity debate before losing to Emory University on a 1-2 decision in Quarterfinals. Congratulations on the strong showing! Left to Right: Melinda Mishark and Carlos McMath
WSU Debate Ranked 10th in Nation November 1: the WSU debate team is currently ranked 10th in the nation according to the National Debate Tournament rankings. This strong national showing is due to outstanding showings at the University of Northern Iowa, Clarion University and Richmond University, where Wayne had several late outround appearances, including 3 final rounds and 1 JV victory. NATIONAL DEBATE TOURNAMENT RANKINGS AS OF NOV. 1, 2009 1. Liberty University 314 2. Binghamton 305 3. Northwestern 272 4. Cornell University 265 5. California-Berkley 259 6. U.S. Military Academy 201 7. George Mason Univers 197 8. Central Oklahoma 194 9. James Madison194 10. Wayne State University 191 11. Oklahoma 190 12. Kansas State188 13. West Georgia181 14. Emory 175 15. Minnesota175 16. Texas San Antonio174 17. Missouri State173 18. Rochester 172 19. Harvard169 20. Missouri-Kansas City 168
2009 Motor City Classic Annual Debate Tournament a Success October 24-26: the WSU forensics union hosted its annual Motor City Classic college debate tournament. The event brought 13 universities and approximately 120 guests to Manoogian Hall and the Student Center for three days of competition. Universities such as Harvard, Illinois State, Northwestern, Michigan, MSU, Minnesota and Iowa were in attendance. Northwestern won the varsity competition, finishing first and second. In Junior Varsity competition, Minnesota was victorious over Northern Iowa. Full results can be found here. Individual Events Team Highly Successful in Akron October 10: The Individual Events team traveled to Akron for a two day tournament. On the first day, freshman Shay Johnson won 1st place in novice prose. Teammate freshman Grace Hardin took 2nd place in novice Impromptu and 4th place Prose. Junior Patrick Joyce received 4th place in after-dinner speaking and sophomore Blair Walker was 6th place in impromptu. Overall, the team was recognized as the 3rd best team overall. On the second day, Patrick Joyce received 1st place in after-dinner speaking, 4th place in impromptu and 5th place in extemp while Shay Johnson was 6th place in prose. The team received the 4th place team award. We are very excited that the team is growing in size and enjoying such success! From Left to Right: IE team members Blair Walker, Arthi Chandrasekaran, Shay Johnson and Grace Hardin
Debate Team Advanced to Deep Elimination Debates at Richmond (VA) University Oct 11-13: The debate team sent teams to the University of Richmond (VA). There, freshmen Jake Justice and Kristen Messina took 3rd place (semifinalist) in Junior-Varsity debate. Messina was recognized as the 8th best speaker, while her partner Justice was 9th. Junior Harry Singh and sophomore Amrit Kamboj advanced to the Quarterfinals in Varsity debate, while seniors Alex Pasquinelli and Mark Jarrett reached the Octafinals. Kristin Messina and Jake Justice show off their speaker and team awards--pens and timers
Debate Team Hosts Annual Edward J. Pappas Annual High School Tournament October 10-12 schools and 41 teams participated in this year's annual Edward J. Pappas high school tournament. Top honors went to the following: Varsity: Champion-Seaholm 2nd-Detroit Country Day 3rd-Ann Arbor Pioneer and Dexter Top Speaker: Detroit Country Day Novice: Top Overall 4p Unit-Dexter Top Aff Team: Detroit Country Day Top Neg Team: Dexter We thank all the teams that attended and hope to see everyone again next year! DEBATE TEAM WINS AT CLARION UNIVERSITY! September 27-The debate team traveled to Clarion University (Clarion, PA) where freshmen Jake Justice and Kristen Messina won in Junior Varsity, building on their 2 nd place finish last weekend. In addition, Messina was recognized as the 3 rd top speaker, while Justice was 7 th. In varsity debate, sophomore Alan Gocha and freshman Melinda Mishark advanced to the finals where they finished in 2 nd place. Gocha was the 5 th overall speaker. This will be the third time WSU has had teams in finals this season!
NEW INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TEAM MEMBERS EARN IMMEDIATE SUCCESS! September 26--The individual events team attended a novice tournament and workshop at Oakland Community College-Orchard Ridge and had two place finishes. Freshman Shay Johnson (Birch Run, MI) finished 3rd in Prose and Freshman Grace Hardin (Woodhaven, MI) finished 6th place in Impromptu. After the competition, Johnson, Hardin and teammate Ashley Moore (Frosh, Gardner, KS) attended seminars/workshops on other individual events. Congrats on the strong showing at your first tournament representing WSU! BIG OPENING WEEKEND FOR WSU FORENSICS WITH 1ST PLACE, 2ND PLACE AND MANY TOP 5 FINISHES September 22--The speech and debate teams had a very busy and successful opening tournament weekend! The speech team traveled to Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN), where Junior Patrick Joyce finished in 1st place in After Dinner Speaking and 3rd in Exempt. Sophomore Blair Walker finished 5th in Impromptu and Informative, while Junior Arthi Chandrasekaran finished 6th in Persuasion. The debate team traveled to the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA), where freshmen Kristen Messina and Jake Justice finished 2nd in junior-varsity debate. Messina was also recognized as the 4th best speaker. In varsity debate, the team of sophomore Alan Gocha and Senior Alex Pasquinelli reached the Octafinals, where they lost to Emporia State. More photos of the debate team trip can be found here. Left: Justice and Messina with their 2nd place award. Right: Gocha and Pasquinelli at the hotel prepping for the morning.
PRE-SEASON PREP IN CLARKSTON, MI TO START THE SEASON August 26, 2009: During the first week in August, the speech and debate teams spent one week in Clarkston, MI at the Colombiere Conference & Retreat Center to prepare for their upcoming season. The debate team welcomes several new freshman members and one new graduate assistant coach, John Koch, from the Canton, OH area. Competition begins soon after school starts, with the speech team traveling to Purdue University on Sept 19-20 and the debate team to the University of Northern Iowa (Sept 18-21) and Clarion University in Pennsylvania (Sept 25-27). In October, we host our Edward Pappas high school policy debate tournament and McMonagle debate clinic and our college policy debate tournament, the Motor City Classic. Left: Graduate coach Nori Tajima is pondering over a strategy. Right: the debate team hard at work researching in Clarkston, MI. POLICY DEBATE TOPIC ANNOUNCED-REDUCE OUR NUCLEAR ARSENAL SIZE OR ROLE July 17, 2009: The 2009-2010 NDT/CEDA debate topic will featured debates about the the size or role of our nuclear weapons arsenal. The topic will feature debates about cuts in the size of our stockpile, ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, de-alerting our nuclear weapons, declaring a No First Use posture and many other issues. Specifically, the resolution reads: Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce the size of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and/or substantially reduce and restrict the role and/or missions of its nuclear weapons arsenal.