UARK Speech and Debate Society Raises Money for Childhood Cancer Research

This past Sunday, the U of A's Speech and Debate Society, consisting of judges Will Crews, Jack VanDyke and Percy Blaich, as well as debaters Ella Grannon, Josh Tompkins, Emma Powell, alumni Austin Keefe, Matthew Cook, Jace Godfrey, Hayden Mittlestat, Luke Paulus, Dylan Hall and coach Hannah Morris, took part in the Just Keep Swimming Charity Debate Tournament benefitting childhood brain cancer research. 

This event, started by Louisiana State University in Shreveport's Trey Gibson, honors the life and memory of his daughter, Emilie Gibson, who passed away on Oct. 31, 2017, after a courageous battle against what they called "Darth Tumor."  Scientifically, this is referred to as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a lower brainstem tumor that carries a median survival rate of eight to 11 months post-diagnosis.  Emilie made it longer, and much of that was due to her strength, tenacity and love of all things silly. She demanded that people wear silly hats when they entered her hospital rooms, and that set the standard for the rest of her life - one filled with fun and love, in spite of the incredible difficulties that she faced. 

The Just Keep Swimming Tournament, named after the song they used as inspiration during her time with Darth Tumor and inspired by her love of swimming, is used as a celebration of her legacy and a method to continue fighting for her cause. The event requires its competitors to be silly, which can include hats, props, makeup and costumes - anything that would have made Emilie laugh. The topics, too, are equally as silly.  From "Bigfoot is real" to "Humanity peaked in the 90s," participants debate in the standard Team IPDA style (2v2) but with the silliest arguments they can muster to match the topic.

The reason participation in this event and donations to causes like this are important is because adult cancer research receives a vast majority of funding when the National Cancer Institute divides up its reseearch money. In fact, it is widely recognized that childhood cancer research in the United States only receives 4% of the allocated budget. So, the phrase that was born from Emilie's experience was: "A child is worth more than 4%." The IPDA debate community has taken that to heart.

All participants from the weekend had a blast, and team Dylan Hall and Hannah Morris were lucky to break to the next level of competition and continue their silly antics for five rounds of competition total.  Due to the nature of the event, there are only two outrounds instead of your typical three or four, which makes breaking at this tournament difficult, but rewarding. The event raised $1,850 after only a day of activity.

While not the same type of fun, the Speech and Debate Society will next host its own tournament, followed by their first competition of the season, at the University of Central Missouri. 

If you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so at https://thecurestartsnow.org/.