FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 25, 2019
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University hosts its fall Texan Debate at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center on the Stephenville campus. Admission is free.
Preliminary rounds take place at 2 and 3 p.m. in rooms 117, 118 and 119 of the O.A. Grant Building.
This semester’s debate moves away from a traditional parliamentary style to a more contemporary format that reflects policymaking by state and federal legislatures. Debaters, divided into teams of two, will present their positions on mandatory vaccinations as testimony before a mock legislative committee composed of community, university and elected leaders.
Dr. Chris Gearhart, head of the Department of Communication Studies, said he’s excited about the new format. “We have some remarkable guest panelists who will contribute their experience in a manner that will inform and educate the audience on the issue of mandatory vaccinations and on the role of debate in our representative democracy.”
Members of the mock legislative committee:
Charlie Stenholm, former U.S. Congressman (District 17)
Ginger Brown, nurse, Texas Department of State Health Services
Dr. J.D. Sheffield, state representative (District 59) and Stephenville physician
Dr. Miranda Nash, Stephenville physician
Dr. Nathaniel Cogley, head of the Tarleton Department of Government, Legal Studies and Philosophy
Dr. Laura Phipps, public health professor, UTA
Texan Debate is one of Tarleton’s High Impact Practices involving hundreds of students each semester in speech and communication courses with an emphasis on democratic engagement and civic learning. It’s also one of the school’s many American Democracy Project programs.
ADP is a national initiative of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
Contact: Phil Riddle, News and Information Specialist
817-484-4415
priddle@tarleton.edu
