Monday, December 24, 2007

Holiday party for Touro Communication - Debate Team and Club plans

The holidays are upon us! Thirteen people had a splendid first holiday party on 12/13 with 6 students and 9 faculty (would you believe!) The students were all male (where were the girls?!?) They included Drani Gabu, Walter Jean-Pierre, Narayan Mala (who took photos), James Millner and Milton Rivera. Kazi Rahman came late. The faculty included George Backinoff, Jason Carvell, Linda Creamer, Stephen Gradman, Richard Green, David Nussbaum. Larry Schwartz, Thomasina Tucker and Hal Wicke.
We are now going to split the Communication Club into two groups which will meet separately: The Debate Team and the Communication Club.
DEBATE TEAM WILL MEET THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2008 AT 1 PM IN ROOM 610 @ 50 WEST 23RD. We will begin an intense regular preparation for a public debate 2nd semester on a topic of mutual choice. Hal Wicke will coach the team.
WANT TO BE PART OF THE DEBATE TEAM? Check out these ideas.
· I hope we can present 2 teams of two debaters (4 people) in the Spring semester. I am looking for at least 4 people who are willing to work their tails off as they learn the intellectual combat of debate. I guarantee your class work will improve 1000% since debate is the learning matrix of critical thinking and covers every academic skill in depth.
· The ultimate value of any formal debate (not the stuff you see on TV that calls itself “debate”) is that learn to sharpen your skills every time you practice and polish them with every new topic. These skills include listening, questioning, taking notes, brainstorming, constructing and defending an argument, negotiating, dealing with success and failure, organizing and managing your time, building self-esteem and self-confidence, speaking skills.. These skills translate immediately into your daily life, your school life and your work life.
· Go to see Denzel Washington’s “The Great Debaters” which opens December 25 to get an exciting insight into the challenges of a debate team from an historically black college in Texas in the 30’s which went on to win several national debate championships.
· Google “college debate” and discover a host of debate resources throughout the country. There is a YouTube clip of a frantic championship debate. One site is fascinating has lots of ideas for us - http://nycdebate.googlepages.com .
· The 2007-2008 National Collegiate Debate Topic is “Resolved: That the United States federal government should substantially increase its public health assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa." If that is scary, we can choose a more accessible topic.

COMMUNICATION CLUB WILL MEET THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2008 AT 1 PM IN ROOM 610 @ 50 WEST 23RD.
George Backinoff and David Nussbaum are putting together a program of Communication exercises which should be both fun and informative. Invite your friends to join us.
The Holiday party got off to a slow start but as we got comfortable with each other, we began to get beyond the awkwardness and superficiality of unfamiliarity. Then Hal began a brainstorming session about the kinds of things the Communication Club could explore.
Here are the topics we talked about: The starred entries in bold are the ones the group chose to focus on immediately. At the next meeting, we will decide which activity we will develop next.
Include Hispanic Students (and other ethnicities)
Performance of Ethnic Literature (Newyorican cafe)
*Open mike (original poetry, comedy, discussion
Field trips (Paley Media Center, TV show, plays, “the Great Debaters”
*Panel discussion on a topic
Poetry festival
*Contest with prizes - poetry
Ways to steer people to Communication Club blog
Treasure hunt
Communication Exercises
Talk about Negotiation
Practice Job interviewing
Cross cultural aspects of Touro
*Contest for a Communication Club logo
*T-shirt for Communication Team
Create a mystery
*Podcast
Club brochure - “Talking Good, Looking Good”
Marketing the Communication Club
Getting registration for Biz Comm courses
Showcase Communication faculty -Carvell
Have a Communication Day
Open Speech contest – best persuasive speech, best information
*Performance apprehension workshop
Publish journal of student writing on communication
Club newsletter
(Communication honorary)
(Questioning skills)
(Loaded language – the B.S. Factor)
(Observation skills -listening & looking)
(Networking skills)
(Emotional Intelligence)
(Conversation skills)
(Teamwork exercises – Backinoff)
(Concert)
(Teacher panel discussion)
(Guest speakers – lecture series)
(Debate activities – Lincoln Douglas, off-topic debate)
(Impromptu speaking – elevator speeches)
There’s so much that is possible with the Club. Our success depends on you, the students, who are the reason for whom Touro exists. When faculty and students get together with a common purpose, who knows what will happen? Please join us for the next Communication Club meeting on Thursday, January 17th or, if you want to commit yourself to debate, on Thursday, January 10th.