Thirteen schools participated in the Speech on the Beach competition, a three-day event held at DMC the weekend of Feb. 26-28 and hosted by DMC and San Jacinto College.
Students traveled traveled from throughout the state and Louisiana to compete. “This is my favorite tournament of the year,” said Melissa Lamb, a student at the University of Texas. “The bond between the schools is amazing.”
Friday consisted of six rounds of parliamentary debate, a style of debate intended to be educational and relate to the general public. Participation from the audience is both welcome and even encouraged.
“Debate is life-changing. It changes your view of the world,” said Ian Jacoby, a student at San Jacinto Community College.
Students tackled topics such as the Toyota recall and creating more community service programs.
“It’s a learning experience,” said Samantha Ross, a member of the DMC Vocal Vikings. “Every time I compete, I do a little bit better.” Ross competed in the Poetry Interpretation category of Speech on the Beach.
Judy Toscano, a member of the Vocal Vikings team, took home a first-place trophy in the Informative Speech category.
The remainder of the competition consisted of oral interpretations and more traditional speeches. Students delivered informative, persuasive and the humorous after-dinner speeches. “After-Dinner Speaking is awesome,” said Ross.
“The Oral Interpretations are very informative topics. You can learn a lot from them, but they’re so entertaining at the same time,” said Ross.
Programmed Oral Interpretation is a more dramatic form of speech in which the orator uses a combination of prose, poetry and drama that are thematically linked to create a unique presentation centered on the theme. The speaker changes character as each section is performed.
Attendees were met with Hawaiian-style decorations reinforcing the beach theme.
Judges were given shark tooth necklaces and the winners were presented with hand-made seashell trophies.
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