Volume XXXII No.9 · May 1958 son, who won first place in the local contest. was awarded the I THE ROSTRUM first prize of $500 and Caryl 0 fficial Publication of t!u Milkowski. also a first place lo~ National Formsic League cal winner, receit•ed the second prize of $300. These two win~ EDITOR ners will now qo on to compete B ARBARA M . RADCLIFFE 360 CENTRAL AVENUE in the national contest. DOVER. N EW HAMPSHIRE * Alice Jean Ferguson at St. Published monthly from September to Xavier Academy, Latrobe. Penn~ May at 120 Thorne Street , Ripon, Wis., in the interests of extended speech activities sylvania, received degree of honor in America's high schools. number 60,000. This chapter with fewer than 150 students has a Subscription Prices $1 per year SOc for additional copies chapter strength of 157 NFL de~ grees. Entered as second-class matter at the post-office at R~pon, Wisconsin, under * * * the act of August 24, 1912. WANTED: A...~ E DITOR NFL needs an Editor of The Ros­ trwn for next year, student or in­ structor. Journalistic experience is The Editor's Notebook desirable, but not as essential as interest, enthusiasm, d evotion to As I seal and mail the copy for the work. The position is not sal­ my last issue of The Rostrum, my aried, but it does carry a modest mind wanders back over the year's expense allowance. NFL activities and my part in Apply to the National Secretary them. At this time I extend my before June 15th . personal thanks to NFL for their * * * National Tournament in Kentucky T his year's Nationals, like the last summer, to Mr. Jacob for his past several, w ill be a s hirt ~sleeve work in making my job a far eas~ tourney. The Rostrum fashion ier one, to the entire national staff editor suggests sport shirts for the for supplying me with material, to gents and summer cottons for the all the NFL~ers and coaches who ladies. have been so co~operative in send ~ Extra~cu rr i cu l ar activities fill ing news and articles for publ ica~ the spaces between rounds as con~ tion, and finally to those who have testants will be enjoying coke par~ written to me expressing their ties, dances, a barbeque, a dr3~ views on thf magazine and mak~ matic presentation, and swimming ing suggestions for its future im~ parties. provement. Have lots of fun, everybody; To an editor, busy with college Nationals is one of those experi~ studies and work as a varsity de~ ences which will stand out in the bater, all of this cooperation and career of any debater. assistance has been invaluable. * * * Two NFL members from THE COVER: After a year of Kenosha, Wisconsin, have won service, this debate case is being put firs t and second place in the to a final use as kindling for the big state Elks "Most Valuable Stu~ c_ampfire at the debating team's pi~ dent" contest. R odger Gabriel~ nic. 2 The Rost rum Trophies Donated for Nationals Persons, groups, and business Madison High School Student firms are again providing a major Council: Coach ~ of ~ the ~ Year portion of the more than $2,000 award. worth of trophies and medals to the top ranking students in the Springfield NFL C h a p t e r: national tournament and con~ Second place Radio trophy. gress. This tangible encourage~ ment to straight thinking and Vermillion N F L C h a p t e r: Coach's sweepstakes trophy. good speaking is appreciated. Watertown High School: 24 Following· are the donors to Debate medals and one personal date and their awards: trophy for contest winner. L. G. Balfour Company: First and second place Oratory tro~ phies. Sokol Turns Poet Tau Kappa Alpha: Cumulative tournament sweepstakes trophy. Larry Sokol, whose article on logic was published earlier, has Hamilton W a tc h Company: again contributed his talents to Hamilton watches for national The Rostrum, this time in the champions in Original Oratory form of a poem. He's hoping to and Dramatic Interpretation. be able to write one next fall en~ titled "After the Nationals." We Benrus Watch Company: Ben~ wish him luck, and at the same rus watches for the Most Out~ time thank him for being among standing Senator and ,R epresenta~ those members who take an active tive in the Student Congress. interest in their magazine. South Da~otans Generous PRELUDE TO THE NATIONALS Senator Karl E. Mundt: N a~ Working, working, day and night, tional Student Congress sweep~ To get the case <u:e think is right. stakes award. Searching, searching fo r evidence, fVe wonder if it all makes sense. Home-stake Mining Company: Championship trophy for Boys' Trying, trying our very best Extempore Speaking. T he night before, to get some rest. Catching, catching, a bus tomorrow, South Dakota Bankers Associ~ To the District Tourney we shall go. ation: Championship trophy for Arriving, arriving just on time, Debate. H ope and pray our voices will chime. Talking, talking, all day long, Rapid City NFL Chapter: T o the other teams we sing our sonq. Championship trophy for Girls' If/ aiting, waiting to see how we've Ex temp. done; The nev:s comes through and we have Brookings NFL Chapter and won! Student Council: Second place Dreaming, dreaming of things to come, Poetry trophy. The Nationals await, and lots of fun. May 1958 3 What is a Debater? BY THE EDITOR What are debaters? They are cases or armloads of heavy books. most easily recognized by open Another unusual physical charac~ mouths and oversized egos. They teristic is an enlarged fist used for can be found in any number of pounding on tables. places - over books, behind thick They run up gigantic telephone glasses, between rounds, under bills by carrying on debates long clouds of gloom, at tourneys, at distance. They lose girl friends by parties following these, and, ex~ calling them at the eleventh hour cept for the nights when they are to say that their case is only half scheduled for practice, in the de~ finished and MUST be finished bate office. that very night, or announcing They are more easily heard that they're sorry, but the district than seen. In fact, it's almost im~ tourney is the same weekend as possible to be within several miles the prom (and, sorry. but much of them and not hear them. They more important.) have a quirk which leads them to believe that the best way to provo?: They especially seem to enjoy a point is to shout louder than all frustrating teachers, enfuriating the others who are trying to prove friends who disagree with them, their points at the same time. confusing parents who wonder why their offspring couldn't have They can be found arguing ev~ been normal. happy people, and erywhere - in the halls, on the overworking librarians. To coach­ way to and from tourneys, with es. by whom they are alternately parents, teachers, friends, enemies, adored and feared, they are an~ and other debaters. They usually other gray hair, to Mr. Jacob they come in pairs, arguing among are names in a huge file - names themselves. The night before a which earn points as fast as he big tournament they can be found can record them, to other students curled around cokes and cookies, they are hopelessly crazy, and to surrounded by m o u n t a i n s of themselves they are a combination books, papers and notebooks, of Henry Clay, William Jennings frantically writing debate cases Bryan, John C. Calhoun, Winston and drinking cough syrup ~s they Churchill and Daniel W ebster. speak in hushed whispers to save their already overtaxed voices. After a hard weekend, they can Their pictures may be found on be found curled up inside large the front pages of newspapers. trophies sound asleep, but prob­ ably dreaming of the final round, They are seen carrying several for they are mumbling incoherent­ different things, depending upon ly about Technical Assistance and which of the three schools they bilateral loans. belong to - the file box, the clip board or the extemp. Those be~ All those who pass tiptoe silent~ longing to the second are the most ly by, knowing from experience modern, and to the third, the most that it is best to let sleeping de­ daring. They are often stoop baters lie, for only then are they shouldered from carrying brief anywhere near silent. The Rostrum Newton Squad and This Year's Trophies Newton Leads Kansas The most outstanding record cessful in the field of individual this year in the Kansas NFL Di s~ speech events. tri~t was made by the debaters Mrs. Moore has just been from Newton High School. Walk~ awarded the NFL Diamond Key ing off with seven first place for coaching students who earned awards ,....... W ashington (Kansas 12,000 credit points ,....... only par~ City), Topeka, Southwestern Col~ tial recognition for her years of lege, Garden City, Derby, Shaw~ championship achievement. nee Mission and District Class AA - the team has accumulated a very impressive record of v i c~ Still Winning tories. Along with the firs t place R obert Kubec of Kenosha. awards, the team has won two Wisconsin. the 1956 NFL Na~ seconds, a third, and a fourth tiona! Original Oratory cham~ place. pion. has continued his winning ways in college speech circles. All of this outstanding work A s a sophomore at the Uni ve r~ was done by only sixteen debat~ sity of Wisconsin, he won first ers, under the direction of their place in the field of oratory at coach, Mrs.