Debaters Ready For Anything Research Must Cover Array Of Contest Topics

University High School seniors Josh Yake and Marc Johnston know U.S. foreign policy in China better than most college students. Heck, maybe even better than a lot of college professors. The two make regular research raids on the Gonzaga University library and scan the Wall Street Journal a week’s worth at a time.

All for their cause: debate.

Specifically, cross-examination debate, which the kids call “cross-X.”

After doing poorly in competition last week at Pacific Lutheran University, they have their sights set on a tournament three weeks down the road in Berkeley, Calif.

They take an amazing array of material with them to each tournament. Four suitcases full of clippings and notes give them ammunition on every conceivable issue, nuance and repercussion of U.S-Chinese relations.

Why so much? Because they never know until competition time which particular issue will be chosen - or which side of the issue they will have to debate.

They may deal with environmental issues, ownership of the obscure, oil-rich Spratley Islands between China and Malaysia, American tobacco imports to China, President Clinton’s popularity or the lack thereof, or a staggering number of other topics.

The two are the only third-year students in U-Hi’s small debate program, and they look beyond their school for sources of help. Johnston doesn’t have to look far. His mother, Penny Johnston, coaches the successful debate squad at Mead High School.

The two U-Hi students also work with Fred Peterson, a GU debater. Both teens spent three weeks at a grueling debate camp in Kentucky last summer.

What skill does each need to improve?

Yake said speed reading would help his research abilities.

“I can work on being faster,” he said.

Johnston said better decisions on precisely how to divide his time when he’s speaking would help him.

Both teens say they’re aiming for college and careers as attorneys. Or in Johnston’s case, perhaps politics.

“I think what politicians do looks like fun,” he said.

Other U-Hi debaters who completed last week’s PLU tournament were Collin Imus, Andy Mitchell and Greg Olszewski.

Eight debaters from Central Valley High went: Melody Crick, Dmitri Arbacauskas, Jessica Sinclair, Adam Franke, Ken Sawle, Chad Duncan, Jenna Faulkner and Tim Schaeffer.

It was a typo

A typo in a Central Valley School Board letter last week caused a few conniptions among supporters of the district’s Feb. 6 bond election.

The crucial word “million” was omitted in a description of the $23.28 million construction bond.

Chuck Hafner, co-chair of Kids First, the bond and levy campaign group, handled one phone call at the campaign office with as much grace as he could muster: “I think that’s already been expressed to the board,” he said. “Nope, nope, nope…. That’s $45 a year. If it was going to cost me $45 a month, I wouldn’t support it.”

The letter went to 18,000 households in the district.

“Dang it,” Hafner said. “Well, we had to make one mistake.”

Honor for St. Mary’s leader

St. Mary’s Elementary School Principal Carol Speltz has earned this year’s Distinguished Principal Award among Catholic elementary school principals in the Northwest.

The award is from the National Catholic Education Association.

Fun and learning

Snow bound, you said? Dark and dreary winter evenings?

Bah, humbug. Central Valley families should count on three evenings of fun and learning with the Family University Night program.

The programs offer everything from line dancing to literature, kitchen collages to pizza partnerships.

Registration will be held each evening at 6:30 p.m., first come, first serve. Each evening offers two sessions, at 7:05 p.m. and 8 p.m. The programs will be held at Wednesday at University Elementary School; Feb. 13 at Sunrise Elementary; and Feb. 15 at Chester Elementary.

Call 922-6991 for more information.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: If you have news about an interesting program or activity at a Valley school or about the achievements of Valley students, teachers or school staff, please let us know at: Education Notebook, Valley Voice, 13208 E. Sprague, Spokane, WA 99216. Call: 927-2166. Fax: 927-2175.