A future congressman just might be lurking in the halls.
Senior Erik Bakke won awards this year for his skill in, essentially, the same type of debate used by members of Congress. This September, he ranked second in his category at the forensics tournament at Wake Forest University. Earlier this year, he received third place in his category in a National Forensics League competition.
“I just researched and spoke my best and it turned out well,” said Bakke.
Congressional Debate, the category Bakke participated in for both tournaments, is designed to model the legislative process in the US Senate and the House of Representatives, in which congressmen take turns presenting speeches to the Senate or House floor.
“My favorite type of debate is definitely Congressional Debate. I’m good at it,” said Bakke.
During the tournament event, the contestants, separated into rooms of 30 to 35 people, try to be the best at debating proposed legislation. Similarly, they take turns standing up and speaking about the issue. The event, like many other forensics or debate events, lasts several hours. At the end, the judges rank the contestants based on their speeches.
“You win by having the best speeches, questions and answers,” said Bakke.
Bakke has taken forensics classes since his freshman year, including Speech Communication, Debate and Advanced Oral Communication, as well as competing on the after-school speech and debate team.
He participates in local competitions for speech and debate and has competed in several national-circuit invitationals, held at universities such as Harvard and Yale. Last time he competed at this level, he won sixth place in his category in both competitions.
“This was my best year for both,” said Bakke.
This year, Bakke’s plans include the same “invitational” tournaments. Also, as a captain for events in both the speech and debate teams, he will help other students improve their speaking and debating skills.
“It makes you a better speaker, and then you’re able to use those skills in everything that you do,” said Bakke.
