After winning the National Parliamentary Debate Association Award, the forensics team concludes the year with satisfaction and anticipates what next year’s team will bring.

Francesca Bishop, forensics adviser, said that the biggest success of this year’s team was achieving its goal of winning the national championship.

“The highlight has got to be that we won the national championship,” Bishop said. “It’s been a goal of ours for three years. We won it convincingly.”

During the year, the forensics team members improved a great amount, especially the students who were on the team for their second year.

“I think some of our students who are on the team really excelled. Particularly our second-year students, who were with us last year. They just did amazingly well at the national tournament,” Bishop said.

Team members improve, take medals

Bishop said for a forensics student to win multiple medals is a success in itself.

“Two of them took double golds, one of them took two silvers and a bronze. To take multiple medals at the national tournament is really hard and I think watching them develop over two years, it’s nice to see them leave on a high note,” she said.

For many members of the team, this will be their last year because they will be transferring to universities in the fall.

“We’re not sure how many people will be back, because although they were in their first year as debate students, this may be their second year at El Camino.”

Although the students who will not return in the fall were a major attribution to the team’s success, Bishop is optimistic about next year’s team.

“It will be a new team, and every year a new culture develops on the team. There will always be a whole new mix of students, and that happens at a community college every year, so we’re kind of used to that,” Bishop said. “You’re sorry to see people go, but often times the people who transfer come back and help us coach.”

Bishop seeks recruitment for team

Because of the transferring students, Bishop is looking to recruit more forensics team members for the upcoming year.

“We are recruiting because we need to replace the people who transfer and to get in some first-year people,” Bishop said.

Students interested in debate are advised to take Speech 4 during the summer intersession. If a student can not take it this summer, he or she may take it next fall and concurrently enroll in Speech 24, the forensics workshop.

“(After taking the courses) we will evaluate them (prospective team members) and, if they have what we’re looking for, we ask them to join the team,” Bishop said. “We recruit most of our students out of our debate classes.”

Team goes beyond competitions

Although the forensics team’s primary focus is to debate, the team also participates in other types of rhetoric and does many activities outside of tournaments.

“We do several things on the debate team. The thing we do most is debate, but we also do platform public speaking and oral interpretation of literature,” Bishop said.

In addition to debating, the forensics team also hosts tournaments and performs guest lectures, Bishop said.

“We do a fundraiser every semester and it’s called the Speakers’ Showcase. If anyone’s interested, there will be one in the summer semester also,” Bishop said.

The forensics team will be involved in a tournament toward the end of this month.

“We host a tournament for the Torrance high schools, for their debate teams, and that’s going to be later this month on May 28. We do guest lecturing at the Torrance high schools also.”

Student transfers, remains on team

David Croom, debate team member and film major, joined the forensics team because of the prestige associated with being a team member.

“I spent four years doing debate in high school and I chose this school because of its debate team’s reputation,” Croom said.

Croom will be transferring to the University of Southern California, but will return to EC to take part in the debate team.

“I am coming back as a competitor. I think that while I will compete next year, I would like to tend toward helping out as well. I had a great year. I still felt like it was meant to be,” Croom said.

Bishop optimistic about next year

As for next year’s team, Bishop hopes to bring in new faces and possibly have the same success as they had this past year.

“My main goal now is recruitment. I’m looking to recruit talented people. I always have the goal of winning the national championship, but it’s not easy since you don’t know who’s joining the team,” Bishop said.