OXFORD, Miss. – Roman philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero said, “The aim of forensic oratory is to teach, to delight, to move.” For the University of Mississippi forensics team, it might also be said that the aim is to win.
Since January, the team has traveled across the nation and returned with numerous accolades. At Lewis and Clarke College in Portland, Ore., the team won three first places and top novice in two events; at the University of Alabama, they were finalists in extemporaneous, prose and dramatic interpretation; at Suffolk University, they won two firsts and had multiple finalists; and at Marshall University, they were the top novice in two events and had numerous finalists and a sixth-place sweepstakes winner.
“This activity is, by nature, labor intensive and that is probably why we have a small, but mighty, team,” said JoAnn Edwards, director of forensics in the Lott Leadership Institute.
The University of Mississippi forensics team includes (left to right) Evan Kirkham, Elizabeth Tettleton, Angelica Spence, Justin Charles, Victoria Jones, Austin "Woody" Wood and Jackie Watson. Robert Gore is not pictured.
The team is composed of Justin Charles, a junior theatre arts major from Tyler, Texas; Robert Gore, a senior public policy leadership and Chinese major from Hattiesburg; Victoria Jones, a freshman public policy leadership major from Oxford; Evan Kirkham, a public policy leadership major from Dallas; Angelica Spence, a junior theatre arts major from Stone Mountain, Ga.; Elizabeth Tettleton, a junior marketing communications and hospitality major from Oxford; Jackie Watson, a freshman business and Chinese major from Oxford; and Austin “Woody” Wood, a sophomore political science major from Southlake, Texas.
The team is coached and prepped by Edwards and Debra Yancy, assistant director. Preparation for becoming tournament-ready is time-consuming, but the students all sacrifice their time and energy into being involved.
“This group of students has done amazing things in light of their other activities,” Edwards said. “I am competing with their academics and other leadership activities to get them on the road.”
Gore first got involved with forensics through an Ole Miss summer workshop.
“Through participating in forensics, I’ve learned how people listen, how we should deliver information if we hope for others to remember it. It’s been an invaluable experience,” said Gore, who will travel to Boston for the Interstate Oratorical Competition in April. “JoAnn Edwards has done so much to shape my conception of a good speech and has taught me the structure and devices expected of a winning speech. She is always there to help, but we have to be self-motivated to compete with this team.”
The team goes out twice more before the end-of-year national tournament. Next weekend, they head to LSU for two tournaments and then Kirkham and Wood are to debate students from Wiley College of Marshall, Texas, for an exhibition event March 1 in Memphis. The debate topic is “Resolved: President Barak Obama should be re-elected.”
Wiley College was documented in the 2007 movie “The Great Debaters,” for beating national champion University of Southern California in the 1930s.
The American Forensics Association National IE tournament is in San Marcos, Texas, and Spence and Charles have qualified. The National Forensics Tournament is at the University of Ohio, and Spence, Tettleton, Gore, Wood and Watson will compete.
The students utilize their leadership skills to gain confidence in their public speaking abilities and they realize that communication is something that requires two people.
“JoAnn Edwards is why we have forensics at the University of Mississippi, why we are known on the national circuit for a classy representation of rhetoric and finesse in speaking, and why we give up our weekends to keep doing this activity,” Tettleton said.
Tettleton won first place in the extemporaneous category at the Southern Regional Forensics Tri-State competition, where participants have 30 minutes to prepare a full speech answering a domestic, political or global affairs question, using at least six sources to back up the reasoning for an answer.
“I have broken into finals several times before in other categories, but this was my first first-place award,” said Tettleton, who has been on the team since fall 2010.”When everyone stood up and gave a round of applause, I felt like Sally Field receiving her first Emmy. It was so gratifying that all of my hard work had paid off.”
Forensics is one of the most gratifying experiences anyone can go through, she said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is or what your political views are,” Tettleton said. “Extroverts, introverts and people from all majors and walks of life can excel in some way through public speaking in a competitive format. I encourage anyone and everyone to give it a try.”
Charles, who won the National Championship in dramatic interpretation, began his experience with forensics at Tyler Junior College before transferring to Ole Miss. What he has learned in the program has pushed him to persevere in all aspects of his life.
“I never had an understanding of the amount of influence or power one individual can have until I joined the forensic activity,” Charles said. “This competitive activity instills within the competitors a sense of confidence and courage like none other. I truly feel that it has changed my life, and I am so thankful for all the opportunities I have been presented with. Forensics has prepared me as a public speaker, as well as an actor.
“The ability to balance and multitask is critical in this event, as well as maintain your stamina throughout the competition.”
For more information on the Ole Miss forensics program, contact JoAnn Edwards.