TALK AIN’T CHEAP UM sophomore revives speech and debate team, finding unexpected success and challenges

Toward the end of February, Steve Moran sat in the speech and debate team’s cubicle in the depths of the Memorial Union at the University of Maine. On the horizon was the New England Regional Speech and Debate Tournament where the team – the team that Moran resurrected from the dead a year ago – first made their mark, finishing sixth in 2006. Once more he reviewed logistics, the struggle to organize and then to scrape together enough money to fund the trip to Plymouth State in New Hampshire. In the rearview mirror was a year of overcoming obstacles, on the road ahead the chance to prove to those they face first that not only should they be known, they should be feared.

At the 2007 regional tournament at Plymouth State, the Maine team did a remarkable thing: They crushed the competition, beating nine other teams to claim the overall tournament title with 70 points, the next closest team 13 points behind.

Moran alone scored 24 points, finishing first in three individual events: after-dinner speaking, rhetorical criticism and impromptu. He placed third in two others en route to collecting six trophies, including the Individual Speaker Sweeps award, the trophy for the best overall speaker.

In February 2006, however, the team was scrambling. Their captain, Moran, looking down the road at that first regional competition, was anxious. The previous incarnation of the UMaine speech and debate team had been moribund, all its leaders having abandoned it in 2005 though it was still recognized as an organization. Moran, a driven sophomore but with experience in only two competitions, got ambitious.

“I really enjoyed competition,” he said, “and I think it’s important for the biggest university in the state to have a team.” Enlisting the help of a few close friends, he revived the organization.

“Going into that first competition, we had four kids,” Moran said, “three of which had never competed before on any level.”

The pressure on a first-time competitor can be overwhelming. At all times respect is required, movements quiet and systematic. The competitions run on schedule with little tolerance for anyone who throws a wrench into the timing, something reflected in the judging.

“We were worried a lot about form and how we carried ourselves,” said former member Lawrence Duhaime. “It was our first time, and there was a lot of emphasis placed on etiquette.”

Speech competitions incorporate a wide spectrum of pieces, many written by the speaker. As Moran said, “It’s not like I stand up there and regurgitate the Gettysburg Address.” With not enough members to compete in debate, Maine is primarily a speech team. The works they present fall under three categories: limited preparation, interpretive and oratory.

At regionals in 2006, the rag-tag team of inexperienced friends donned suits, cut their hair short and threw all they had at the competition, battling to their sixth-place finish, going home with two trophies, six medals and a chip on their shoulder. They didn’t win it all, but they did gain confidence.

In 2007, the tournament was on the same stage with many familiar faces the team expected to see. “Last time they were surprised to see us at the tournament,” Moran said before the competition, “but this time I want them to be surprised at how bad we beat them.”

Moran’s winning game plan called for the strategic placement of his word warriors in the three categories of the competition.

In limited preparation, freshman James Lyons competed in impromptu, the speech version of the two-minute drill. Lyons enters a room with three judges who hand him a paper with a quote. He then has two minutes to compose a five-minute speech arguing for or against the meaning of the quote.

The interpretive category had third-year Moira Beale competing in program oral interpretation, or POI, which features poetic and literary works, some written by the speakers themselves, which convey a specific point.

Moran specializes in oratory. In one instance he delivered rhetorical criticism, analyzing the marketing campaign behind the Fantanas, the brightly colored ladies who urge the public to buy Fanta soft drinks.

Before the team’s triumph in the 2007 regionals, they competed in the Suffolk University and University of Florida Presidential Swing Tournament in Boston. They finished sixth out of 14 teams on the first day and fifth of 11 on the second.

Now only one thing is left to do: start all over again the struggle to organize and then to scrape together enough money to fund the trip to the biggest stage for speech and debate, the nationals on April 19 in Mt. Barry, Ga., which requires a budget more than four times the Maine team’s most expensive one so far.

“We put in so much work behind the scenes just to get enough funding to go on these trips,” Moran said. For each and every competition they fight to raise enough money to go, and the struggle starts as soon as they arrive home.

“It can be a pain at times,” Lyons said. “We try to make do, but are always at a disadvantage.”

Moran enlisted the help of a lawyer, Jeffrey Jones of Ellsworth, who worked pro bono to set up a fund with the University of Maine Foundation listed as University of Maine Forensics, the official name of the team. In addition, the team seeks help through donations and has traveled the state as far south as Yarmouth to judge high school competitions for a small fee.

Until the team reaches their goal of self-sufficiency, they rely on the university’s Student Government for assistance. Student Government puts aside a portion of the student activity fee to allocate to student organizations for programs, competitions and other functions, but while the speech team is grateful for the help, they are eager to stand on their own.

The lack of a coach is another hardship the team has weathered. Most teams not only have a paid coach, but carry a paid assistant coach as well. The team cannot afford either. Instead they utilize the help of Kyle Webster, who lends valuable advice in his spare time between graduate school and coaching the Orono High School team. Moran shoulders this burden as well, coaching to the best of his ability.

With a year of stress and success left on the highway of the past, Moran focuses on what lies ahead, the road south to Georgia. He has cemented the team’s reputation, helped fill their trophy case and quaffed enough energy drinks that Red Bull should send him a Christmas card. Still each tournament remains a challenge, but that doesn’t faze this team. Moran shrugs. “It’s not worth it if you don’t have to work for it.”