SALT LAKE CITY -- Seven years ago, Tom Worthen never would have thought he would be standing with his team in front of the Utah Senate. But there they were Tuesday.
The Utah Senate honored the Utah State University debate coach and a small group of dedicated students as six-time champions in the Northwest Forensics Conference.
Worthen restarted the speech and debate team in fall 2002, recruiting a small team to attend a few tournaments. Now with a new group of students and finishing his seventh season, Worthen said he can't believe they have achieved this level of success.
Worthen coached a university team when he was a graduate student, but the team was discontinued when he left. When he returned to Logan 20 years later, he wanted to bring the team back to life.
Speech and debate are his passions, and Worthen said he felt it was important to bring them back to USU.
"The skills that you learn, whether in communication, research, confidence or critical thinking, are the ones that will help you succeed in life no matter what you do," he said.
Worthen teaches an argumentation and debate class. A comment in a faculty meeting about letting him have a debate team gave him the chance he wanted, even though there was no budget for the team and no salary for him.
He now donates the money he gets from teaching the class to fund the handful of tournaments the team participates in every year.
The USU program -- the only active university debate team in the state -- gives students valuable training, said Jane McBride, a former team member who now helps coach and judge.
McBride, who grew up in Pleasant View, said she wishes more high school programs would integrate speech and debate because the skills learned can be applied to any career or program.
Recognition from the state isn't the only benefit consistent success brings.
Yolanda Flores Niemann, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, promised the team $20,000 from the Dean's Initiative Fund during the next five years.
She is always looking for worthy projects to support, Niemann said, and the success of the speech and debate team caught her eye.
"I really wanted to reward a project and faculty and students that had really gone out of their way to help themselves," she said.
Niemann said she realizes it isn't much, but hopes the $4,000 extra a year will ease the strain of a tight budget. She hopes the $10,000 it would take to send the team to a national tournament can be raised.
Athletics are routinely showcased and given a large budget, she said, and she wanted to be able to do something to help promote academics at the university.
Worthen said that is what he hopes to do, too.
"We put so much emphasis on sports that, when you have an academic team that excels, it creates a nice balance and gives credibility to the academics."
Justin Jerez, a USU freshman, said he thinks Utah State's success can be attributed to hard work and a coach and team willing to put in the time and dedication necessary to win.
He said he's more well-informed and more well-rounded because of debate.
That's the point, Worthen said. He hopes the competitions are always a supplement to academics.
Comments