By Melody White-Harris 

Two students face off, one against the other, and their mentor nods, signaling them to begin. They slowly raise their–papers? Although the Speech and Debate Club doesn’t involve real contention, this year they do welcome back alum Agatha Attridge as their coach! 

Notably, Coach Agatha has been in Speech & Debate for 20 years: 8 as a competitor and 12 as a coach. After graduation, she stayed coaching with the team from 2012 to 2016. Specifically, she has competed in around 100 to 125 tournaments, not to mention the 250 she’s been to as a coach. Last year, she even coached at California State University! Now, Coach Agatha coaches for the Arizona State University Forensics team on top of coaching for TPA.

According to Coach Agatha, Speech and Debate is a great way to express your opinion and meet new people. It can also help with speaking confidence. Whether you want to get over some stage fright or have a job in mind that would require good speaking skills, Speech and Debate is a good way to practice.

In the end, though, Coach Agatha’s favorite type of speech is dual interpretation, where you reenact a short story or poem with a partner but aren’t allowed to look at or touch your partner.

Further examples of club dynamics include members Minh Thu Nguyen and Jazzmyn Gonner. MinhThu, a junior in the club, has been in Speech & Debate for three years and still enjoys it. Her favorite event is Original Oratory, a speech event where you try to sway an audience to your point of view, since she can say what she believes. Jazzmyn Gonner, another junior on the team, has also been in Speech and Debate for three years and loves the way that impromptu, although you do get a little bit of preparation time, it mostly allows her to say the first thing that comes to mind!

By and large, Speech and Debate Club simultaneously balances exciting debates with educational opportunities now headed by Coach Agatha Attridge.