U. debaters host competition

On Saturday morning four campus buildings were overrun by well-dressed high school students. The students had come to compete in The Liberty Bell Classic, a national high school forensics competition held at the University. The tournament attempts to attain two goals, according to University Debate Council President Amy Fisher. "It shows high school students what college debate is all about," said Fisher, a College senior. "And it also allows for the members of the debate council, most of whom debated in high school, to give something back to the high school debate community." The tournament, which began Saturday morning at 8:30, is a well-established tradition at the University. The classic is also well known throughout the country and attracted teams from Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina. Teams from the northeast also competed. The Council began preparing for the tournament in October and completed preparations Saturday at 3 a.m. The tournament raises money for the University Debate Council and allows it to travel to college tournaments through out the country. Fischer said the Council's aim is eventually to elevate the tournament to the prestigious level it occupied 10 years ago, restoring it to the nationally known status of annual tournaments held at Wake Forest, Emory, and Harvard universities. The tournament features four different types of speechmaking and two kinds of debates. Before each round, some of the competitors anxiously paced the marble halls of Bennett Hall practicing their speeches. Other speakers casually sat with their teammates and discussed other subjects. One of the more unusual speech formats is duo-interpretation, in which performers act out a scene from any play without making physical or visual contact. Although the competitors are never allowed to face each other, they are expected to act out the scene as if they are. Their goal is to communicate the meaning of a dramatic piece through an interactive dialogue. Dave Long, a judge at the competition who teaches at Lower Merion High School said he looks for vocal and expressive reactions to the piece. "While one person is reading, the other person should react according to what is being said," Long said. Neil Sumilas, a student at Calvert Hall High School in Baltimore, Maryland, competed in the oratory competition. delivered the first speech of his round. His speech, titled "Worst dressed, so what," was the first presented in his round. Sumilas, who was competing for his second consecutive year, said he was excited about the tournament. "This is a great tournament because it allows me to compete outside of the Baltimore area," said the high school senior. "It's always nice to participate in a high-profile tournament." According to Martin Eltrich, vice-president of the University Debate Council, Sumilas was at a disadvantage speaking first in the oratory competition. "It is rarely advantageous to lead off in an oratory round because you will rarely make a lasting impression on the judges," said Eltrich, a Wharton sophomore. "The only time that it can work to your advantage is if your competition is weak. If you set a high standard of competition, that makes it much tougher for those who will follow you." Extemporaneous speech, another division of the competition, required students to prepare a speech related to current events in only 30 minutes. According to participants, the real challenge of extemporaneous speech is the limited preparation time. Cory Firestone, a senior at Pennsbury High School who has recently applied to the University, said she has been competing in extemporaneous speech for four years because she enjoys the challenge it presents. "This type of competition requires a high intellect," Firestone said. "The speech topics are always changing, and so you never know what you are going to do. You do learn a lot by doing so much research."