Sarah Tompkins: She’s A Hard One To Leave Speechless
When attorney Linda Tompkins argues with her daughter Sarah, the outcome is not what you’d think.
“When she is in battle mode, watch out,” Linda Tompkins said with admiration for her 18-year-old daughter. “We just don’t argue in our household because we don’t win.”
Sarah Tompkins’s debate skills translated into national honors for the recent Central Valley High School graduate. She placed 10th in a national debate competition in Florida this summer.
To qualify for nationals, Tompkins placed first in Eastern Washington in Lincoln Douglas debate, a one-onone contest. Three other CVHS students and one University High School student also competed at nationals.
Tompkins is a passionate supporter of liberal causes whose 1984 Honda Accord is plastered with bumper stickers. At CVHS, she was president of the ecology club and a member of Amnesty International. She also volunteers at the Spokane Food Bank.
Tompkins said she likes debate because it forces her to view issues from many sides and to keep up with current events.
“The people who end up doing the best (in competition) are the people who go out and spend time digging up facts and figures,” Tompkins said. “It makes things a lot clearer when you sit down to read the paper.”
The topic at nationals, which Tompkins had to argue over and over, was whether the safety of others is more important than the right to privacy of people with infectious diseases.
“She’s very persuasive,” Phil Koestner, a fellow debate team member and friend, said of Tompkins. “She can sway my thinking on things.”
That’s high praise coming from Koestner, whose politics are diametrically opposed to Tompkins’. When the two were sophomores, said debate team coach Susan Dolan, “(They) would get in arguments and Sarah would leave the room in tears.”
Koestner had the double honor of competing in two events, after placing first in Eastern Washington in U.S. extemporaneous speaking and second in Lincoln Douglas debate.
In “U.S. extemp,” contestants have 30 minutes to prepare seven-minute speeches on current events topics.
Over the past three years, Koestner and Tompkins have become friends. This year, they were the stars of CVHS’ debate class, Dolan said.
“At every tournament this year, one or the other has taken first or second place,” Dolan said. When they debate each other, she added, “It’s always a draw.”
In the fall, Tompkins will head off to Western Washington University to double major in English and philosophy and minor in political science. Koestner plans to study political science at Eastern Washington University.
Also from CVHS, Eric Gilbert and Jen Hayward, along with Gretchen Rappe from U-Hi, competed in the national student congress, in which contestants make floor arguments and attempt to pass bills.
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