The OCU Speech and Debate team placed third in the Audrey Cunningham 500 Speech and Debate Tournament in Indianapolis. According to team director Nash Carey, the Audrey Cunningham 500 Speech and Debate Tournament is a nationally recognized and esteemed competition.
Junior Music Theatre major Eli Nash won first place in Poetry, and junior Acting major Lauren Harrison placed first in Dramatic Interpretation.
“I performed a dramatic piece about a white woman who, when she realizes she has a fear of African American people due to stereotypes, chooses to undergo a treatment where she would be perceived as a black man,” Harrison said. “As a black woman who has seen and endured those stereotypes and imbalances, I wanted to perform the piece in an informative way.”
Harrison said that her teammates were very encouraging throughout the rehearsal process, and at the tournament.
“My teammates are some of the best people I’ve met at OCU,” Harrison said. “Moral support is what makes a team successful.”
Nash Carey said that though he coaches the team, they are very much self-directed.
“The beautiful thing about OCU students is that they know what to do and how to do it well,” Carey said. “My only task is to push them just long enough to get a competitive, collaborative spirit; then when that’s set, I cheer them on.”
The Speech and Debate team at OCU covers a wide variety of topics including race, gender, and sexual orientation, all with the purpose of educating audiences.
“I initially joined the team with the mind of improving my acting abilities,” Harrison said. “It has been a blast to work on my skills as an actress and communicator, and to be exposed to other people’s perspectives on the social and political issues that we discuss.”
Anyone is welcome to join the OCU Speech and Debate team.
“We are always looking for new members and new points of view,” Carey said.
Students interested in learning more about the Speech and Debate team and upcoming tournaments can email Nash Carey at necarey@okcu.edu.
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