USC Forensics presents . . .

The 2008 Speech and Debate Showcase

On May 8th, 2008 at 7:30 in the High School LGI the Forensics team will present its first annual Speech and Debate Showcase. Join us for a fund raising event and see what amazing work the team has done this year. There will be presentations of Dramatic, Humorous and Duo Interpretation, Prose and poetry readings, and a chance for members of the community to challenge our debaters to a one-on-one match-up on a random topic. Refreshments will be served, and a small donation would go a long way to getting the team to the National Tournments in May and June.

J.P. Gooderham Wins Perspectives Round Robin

PHILADELPHIA, Penn. — The Perspectives Round Robin has come to a close. Entering the final round were Scarsdale High School’s Nikita Lalwani (who had accumulated twelve ballots) and Upper St. Clair High School’s J.P. Gooderham (who has collected ten). On a 3-2 decision — with Alexander McCobin, Lilly Deng, and Jon Kwan making up the majority, and Katie Poulos and Tom Pryor dissenting — J.P. defeated Nikita. Congratulations to both debaters!

Now that the round robin has concluded, the participants — who each made a donation to Perspectives Debate, Inc. as a registration fee — will be helping out at a tournament for Perspectives’ students directly after the round robin.

Practice Schedule up to CFLS

Remember that attendance to practices is mandatory leading up to the CFL National Tournament. Starting Monday I expect to see everyone at least twice a week. We will add extra practice dates as needed.

USC WEBSITE CREATED

The USC forensics team has created a new website located at: uscforensics.org -- This website will be the information center for the forensics team. Beginning in the fall of 2008, all forensics participants will receive a user name and password @ uscforensics.org, and team postings, news, announcements, rosters, account status and more will be accessible from the team website.

This website has been provided at no cost to the forensics team through the Google Apps for Educators.

National Qualifier Results

Following 2 weekends of Speech and Debate Qualifiers, the Upper St. Clair High School Forensics Team has qualified four competitors to the National Tournament held in Las Vegas, from June 15 - 20. Congratulations for a job well done to all participants!

Dramatic Interpretation:
Chelsea Cramer - 1st place - (unable to attend national tournament)
Sidney Kushner - 3rd place - (attending national tournament)

Duo Interpretation:
Mishan Blecher and Brendan McNally - 1st place

Extemporaneous Speaking - Domestic:
JP Gooderham - 2nd place -- (as a double qualifier, JP will compete in LD debate)

Lincoln Douglas Debate:
JP Gooderham - 2nd place

CFL Qualifier Results

Congratulations to the USC Forensics team for a stand-out performance at today's CFL Qualifier tournament. The team qualified a total of 12 students to the Grand National Tournament in Appleton, WI on Memorial Day weekend.

Prose/Poetry
Jalpa Patel - 2nd place

Original Oratory
Meera Babu - 3rd place

Extemporaneous Speaking
Brent Heard - 3rd place

Dramatic Interpretation
Sidney Kushner - 1st place
Chelsea Cramer - 2nd place

Duo Interpretation
Mishan Blecher and Brendan McNally - 1st place

Public Forum Debate
Akhil Venkatesh and Josh Gao - 3rd place
Sandeep Jain and Noah Simmons - 2nd place

Lincoln Douglas Debate
Kathryn Lin