(Photo by: Jasmine Mills)

Have you ever engaged in a formal act of public speaking? That is, dressed up in front of an audience?  It can be quite a chore, but it also has its own rewards. JCCC’s renown Debate team has had myriad of success over the past few years. For instance, the team had a banner year in 2022. The team is attempting to make the 2024-2025 season another year worthy of praise. 

Debate has many forms, but there are two predominant styles that are regularly practiced–Lincoln-Douglas and extemporaneous.

Lincoln-Douglas is a traditional style of debate in which two people face off and deal with a certain topic. Examples include: gun control, international dilemmas, etc. A Presidential debate is a prominent example of such a style of debate, with certain extensive modifications.

Extemporaneous debate is where one person, often without the help of written notes, gives a somewhat spontaneous speech covering a specific topic. Topics are usually similar to what is chosen in Lincoln-Douglas, although often there is a separation of domestic and foreign topics and their concurrent competitors. The speech is judged on content and speaking delivery, which tends to be a bit different from the grading criteria for Lincoln-Douglas. 

We interviewed Chris Loghry, the current JCCC Debate Coach, on his experience with the team. 

How has this 2024-2025 year been for JCCC debate so far? Any highlights or letdowns?

“It’s been a good year, with a few setbacks due to weather impacting our travel. We’ve had some successes as well. Our team that competed at the Missouri State University tournament last semester was entered in the novice division (limited to students with no high school debate experience), but due to the division being small they were required to compete in the Junior Varsity division (limited to students in their first two years of intercollegiate competition, but have high school experience). Despite not being as experienced as some of the other competitors, the team of Isaac Zarate and Kristin Boeckmann won three debates and were awarded top 10 individual speaker awards. This was a huge accomplishment.”

What was the toughest competition, or is that coming in the future?

“The toughest competition is the Cross Examination Debate Association national championship, which we were unable to attend this year due to some scheduling conflicts with some of the students. The next toughest is probably the Tournament and Conference of Scholars which is hosted by Arizona State University this year and occurs the weekend of April 18th. It is a debate competition and undergraduate research conference.”

What is your favorite aspect of being a coach?

“Hands down the best aspect is seeing debaters grow as both competitors and students.”

How often does your team practice? What is expected of them outside of practice, if anything?

“The team meets weekly on Wednesdays. Outside preparation is encouraged but not required.”

Is this coaching experience different from your time coaching at Emporia State? 

“The biggest and most obvious difference is the amount of time I get to have with the students. At Emporia I had students for four or five years. At JCCC, that time is significantly shorter, with some students only [being] able to be on the team for a single semester.”