Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Washington State University Debate Club Records, 1972-1981
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Washington State University. Debate Club.
- Title
- Washington State University Debate Club Records
- Dates
- 1972-1981 (inclusive)19721981
- Quantity
- 0.25 Linear feet of shelf space, (1 Box)
- Collection Number
- Archives 392 (collection)
- Summary
- Records relating to debate competitions either involving Washington State University teams, or held at WSU.
- Repository
-
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open and available for research use.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Washington State University’s intercollegiate Debate Club, also known as the Forensics Club, dates to the earliest days of campus, when informal literary societies debated themselves, each other, and other schools. On March 22nd 1898 the state college’s Columbian Society debated at the University of Idaho against one of their societies, with over 100 students traveling by train to witness the debate. A more formal campus debate took place that November, a three-part competition with Whitman College and UI. WSC’s 1949 debate team won the national championship. The Forensics Club appears to have been finally dissolved by the ASWSU in about 1985.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of record relating to the running of Washington State University’s competitive speech team in the 1970s. In addition to summary administrative materials, the collections consists of programs and related documents from tournaments the WSU teams competed in. It also contains programs and other materials from state high school tournaments, some of which were hosted on the Washington State University campus. Instructions and forms for judging debate tournaments are undated, but most likely were used for the 1975 State High School tournament in Pullman, WA.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]
Washington State University Debate Club Records, 1972-1981
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into two series. The first is administrative materials. The second relates to debate competitions, and is broken into two subseries: debate tournaments, and debate judging materials. The debate tournaments subseries has WSU debate tournaments first, and then state high school tournaments. Within these series and subseries, materials are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Acquisition Information
These materials were transferred by Jim Abbott of Washington State University Library’s Communication program on Dec. 22, 1987 to the WSU Libraries’ Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, where they were retained as UA1987-34.
Processing Note
This collection was processed in June, 2019 by University Archivist Mark O’English.
Related Materials
Some debate team records are held in Archives 151, Speech Department Chair Records, 1923-1946.
PC 61 holds photographs of the Debate Teams between 1928 and 1957.
Some debate team documents, including programs and a history covering 1899-1927 can be found in the Speech Department portion (WSU 151) of the WSU Publications collection.
Other smaller sets of debate materials exist in other MASC collections.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | ||
| 1 | 1 | Alumni lists and donor solicits | 1972-1976 |
| 1 | 2 | Budget allocations | 1975 |
| 1 | 3 | Budget allocations | 1977 |
| 1 | 4 | Budget allocations | 1978 |
| 1 | 5 | Budgets | 1970-1978 |
| 1 | 6 | Correspondence re. planned cancellation of forensics program | 1972-1973 |
| 1 | 7 | Debate coach contact lists, high school | undated |
| 1 | 8 | Debate scheduling | 1980-1981 |
| 1 | 9 | Forensics Endowment Fund | 1968 |
| 1 | 10 | Debate tournament, Columbia Valley | 1976 |
| 1 | 11 | Debate tournament, Cougar Invitational | 1974, 1977 |
| 1 | 12 | Debate tournament, Great Tacoma Debate Swing | undated |
| 1 | 13 | Debate tournament, Mt. Rainier Forensic Classic | 1981 |
| 1 | 14 | Debate tournament, William O. Douglas Forensic Tournament | 1981 |
| 1 | 15 | Debate tournament, State High School | 1972 |
| 1 | 16 | Debate tournament, State High School | 1973 |
| 1 | 17 | Debate tournament, State High School | 1975 |
| 1 | 18 | Debate tournament record sheets | undated |
| 1 | 19 | Debate tournament results | undated |
| 1 | 20 | Debate judging | undated |
| 1 | 21 | Debate judging, expository | undated |
| 1 | 22 | Debate judging, extemporaneous | undated |
| 1 | 23 | Debate judging, impromptu | undated |
| 1 | 24 | Debate judging, interpretive | undated |
| 1 | 25 | Debate judging, oratory | undated |
| 1 | 26 | Debate judging, WSU Debate Ballot | undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Debates and debating.
Corporate Names
- Washington State University -- Students -- Societies, etc.
- Washington State University. Debate Team. -- Records and correspondence.
Finding aid prepared by Mark O’English
2019
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
