The mention of forensics usually causes one to think of fingerprints and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” but to the students who competed in the Collegiate Forensics Association (CFA) Holiday Tournament, it means something completely different — acting, public speaking and debating.

College students from Virginia, Florida, Pennsylvania and West Virginia took over classrooms in the Dauphin Humanities Center at Shippensburg University on Friday and Saturday to compete in 14 events for the holiday tournament. While SU does not have a forensics team of its own, teams are fairly common in colleges across the U.S. Students may travel three times per semester to compete in forensics tournaments.

Misty and Richard Knight, professors of human communication studies at SU, are frequent judges in the world of collegiate forensics. At an international tournament in Montreal, Canada, the Knights were approached by CFA officials about the possibility of hosting a tournament in Pennsylvania at SU. Although it has been around 30 years since SU had a forensics team of its own, SU opened its doors to eight college teams for a weekend of competition.

One of the biggest reasons SU does not have a team of its own is because of the cost required to fund a forensics team. Students from Florida College, for example, had to travel 17 hours by van and pay for a hotel, just so they could compete.

Each team also needs a qualified coach to help students prepare for a competition. Teams may rehearse together during the week or on their own. The amount of time forensics students put into their work is comparable to that of a student athlete, Misty said.

“I love sharing truth with people,” Liberty University (LU) junior Elizabeth Mills said. The forensics team allows her to learn from others while also sharing what she believes in.

When students have time to prepare for their categories, they can select any topic to speak about. Mills, a red-haired student, gave a persuasive speech on ginger stereotypes and how they can negatively affect people.

Events are categorized by the amount of preparation time students receive. In impromptu speaking, students drew three random topics, selected one to interpret creatively and received seven minutes to split between preparation and delivery. On the flip side, in persuasive speaking students must research and prepare a speech before the tournament and present their topic with minimal notes.

Other categories included: Poetry interpretation, prose interpretation, dramatic duo, single dramatic interpretation, declamation, informative speaking, after dinner speaking, communication analysis, extemporaneous speaking, Lincoln-Douglas debate, parliamentary debate (single and pairs) and improvisational pairs.

Judges, like the Knights, observe the speeches and rank students on their performances. Students can receive individual awards for their categories and awards for placing in multiple categories.

On Saturday, Florida College took first place overall, with wins in seven categories.

Many students with a background in acting are drawn to forensics teams, according to LU coach Andy Mallory. Some students even receive scholarships to compete for their schools.

“You see that they’re just breathing life into the piece,” Misty said of the best performances. As a judge for preparation events, Misty looks for quality of the topic, the research done and how it supports the speech. When it comes to limited preparation events, it is more about how fast students can think on their feet.

While some students join forensics to further their acting skills, others do it to prepare themselves for careers in human communication, like working as a news anchor or an attorney.

“It’s really good at getting you outside your box,” LU freshman Britta Hare said. Hare went on to win third place in dramatic duo with her partner, sophomore Chance Stone.

“It’s a great platform to say what you want to say,” Hare said of forensics competition. 

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