The Empire Strikes Back

by Alec Bojalad

“When I was hired, they asked me to write up a public philosophy of Forensics,” Dan West begins. “I told them, very gutsy of me I guess, ‘Look, I am an Empire-builder. If I am going to do this again, I am going to be one of the best in the country. And I want a school that wants that too. If you don’t want that, you don’t need to hire me, you need to hire someone else.’”

Dan West, coach of Ohio University’s Speech and Forensics Team, says all of this slowly, carefully and without the slightest hint of exaggeration. This is his Empire and he is its Emperor. The Central Classroom Building is the Fortress, crumbling walls, tarnished brass doorknobs and all. It is an unlikely home for an Empire but an
Empire this is.

The OU Speech and Forensics Empire is busy at work in its Central Classroom Building stronghold. In Room 310, several members practice for “Reader’s Theater.” They sit at a table, reading from a script in front of them. The pace is quick, frenetic and the content is bizarre. Names of everyone from Jerry Springer to Fat Albert come up in a group performance that is compelling, powerful and at times, offensive. In Room 315 of the Fortress, more members type away at computers, composing speeches and refining ideas. And in Room 312, four members engage in the most famous and perhaps romantic of all Forensics events: the debate.

This is just a practice. In theory, the execution must be sloppy and incomplete, but one would never know it. Professional athletes might be sloppy and incomplete during practice but they are still compelling to watch — as is this. The group teams up into pairs that spar each other with words and ideas over U.S. Foreign Policy, an issue they may not even care about. The pace is breakneck, intimidating even. It doesn’t help that the opposing team is allowed to slap the table vigorously.

“The U.S cannot act as a…”

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

Hugo Chavez has affected world trade in such away that…”

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

“Since 9/11, U.S Foreign Policy has shifted…”

SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!

Slapping is allowed in the grand tradition of debating when one agrees or disagrees with one’s opponent. And when the opposing team isn’t slapping the table, they are writing so vigorously on notepads that the pads seem in danger of catching fire.

The clash of language and ideas in a debate is an awe-inspiring sight to witness and the uninitiated on campus would probably refer to the Empire as a “debate” team. But God help you if you utter this in their presence. This is Forensics. They prepare a speech or performance, spend all year crafting and perfecting it, and then perform for stoic, blunt and finicky judges. Think of a speech class only far more insane, competitive and stressful. tournaments. Teams might be made of 20 members or just one member and competitors may enter as many categories as they wish, or as many as they have a shot at winning. Some categories include Humorous Interpretation, Impromptu Speaking, Poetry and yes, Debate. Competitors then give their speech, debate or perform for a panel of judges who determine its merit. It is a more subjective process than points on a scoreboard, but like other competitive pursuits, the most prepared and talented usually prevail. This is where the Empire’s Fortress comes in. OU Forensics spends the majority of their days writing, practicing and refining the tiniest minutiae so that they can give a speech or debate a subject in. Just like any other competitive pursuit, Forensics has its rules and regulations. Universities host tournaments for schools to compete in throughout the year. This all culminates in a number of state and national their sleep.

Outside Room 315 is a rather prominent chart of the team members’ accomplishments and the goals they have yet to achieve, with the words “BUILDING AN EMPIRE” written below. The meeting room itself seems to be home to every trophy ever forged: trophies on the paper cutter, trophies behind printers, trophies resting on a furnace, all tokens of the Empire’s previous conquests. And most tellingly, there are three charts of National Collegiate Speech Tournament finishes from 2006, 2007 and 2008. OU has finished eleventh for the past two years. Whoever made the poster has drawn a sharp line separating 11 from the top ten. The message is clear: eleventh is good, just not good enough.

Prior to West’s arrival in 2005, The Speech and Forensics team was in fairly poor shape. The budget was inadequate, the competition was gaining and it was increasingly difficult to secure quality coaches because the position was tenured. Coaches had to work twice as hard to not only look after a competitive program but also to put in the work to earn tenure. The situation could be likened to Coach Frank Solich having to teach COMS 103 and several advanced public speaking classes, in addition to coaching a Division I football team.

Fortunately, the university received a sizable donation to endow the position. All that was left was to find the right person to run the show.

Enter West and his empiric aspirations. This is when he boldly tells the administration that he is an Empire-builder. This is when he tells them that they need him and what he has to offer. After all, what could be better for a university with a “party school” image than an entire team of loquacious nerds that bring home trophy after trophy? It is no wonder West convinces the administration to listen to his message; West has been communicating his whole life.

Now he sits in his deliriously messy office. For someone who has dedicated his entire life to the art of speaking, persuading, debating and performing, West comes across as honest and casual. His speech has a steady, seemingly rehearsed flow. The only interruptions occur when an assistant coach or Forensic teamer walks in to bounce an idea off of him. What drives a man to dedicate his whole life to one practice, one art?

“I started [Forensics] when I was 13,” West said. “My brother did Speech in high school. What affected me the most, growing up in a Scandinavian household, was that he was articulate and when he spoke, people loved to listen to him; I admired that power.”

And then the Emperor in him kicks in.

“I don’t give up this much time away from my family to lose … I don’t want to do things to be second-best,” West said, resolutely.

Indeed a healthy respect of language, closeness of family and the push for excellence seem to be what has brought most of West’s recruits behind the walls of his Empire.

Dan Glaser and Dani Bernat are juniors, but they seem much older. They are West’s first-ever recruits and two of the most successful individuals the Ohio Forensics program has ever seen. They are the longest tenured members on the team at three years service (similar to NCAA rules, Forensics teamers have four years of eligibility) but those three years seem much longer. Right now they sit facing each other, legs extended in a room of their Empire’s Fortress.

Dan seems just as introspective and confident as his coach. His answers come to him just as easy, and he communicates them with control.

“I started freshman year of high school. I might not have known it back then; why I started doing speech,” Dan said. “But now I know why. I like speech because everyone needs something … that they enjoy pursuing with excellence, “I might have joined initially because my brother Chris was on the team, I stuck with it for…” “My own reason. You find your own reason.” Dani finished his sentence.

Dan stoically nodded in agreement.

Just like their third-year teammates, Annie Farinella and Jeremy Frazer seem a little bit older than they are. Both freshmen have only been on the team for two quarters, but they are entirely indistinguishable from veterans like Dan and Dani. “Novice” is the technical term for their experience level. But novices don’t exist in the Empire. The system, the commitment and the expectations quickly beat the inexperience out of them.
“We want to finish top ten at the [National Forensic Association competition]. That’s our goal,” Jeremy said while sitting in front of a computer, taking a break from working toward Global Forensic domination. “At the end of the day, if I don’t break a single thing [advance to the next round] and we still finish in the top ten, I can say I had a great freshman year.”

Annie nodded in agreement, and then seemed to fade out a bit. She was suffering from a brutal fever that day, yet showed up to practice anyway.

“Whenever you’re not in class, you’re thinking about speech,” Annie said, “and at times, it is very, very stressful. It is a really big sacrifice … [but] we want to make those sacrifices.”

Tuesday nights are the only nights that team members are required to attend practice, but most members show up every day of the week, regardless. Those who don’t show up everyday don’t last very long.

Members spread across the third floor preparing for the George Mason tournament. George Mason is the perfect litmus test for the national tournament in April. It is an unfamiliar location, with very difficult competition and judges unaccustomed to hearing the Empire’s speeches.

The drive down to Virginia is boring, bleary and long. Second-year member Mike Catlos cannot keep his ears from popping in the elevation. The other teams are curious about this new competitor from Ohio. They aren’t hostile, but curious and wary of this potential threat to their Eastern Forensics scene. After two days of debating, speaking, performing and pleading the competition is over and the results are in. Tournament Grand Champion: Ohio University.

Dan, a tired, seemingly beaten down champion, is asked if a top ten finish at Nationals is still in play for this year.

“Top ten is definitely possible,” he said, before betraying a flicker of a smile, “Top ten is gonna happen.”

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