What is Bethel Forensics?

News

Spring 2013:

Bethel takes 2nd place in Division I team sweepstakes at Christian College Nationals

Bethel has 1 individual national championship (Sam Schedler, Novice ADS), and 8 individual sweepstakes awards, including 4 of the top 10 novice in speech sweepstakes. Full results on the results page.

Bethel takes 2nd place in team sweepstakes at Valley Forensics League #4

Bethel also takes 5th place at VFL #3 with just two people. Full results on the results page.

Bethel takes 3rd place in team sweepstakes at the Bunny Bop (Pt. 1)

Sophie Nagle takes 2nd in individual sweeps, making 4 final rounds and winning Poetry; Bethel has 3 in Persuasion finals and two in Extemp finals. More details on the results page.

Bethel takes 2nd place in debate team sweepstakes and 4th place in overall sweepstakes at State

Abby Stocker wins a state championship in Minnesota Informative speaking; Bethel has two Oratory finalists for the first time in school history (Emma Beecken and Sophia Nagle). Bethel's debaters went 11-1 in prelim rounds, advancing two teams and a hybrid team into the elimination rounds. More details - and other speech finalists - on the results page. 

Bethel closes out parli debate finals at the Snow Invitational

Bethel's debate teams close out the finals at the Snow, and there were several speech finalists at the Sleet and Snow swing in Nebraska. Full details on the results page.

Fall 2012: 

Bethel takes 2nd place and 1st place in team sweepstakes at Valley Forensics League #1 and #2

Jessica Benham wins 4 events on day 2 (CA, Impromptu, Extemp, and Parli Debate) and takes top parli speaker. Matt Sundquist had 3 breaks, Heidi Czlapinski had 2 breaks, and Abby Stocker took 3rd and 2nd place in ADS. Jessica and Matt won parli debate; Abby and Kyle Arvila advanced to semis. Full details on the results page.

Bethel takes 4th place at Vocal Viking

Three freshmen make elim rounds; Jessica Benham takes 3rd in individual sweeps and wins top parli debate speaker for the 3rd year in a row. Details on the results page.

Spring 2012: Bethel earns 8 national titles at Christian College Nationals

Bethel earns 6 individual titles, 1 team award and 1 debate championship. Sophie Nagle wins Novice Informative, Novice Dramatic Interp, and Novice Poetry, along with the individual sweepstakes championship in novice individual events. Matt Sundquist and Tommy Monson win JV parli. Micah Tweeten wins Novice After Dinner Speaking, and April Harding wins Novice Program Oral Interpretation. Bethel takes 3rd in individual events sweepstakes, 1st in limited entry debate, and 4th overall; Nagle, Sundquist, Monson, Harding, and Jessica Benham all win individual sweepstakes awards. Full details on the results page.

Spring 2012: Bethel takes 5th place and 2 individual national championships at Novice Nationals

Sophia Nagle wins Informative and Dramatic Interp; Bethel takes 5th overall with 9 breaks. Details on the results page.


Team seeks more of our past history If you have any information on the team, especially pre-1997 history, please contact Dr. Michael Dreher We'd love to share that history on the website!

 
  • Intercollegiate speech and debate 
  • A place to get to know new friends 
  • 2-time team champions at the National Christian College Forensics Invitational (2006, overall; 2007, individual events)
  • Home of 2 National Parliamentary Debate Association All-Americans (David Maus, 2007; David Dickmeyer, 2009)
  • Open to any major, and any year in school -- no experience necessary!
  • A team that strives for success in forensics and in the classroom
  • A place for you! 
2012 Bethel Forensics Team




2012 Bethel Forensics team:
Lacy Larson (Asst. Coach), Abby Stocker, Stephanie Melhaff, Lauren Smythe, April Harding, Tommy Monson, Matt Sundquist, Alicia Waters, Dr. Michael Dreher (Director), Jessica Benham, Micah Tweeten, Heidi Czlapinski, Matthew Anderson, Sarah Lee, Sophie Nagle, Ally Nissen, Jessica Samens (Asst. Director)

Bethel Forensics is...

Bethel's Forensics team is a different kind of team. As this website expands, we will tell more of the story of what makes us different -- our commitment to the pedagogical value of forensics (as witnessed by as many as 50 students competing every year), our commitment to our religious tradition, and our desire that forensics be a positive experience for all who participate. You can find out more about how we feel in our mission statement, as well as in the team history. Whether you're one of our alums, someone considering our program, or want to learn more about college forensics, come find out more about us!

If you're a Bethel student wondering why you should be involved in forensics, please check out our information just for you.

Do you want to learn more about the different types of events? We have a list of them available. 

We're the tournament directors for the Novice Nationals Individual Events and Parli tournament, and we host several college forensics websites.

A sitemap for the Bethel Forensics website is available, as is our 2012-2013 schedule of tournaments.

Bethel Forensics is a part of the Department of Communication Studies at Bethel University.

If you're looking for information about the field of forensic science and criminology, you're not in the right place! We recommend that you consult Google or another search engine, and use a search term that includes "not speech" or "not debate."

For more information about the forensics team or this site, contact Dr. Michael Dreher, Director of Forensics, or Prof. Jessica Samens, Assistant Director of Forensics.

Website last updated: 26 August 2012