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Lafayette finished first among the schools in Pi Kappa Delta, the national forensics honorary society, at the West Chester Rose Bowl Tournament Oct. 11-12.
The Forensics Society also placed sixth overall among the 21 total schools at the tournament, which included the University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, and New York University. Lafayette dominated Lincoln-Douglas debate, taking five of the eight semifinal places.
With just one season of college experience under his belt, Benjamin Berlow ’06 (Palmerton, Pa.) led the team by taking first place in debate and also competed in prose. His final debate topic focused on whether the federal government should place regulations on industrial pollution. Government and law major Paul Kritzler ’05 (Monkton, Md.) made it to the debate semifinals, finishing among the top four competitors.
Three students finished in the debate quarterfinals: Jennifer Rusak ’04 (Ashley, Pa.), a double major in psychology and philosophy, who also earned third place in persuasive speech; Trustee Scholarship recipient Erik Heins ’05 (Center Moriches, N.Y.), a double major in philosophy and government & law, who also took fifth place in extemporaneous speech and competed in impromptu speech; and Michael Lestingi ’04 (Centerville, Ohio), a dual degree student pursuing a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and a bachelor of arts with majors in International Studies and Russian & East European Studies, who also competed in impromptu speech.
Lincoln-Douglas is a persuasive policy debate on traditional stock issues. Competitors are evaluated on their analysis, use of evidence, and ability to effectively and persuasively organize, deliver, and refute arguments.
“For me, this tournament proved how strong, cohesive, and unique our team is,” says Berlow. “If someone like me with no previous experience in Lincoln-Douglas debate can go home with a first-place plaque after one year of competing, it really shows how our team through its devoted coaches and enthusiastic competitors is an amazing training and mentoring environment. This team clearly epitomizes the spirit of the Lafayette Experience because it can bring out the full potential of anyone who is committed.”
Lestingi serves as president of Forensics Society and its recently founded branch of Pi Kappa Delta, which operates under the motto “Communication: True and Just.” He is proud of how much Forensics Society has grown in his more than three years as a member.
“The younger members are eager to learn,” he says. “Our team’s cooperation — personally and intellectually — sets us apart from others. This is the Lafayette Experience.”
“This was a great chance for our team to show we can be the best debate school in the area,” says Kritzler. “I think we really broke out.Personally, I found myself at a new level in debate.”
The students were accompanied by Scott Placke, director of forensics, and Jon Honiball, debate coach.
“I am very proud to be at Lafayette,” says Placke. “Everyone is so supportive of our team. I could not think of a better place for forensics.”
“I am amazed by what our team was able to do at this tournament,” says Honiball. “There were so many highlights from this past weekend.We had the top four speakers and all five competitors cleared to the elimination rounds.Benji just began debate one year ago at this same tournament and now a year later he wins it. Paul won his first elimination round and it was against a former national champion. I am really excited about where we will go from here. We have high goals and expectations this year and this performance just shows how hard everyone on the team is working to get there.”
For Rusak, the tournament was her first after a year away from forensics. In her persuasive speech event, competitors delivered a monologue from memory of up to ten minutes on a significant issue, seeking to convince, move to action, or inspire.
“The cooperative spirit and positive attitude of the entire team made my return easy as well as exciting,” she says. “I am as proud of all the work that we’ve put in as I am of the awards that we received.”
In her persuasive speech, Rusak argued that the U.S. military should re-evaluate its policy of using tanks and weapons coated with uranium, a toxic substance that increases destructive capability but has lingering detrimental effects similar to those of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.
The team will compete again this weekend at a tournament hosted by Towson University in Baltimore, Md.
“We did great last weekend and we want to keep that momentum going for this upcoming tournament at Towson,”says Heins. In his event, extemporaneous speech, contestants selected one of three topics on current national and international events and had 30 minutes to prepare a speech of five to seven minutes on it. His choice in a preliminary round answered the question “Is the recent trend of a declining dollar a boon or bane?”
Despite devoting significant time to Forensics Society and their studies, the Lafayette students are active in other campus activities as well.
Berlow is editorial assistant for the Israeli Studies Forum, social action chair for Hillel Society, treasurer of both College Democrats and QuEST (Questioning Established Sexual Taboos), and secretary of Marquis Players, a student group that produces an annual musical for charity. He also is an America Reads tutor, a Jewish song leader, and a member of Association for Lafayette Women.
Lestingi is president of Lafayette and QuEST, secretary of International Affairs Club, treasurer of Association for Lafayette Women, an executive board member for Lafayette Intercultural Networking Committee (LINC), a volunteer translator for Covenant House Nursing Home, and a member of the student chapter of American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Dobro Slovo, the national honor society for the study of Russian language and culture.
Rusak is president of Alternative Spring Break Club and the student chapter of Psi Chi, the national psychology honor society, as well as a member of LINC and Lafayette Communications Union.
Heins is a member of the fencing team and Haven, a student group stressing an alcohol- and drug-free lifestyle.
Kritzler is president of Haven and competes in intramural sports.