2008 Woodie Awards
Weekly Featured Profile - Student Club/Organization
Speech Force
Alex Branch
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
What are the main 2008 election issues? What family values do people really care about? What is really the difference between the Democrats' and the Republicans' views on the Iraq War? Speech Force, one of the newest clubs on campus, is prepared to examine significant questions such as these.
Speech Force broke off from the Macken Speech and Debate Team and established itself this February "to start more campus activism through debate," said Vice President Michael Antonopoulos '09. There have been some questions as to why there needs to be a separate team and club, to which the Speech Force treasurer, Elizabeth Patterson '10, replies that they are very different types of organizations. "The difference between the two [is that] the [Macken Speech and Debate] team is just like a basketball team; it's a competitive organization. They've done at least 10 tournaments this year." Another major difference is that Speech Force wants to be more involved with the Saint Mary's community. Patterson said, "Speech Force is just an on-campus speech and debate team focused on doing more work with the clubs on campus."
Speech Force has accomplished just that. In their few short months as a chartered club, Speech Force has facilitated a debate between the Saint Mary's Democrats club and the SMC Republicans and hosted a faculty-student forum on family values. They are also planning more debates for the future, including a mock debate as impersonators of the 2008 Presidential candidates.
According to Antonopoulos, the main goal for Speech Force is "to get more people involved in political issues and current events through the process of debate and forums." This is another goal that the club has already begun to achieve. Estimates of attendance at the first SMC Republicans-Democrats debate were around 40 to 50 people. Considering the difficulty most young clubs face just trying to organize and host an event, it seems that the fledgling Speech Force is well on their way to being a very influential club at Saint Mary's.
Although this year's President Nathan Garcia '08 and Vice President Antonopoulos will not be returning as executive members next year, they do not sound worried about the club's future. "We are confident in [next year's leaders'] ability to set a new and active agenda," said Antonopoulos. Patterson, who plans to be on the executive team again in 2007-2008, said, "Next year we hope to have a big activity on campus each month."
Speech Force broke off from the Macken Speech and Debate Team and established itself this February "to start more campus activism through debate," said Vice President Michael Antonopoulos '09. There have been some questions as to why there needs to be a separate team and club, to which the Speech Force treasurer, Elizabeth Patterson '10, replies that they are very different types of organizations. "The difference between the two [is that] the [Macken Speech and Debate] team is just like a basketball team; it's a competitive organization. They've done at least 10 tournaments this year." Another major difference is that Speech Force wants to be more involved with the Saint Mary's community. Patterson said, "Speech Force is just an on-campus speech and debate team focused on doing more work with the clubs on campus."
Speech Force has accomplished just that. In their few short months as a chartered club, Speech Force has facilitated a debate between the Saint Mary's Democrats club and the SMC Republicans and hosted a faculty-student forum on family values. They are also planning more debates for the future, including a mock debate as impersonators of the 2008 Presidential candidates.
According to Antonopoulos, the main goal for Speech Force is "to get more people involved in political issues and current events through the process of debate and forums." This is another goal that the club has already begun to achieve. Estimates of attendance at the first SMC Republicans-Democrats debate were around 40 to 50 people. Considering the difficulty most young clubs face just trying to organize and host an event, it seems that the fledgling Speech Force is well on their way to being a very influential club at Saint Mary's.
Although this year's President Nathan Garcia '08 and Vice President Antonopoulos will not be returning as executive members next year, they do not sound worried about the club's future. "We are confident in [next year's leaders'] ability to set a new and active agenda," said Antonopoulos. Patterson, who plans to be on the executive team again in 2007-2008, said, "Next year we hope to have a big activity on campus each month."