The evening of March 26, 2014 wasn’t a typical one on campus. That Wednesday night, a rhetorical rumbling broke out in Jull 1105, and a war o’ words commenced at 5 p.m. among the members of the speech and debate society at the IAA! The WCTU-sponsored yearly speech contest--the theme of which focused on preventing the use of drugs and alcohol among high school students--proved to be nothing short of a nail-biter for judges and competitors alike. IAA Director Glori Hyman joined Oral Communication instructors Tony Pagnotti and Ed Priola in scoring the students, who were coached by Nina LaTassa. For a solid hour, the trio evaluated the talking Terps, who strived to perfect inflection, rate, eye contact, and use of gestures, among other characteristics of delivery.
"It was extremely encouraging to see the superb oral communications skills that the participants acquired from training and practicing in our INAG 11O classes and to be able to showcase those talents in the contest,” said Pagnotti. “As a result, this gives the students the capability and confidence to compete on the state and national levels.”
Those student showcasing their speaking skills were Bobby Lindsey, Will Shah, Nishka Batra, Zach Brown, and Michael Younkin. Cheering them on in the audience seats were Rahul Srinivas, who was last year’s champion, and Sachi Khemka.
“It was a great contest,” said Khemka, a current INAG 110 student. “These guys are really talented!”
Lindsey’s poignant speech featured anecdotal evidence that inspired the listeners, as he told about his experiences as the son of a drug addict. That, coupled with his Obama-like delivery style, won him first place in the contest. Second place was secured by Younkin and third place was attained by Brown, a second-time contestant in the competition.
“It was wonderful, the process of making the speech was thought provoking and challenging. I'm glad I had the opportunity to compete,” said Lindsey, a brand-new member of the speech team who also utilizes his rhetorical abilities on UMD’s mock trial team. “I’m looking forward to the next competition!”
Lindsey will take his speech to the top on April 9, when he will compete to represent the state of Maryland in the national WCTU tournament in Indianapolis this summer.
“We’ll be practicing hard,” said LaTassa. “This is what we do, and we love every single minute of it!”
