On Wednesday, April 10, the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater’s Forensic team held its Forensic Showcase in Summers Auditorium. This event allowed students to “wind down” after a long year of competitions and tournaments. The event was hosted by Professor Brian Schanen, who is the advisor of the Forensics team.
The showcase kicked off with a “Program of Oral Interpretation,” where a student selects pieces from at least two of three genres: prose, poetry or drama. This first performance was performed by Freshman Juniper Oldenburg-Garcia, speaking on her own experiences of being Latina and being told that she is not. Oldenburg-Garcia showed lots of emotion within her performance.
“I picked my topic because I was able to represent a large part of the Hispanic community as a lot of us aren’t seen as being Hispanic due to us being very white passing,” said Oldenburg-Garcia. “I like that I am able to give a voice to those who feel the same as I do as a white passing Latina in this area, as I’ve been told I’m not even though I very much am.”
Next, Freshman Emmalee Empey performed an “Informative Speaking” piece on the pros and cons of de-extinction. An informative speech consists of a factual speech on a real subject to inform the audience. Empey spoke on the company Colossal Biosciences, and that if they go forward with de-extinction, we can get animals such as the woolly mammoth back, but also lose funding to conservation efforts.
Freshman Justin Rietmann followed Empey up with a second oral interpretation about being seen as a gay man. He included poetry pieces from other poets, along with including a piece of poetry written by himself.
After Rietmann, Sophomore Amelia Moody spoke with a “Rhetorical Criticism” speech about gay women in sports being recognized in sports bars across America. She opened her speech about a story on a woman entering a sports bar and asking if the bartender can put on a women’s sports game, who then proceeded to turn it on the smallest TV. This event went on to create the first woman’s sports bar in Portland, Oregon.
“My topic was about creating a space in the sports world that feels welcoming to the queer community to show female representation,” said Moody. “This topic is important because it’s a sense of being a queer person and being a woman and seeing representation in those spaces.”
To finish out the night, Sophomore Megan Ehle performed a “Persuasive Speaking” piece where she spoke on being a glass child and how they should not be ignored by their parents. A glass child refers to a person who has a sibling who has many needs, mostly children with autism, Down Syndrome or other large disabilities. She spoke on her own experiences of being a glass child and facts about glass children.
“It is very relevant to me as I consider myself a glass child,” said Ehle. “Oftentimes there are resources available for parents with medically complex children to properly manage their conditions. As a result, the other children in their household are often expected to internalize their role as siblings.”
Overall, the event was a success, with both the audience members and the performers enjoying themselves. If you are interested in forensics, the Forensics team is always looking for new members. If you do not want to join the team but still support them, going to their tournaments is a big way to support them.
