Hello and welcome to another exciting season of Beck’s Bench— I’m Beck Taylor.
Well, the Bulldogs are back! Students are moved in and classes are underway
here on campus— we’re certainly looking forward to an exciting fall semester.
And this right here— this is the National Championship trophy for the top novice
debaters in the country. It’s presented by the American Debate Association… and you guessed it,
it belongs to two Samford students, Grace Blackwell and Abi McKibben— adding to Samford’s
long list of national accomplishments in debate. Abi, Grace, welcome to Beck's Bench. Wow,
look at this trophy! This is amazing. I've never won a trophy like this; you must be so proud.
You're rising juniors; last year was your first time to debate at Samford or anywhere,
I think. Did you expect so much success in year one? When I initially joined debate,
you know, I just fell in love with it. I'm so thankful. I give glory to God that we have,
you know, our teammates and coaches, we're all so close, and everyone is so talented, so I think
that it made the process of really improving throughout the season to get to the point
where we are with that tournament, it really made that possible. I think that everyone, as far as
the teammates and our coach, just played a really critical role in our win, and I just can't thank
them, and I can't thank God enough for it. Oh, that's fantastic. Abi, if we're watching a debate
tournament, it just looks like a bunch of arguing going back and forth, but it's so much more
thoughtful and methodical. You prepare in so many amazing ways. Give us a little sense of that. Yes,
it's methodical down to the minute. So there's a total of eight speeches. Each teammate gives two,
one nine-minute, one six-minute one. There's cross-examinations,
and each team has a total of ten minutes of preparation time or prep time.
So it's very methodical, and 95% of the debate actually happens before the debate starts, and
because you have ten minutes of prep time. Grace, you're doing all this research preparing for these
fast debates, my guess is you want to share a lot of information very quickly so you have to speak
very fast. Can you give us a sense of how fast you have to speak? I can speak 350
to 400 words per minute. I actually did a project on it last year for Dr. Elsner for sports psych.
I know it might seem that what I'm saying is unintelligible, but what people
have to keep in mind is that our opponents actually do have a copy of what I'm reading,
so they have the ability to follow along with the speed, which is super helpful in round.
Massive shipping consolidation and lack of regulatory oversight hold the
supply chain hostage, creating supply chain bills Brown 1/4.
Massive container ships backed up for miles; addressing that crisis is made
difficult by decades-old deregulation, and a few powerful global entities are
making billions from its dysfunction. Three alliances control 83 percent of the
global shipping market and 95 percent of East-West trade lanes. Carriers retained their antitrust
immunity. Larger ships now read as a monopolistic tool to force the industry to operate on their
terms. The White House and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers see regulation as the best path.
Wow! Yes, you know it took me a second or two to kind of catch your rhythm and cadence,
but I was able to understand what you're saying. Clarity, we do speaking drills every single day
for at least 15 minutes, and I think clarity is a huge part of that. You know, it's not just speed.
You also have to be clear so that the judges and your opponents can understand what you're saying,
or else, you know, the point in the thesis just gets lost in the end. Yeah, amazing,
amazing. Well, I know it's not antitrust policy, but I thought it would be fun
to end our segment with a little bit of a debate, so here's the question.
Where's the best place to take a selfie? With Mr. Beeson or on Ben Brown Plaza? Ben Brown
Plaza, Mr. Beeson. What? Mr. Beeson. There's no way! Don't argue with me. Ben Brown Plaza. He's
so photogenic, though. Yeah, but you can take a picture anywhere. I don't think
we're gonna get to the end of this question today. We're so proud of Grace and Abi and
the way they represent Samford. This national championship: what an accomplishment. Thank you
for watching Beck's Bench. Until next time, I'm Beck Taylor, and of course, go Bulldogs.