OPINION: Fancy suits and a mission: Jacks Forensics give voice to voiceless

By VIRAJ PATEL Columnist

It was a successful weekend for Jackrabbit Forensics.

Benjamin Hummel placed sixth in Extemporaneous Speaking and was a semi-finalist in Parliamentary Debate.

Taylor Gilmore placed third in Extemporaneous Speaking, first in Impromptu Speaking and first in After Dinner Speaking.

Jessica Boesch placed first in Persuasive Speaking and was a semi-finalist in Parliamentary Debate. Boesch’s persuasive speech is about the side-effects of not legalizing marijuana in the United States. Contrary to popular opinion, she brings a whole new perspective to the debate.

Lauren Buisker placed first in After Dinner Speaking, first in Persuasive Speaking and sixth in Communication Analysis, all on day one. She placed second in After Dinner Speaking and third in Persuasive Speaking on day two.

Buisker’s After Dinner speech focuses on the income gap between male and female workers in the same jobs. Her persuasive speech is about the unaffordable housing scenario in the United States. Her analysis of current rhetoric in comparison to a communication article, is focused on the use of commemoration of past issues as an influence on the current conversation surrounding women’s rights.

Jacob Womack placed second in After Dinner Speaking, fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking and third in Impromptu Speaking, all in day one. He placed first in After Dinner Speaking, first in Extemporaneous Speaking and third in Impromptu Speaking on day two. Womack’s After Dinner Speech was about Esperanto, a language which is relatively simple compared to English and gaining international traction.

I placed fourth in Impromptu Speaking, fifth in Extemporaneous Speaking and sixth in Persuasive Speaking, all on day one. On day two, I placed first in Impromptu Speaking, fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking and second in Persuasive Speaking. My persuasive speech addresses the problems associated with climate change communication.

The members were split up between competitions in St. Cloud, Minnesota and Long Beach, California. The former placed fourth overall and latter placed second in team sweepstakes on both days.

The team is coached by Andrea Carlile, Kaitlyn Voges and Ashley Pikel.

Public speaking should raise your heart rate. It should blow the doors off the place. When the members of the Jackrabbit Forensics put on suits and travel over a weekend, we go out with a mission. A mission to inform the American electorate. To give citizens the tools to advocate.

That’s what we did this weekend. We gave a voice to the voiceless.

We fought for topics which might seem trivial to the common eye, but create problems for many across the nation and the world.

Viraj Patel is a communication studies major and can be reached at [email protected].