Brian Simmons

Speech & Debate Union Success

March 31, 2014

The University of Portland Speech and Debate Union had a successful weekend at the Pi Kappa Delta national competition held in Indiana over the weekend of March 20-23. Winners include:

Lisa Holm (junior, organizational communications) won 9th speaker in novice International Public Debate Association (IPDA) debate.
Chelsea Roberts (junior, communication studies) won 10th speaker and advanced to the octo-final round (top 16) of open IPDA debate.
Lakshmi Diener (sophomore, communication studies) advanced to the octo-final round (top 16) of novice IPDA debate.
Elizabeth Hartley (junior, biology, president of UP Speech and Debate Union) advanced to the quarterfinal round (top 8) of open IPDA debate and won an Excellence award for her informative speech.

For more information contact Brian Simmons, communication studies, at 8025 or simmonsb@up.edu.

The University of Portland’s Speech and Debate Union competed last weekend at the Fred Scheller Memorial Speech and Debate Tournament at Pacific University, according to Brian Simmons, communication studies. Congratulations are due to the following students on their impressive accomplishments at that speech and debate tournament:

Patrick Dolan (FR, biochemistry) finished in the top 10 and earned the 7th Best Speaker overall in the Novice division.

Lakshmi Diener (FR, communication studies) finished in the top 10 and earned the 1st Best Speaker overall in the Novice division.

Chelsea Roberts (JR, communication studies) finished in the top 15 and earned the 11th Best Speaker overall in the Junior division.

John Russell (SR, civil engineering) finished in the top 4 and earned the 10th best Speaker overall in the Open division).

For more information contact Simmons at 8025 or simmonsb@up.edu.

Top Ten Ethics Bowl Finish for UP

November 27, 2013

The University of Portland recently competed in the Northwest Region’s Ethics Bowl at Seattle Pacific University. Despite facing two teams which were eventually regional semi-finalists, the UP team finished in the Top Ten for the region—an impressive achievement in the University’s first year of competition at that level.

Congratulations are in order to this year’s team members: Lisa Holm, organizational communication; Lakshmi Diener, communication studies; Elizabeth Hartley, biology; Karina Agbisit, environmental policy and ethics; and Anna Murphy, business administration and Spanish. The team was directed by Bohn Lattin and Brian Simmons, communication studies, and was assisted by Richard Askay, philosophy. For more information contact Simmons at 8025 or simmonsb@up.edu.

Speech & Debate Team Results

November 8, 2013

The University of Portland’s Speech and Debate Union competed last weekend at the 41st annual Smelt Classic at Lower Columbia College, according to Brian Simmons, communication studies. Congratulations are due to the following students on their impressive accomplishments at that speech and debate tournament:

Anna Murphy, Spanish and business administration, advanced to the final round of debate winning 2nd place; won an award for being the 4th best individual debate speaker; and advanced to the final round of Impromptu Speaking winning 5th place.
Lakshmi Biswas-Diener, communication studies, advanced to the final round of debate winning 3rd place; and won an award for being 6th best individual debate speaker.
Arthur Hammer, business administration, advanced to the final round of Editorial Commentary winning 1st place; won an award for being 10th best individual debate speaker.
Elizabeth Hartley, biology, advanced to the final round of Extemporaneous Speaking winning 5th place.
Grace Holmes, environmental ethics and policy, won an award for being the 9th best individual debate speaker.

For more information contact Simmons at 8025 or simmonsb@up.edu.

McNerney-Hanson Ethics Bowl

April 22, 2013

The first annual McNerney-Hanson Ethics Bowl was held on Saturday, April 20, according to CAS dean Michael Andrews. The event was sponsored by Andrews, who serves as the McNerney-Hanson Endowed Chair in Ethics, with additional support from the Dundon-Berchtold Ethics Grant. Two UP teams took part: one team of graduate students from Pamplin School of Business, and a second team of undergraduate students from the Speech and Debate Union. Special thanks go out to Bohn Lattin and Brian Simmons, communication studies; Richard Askay and Andrew Eshleman, philosophy; and Brian Adams, business administration.

Unlike other ethics bowl competitions, the McNerney-Hanson Ethics Bowl reflects a particular UP emphasis on ethical formation and the study and articulation of ethical theory and practice. The purpose is to expose graduate and undergraduate students to a philosophical kind of reflective, ethical thinking that allows them to apply an understanding of ethics to a particular situation or issue. For more information contact Andrews at 7760 or andrews@up.edu.

Speech/Debate Nationals

March 25, 2013

The University of Portland Speech and Debate Union sent four representatives to the Pi Kappa Delta National Speech and Debate Tournament in St. Louis, MO over spring break. Congratulations to sophomore Katie Wilson, who competed against debaters from 89 schools across the country and finished the tournament as a quarterfinalist (top 8 in the nation) and was deemed to be among the top 10 percent of all debate speakers in the nation. For more information contact Brian Simmons (simmons@up.edu) and Bohn Lattin (lattin@up.edu).

Speech and Debate Team

March 4, 2013

The University’s Speech and Debate Union competed against 15 regional colleges and universities under the direction of Bohn Lattin and Brian Simmons, communication studies, at Oregon State University’s ninth annual Earl Wells Speakeasy Memorial Tournament held in Corvallis on February 23-24. Katie Husk and Katie Wilson placed in the top 10 of the 85 Open Division debaters. Caleb Patterson placed in the top 6 of the 35 competitors in the Novice Division of the Extemporaneous Speaking event.