Showcase is a day when students at William Peace university can show off what they have done throughout their years here at Peace. The seniors in professor Dr. Elizabeth Kusko’s political science class held a debate about drugs in america for their showcase.
This was a great opportunity for the seniors that are either political science or criminal justice majors to demonstrate all that they have learned throughout their 4 years being a student at WPU.
During this debate there were six students acting as speakers, and then each speaker had two researchers. Those students would do the research for the speaker and tell them what to say and the speaker would make it sound proper and persuasive.
Tristan Baucom, senior at WPU, was the only political science major of the six speakers. Baucom was dressed nice, stood up straight, and was well spoken. Every time he spoke the audience was engaged in what he had to say.
“The debate went great, all of my classmates did great, and I really think we were impressive;” said Baucom. “It was a fun experience though, I had a good time voicing my opinion and thoughts of some matters that are very important. Also it was great to hear everyone else’s thoughts and opinions.”
All of the speakers worked hard and felt very passionate about the debate. The audience could tell that all the speakers used what the researchers provided them for the debate.
“I really didn’t prepare much because my researchers helped me out a lot. They gave me the information I needed and I really just tried to vocally get my point across.” said senior Jalen Vince a WPU.
What helped them prepare for the debate was the discussions in Dr. Kusko’s class. This allowed them to prepare for what may be asked in the debate, and it also helped them practice pitching their argument to the audience.
“Discussions we’ve had in class all semester really prepared me to help get my point across clearly and concisely, that debate was not far from what a normal class would be like,” said Baucom. “Kusko didn’t make it easy. She didn’t tell us what she would be asking so it was all on the spot, it was difficult but we all did great.”
This was a great opportunity for all six speakers to debate and to show the passion they had for what they were arguing about on showcase day in front of their peers and staff members.
“You know debating in front of my peers was a lot different than debating in front of people that I don’t even know,” said Vince. “Seeing staff at the debate that I know I’ve had in class before was nice because I felt like they believed in me.”
