Speech and debate gives students at edge:
- Speech and debate students have a significant edge in college admissions.
- 99% of participants go to college and 90% continue on to graduate school.
- Underperforming students show dramatic improvements through participation in speech and debate competitions.
- Speech and debate participation provides real cognitive and behavioral outcomes in the following areas:
- Improving reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills
- Improving critical thinking skills
- Fostering intellectual curiosity
- Increasing motivation
- Increasing engagement – both at-risk and gifted students engage more and act out as much as 50% less
Famous People Who Participated in Forensics (Speech and Debate)
ENTERTAINERS:
Adam Sandler: Comedic film actor and Saturday Night Live alum
Bruce Springsteen: Music icon
James Earl Jones: Oscar-nominated actor and the voice of Darth Vader
John Laroquette: Five-time Emmy winning star of Night Court
Arsenio Hall: Comedian and late night talk show host
Nancy Cartwright: Voice of cartoon character Bart Simpson
Shelley Long: Emmy winning actress who played Diane on Cheers
Brent Mintz: Actor best known as "Data" on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Kelsey Grammer: Emmy-award winning star of Cheers and Frasier
John Belushi and Jim Belushi: Comedic actors
CC Pounder: Actress on ER, Law and Order, and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego
Michael Stipe: Song writer and lead singer of the group R.E.M.
Joyce Dewitt: Janet on the 70’s television comedy Three's Company
James Dean: Iconic actor
Steve Buscemi: Actor who starred in Fargo, Reservoir Dogs, Armageddon
William H. Macy: Oscar nominated actor and multiple Emmy winner.
LEADERS AND LEGAL EAGLES
Half of current U.S. Senators competed in high school or college forensics.
Al Gore: Vice President and environmental activist
Kofi Annan: Former UN Secretary General
Nelson Mandela: Former South African President
Margaret Thatcher: Former British Prime Minister
Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Nixon, William Jennings Bryant: US Presidents
Janet Reno: US Attorney General
Floyd Abrams: Famous first amendment attorney
Marcia Clark, Robert Shapiro and Johnny Cochran: OJ Simpson case attorneys and prosecutor
Lee Lacocca: Chairman of Chrysler Corporation
Malcolm X: Civil rights activist
REPORTERS, MEDIA PERSONALITIES, OTHER IMPORTANT FOLKS
Oprah Winfrey: Media icon
Dana Perino: Former white house press secretary (under George Bush)
Jane Pauley: Today Show and Dateline NBC anchor
Roger Ebert: Movie critic
Erwin Chemerinsky: Law professor at USC and legal affairs commentator on CNN, MSNBC, etc.
General Maxwell Taylor: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Larry Summers: Economic advisor for the World Bank and Clinton's chief economic advisor.
Dr. Henry Heimlich: Inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver
Adam Sandler: Comedic film actor and Saturday Night Live alum
Bruce Springsteen: Music icon
James Earl Jones: Oscar-nominated actor and the voice of Darth Vader
John Laroquette: Five-time Emmy winning star of Night Court
Arsenio Hall: Comedian and late night talk show host
Nancy Cartwright: Voice of cartoon character Bart Simpson
Shelley Long: Emmy winning actress who played Diane on Cheers
Brent Mintz: Actor best known as "Data" on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Kelsey Grammer: Emmy-award winning star of Cheers and Frasier
John Belushi and Jim Belushi: Comedic actors
CC Pounder: Actress on ER, Law and Order, and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego
Michael Stipe: Song writer and lead singer of the group R.E.M.
Joyce Dewitt: Janet on the 70’s television comedy Three's Company
James Dean: Iconic actor
Steve Buscemi: Actor who starred in Fargo, Reservoir Dogs, Armageddon
William H. Macy: Oscar nominated actor and multiple Emmy winner.
LEADERS AND LEGAL EAGLES
Half of current U.S. Senators competed in high school or college forensics.
Al Gore: Vice President and environmental activist
Kofi Annan: Former UN Secretary General
Nelson Mandela: Former South African President
Margaret Thatcher: Former British Prime Minister
Lyndon Baines Johnson, Richard Nixon, William Jennings Bryant: US Presidents
Janet Reno: US Attorney General
Floyd Abrams: Famous first amendment attorney
Marcia Clark, Robert Shapiro and Johnny Cochran: OJ Simpson case attorneys and prosecutor
Lee Lacocca: Chairman of Chrysler Corporation
Malcolm X: Civil rights activist
REPORTERS, MEDIA PERSONALITIES, OTHER IMPORTANT FOLKS
Oprah Winfrey: Media icon
Dana Perino: Former white house press secretary (under George Bush)
Jane Pauley: Today Show and Dateline NBC anchor
Roger Ebert: Movie critic
Erwin Chemerinsky: Law professor at USC and legal affairs commentator on CNN, MSNBC, etc.
General Maxwell Taylor: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Larry Summers: Economic advisor for the World Bank and Clinton's chief economic advisor.
Dr. Henry Heimlich: Inventor of the Heimlich Maneuver