Forensics Council not about toe-tags

Contrary to popular belief, the Penn State Forensics Council does not toe-tag dead bodies or fingerprint criminals.

The council, also known as the Forensics Team, is a proven successful speech and debate club, and is attracting the attention of many high school students.

However, the University may be losing prospective students because of the under-funded program, said council president and team captain Steve Blivess.

"These kids are basing their decisions on whether or not to attend Penn State based on the type of forensics program it has," he said.

In a letter to last year's forensics director, Brian Ott, a Missouri student, expressed interest in attending the University and joining the council. The student was one of the top varsity contenders in Missouri, but he eventually decided to attend another university.

In another letter to Ott, a Wyoming student asked about a debate scholarship to attend the University.

"Some schools offer four to 10 scholarships to qualified debate students," Ott said. "But Penn State offers none, and this makes it harder for us to attract more high school students."

The council frequently turns away 40 to 50 potential members each semester, due to a lack of funds -- an even bigger problem for the council, Ott said.

"Penn State only supplies enough funding for a semester's worth of competition," Ott said. "The bottom line is that we must attend tournaments year-round to be able to compete. In order to do this, we must raise $4,000 to $5,000 per semester to travel."

Stan Latta, director of Student Life, said the council receives a significant sum of money compared to the other 425 registered student organizations.

"I can name at least a dozen other clubs and groups who are as successful as the Forensics Team who receive considerably less funds," he said.

But the University doesn't give academic funding like it needs to, Blivess said.

Schools like George Mason University and Seton Hall University give their forensics programs up to $60,000 in funds, Ott said.

The Penn State council relies mostly on support from the $25 student activity fee, the Association of Residence Hall Students, the Student Organization Budget Committee and the various residence hall associations, Ott said, adding that the council could not do nearly as much without this financial support.

The problem with relying on SOBC and the activity fee money, Ott said, is that the council is not guaranteed any certain amount each year.

Through all this adversity, however, the Forensics Team has been very successful lately, Blivess said. Of the 22 contestants entered in the recent state tournament at Elizabethtown College, 11 were finalists and 10 finished in third place or higher. Four won in their respective categories.

"In seven years of state tournament history, Penn State has only had two state champs," Blivess said. "This year, we've had four alone."

The team placed state champions in debate, rhetorical criticism, prose and poetry this year, he said, and recently returned from a tournament at Hofstra University in New York. Seventeen teams competed at Hofstra, and Penn State took third place. Four members were finalists in at least one event, with Blivess taking fifth place overall.