The upcoming school year for the normal student means waking up early, endless class notes and long homework hours. For a member of the Dreyfoos debate team it means all the same, except it also entails the dawn of a new debate season.

In preparation for the new period, three members from the Dreyfoos debate team, communications juniors Bethany Ebanks and Riley Freese and communications sophomore Matt Nadel, are currently attending the Florida Forensic Institute (FFI) for two weeks to help them grow as a public speaker. The camp takes place in Ft. Lauderdale, and participants are invited to stay at the Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale hotel during the time of their stay.

Freese and Nadel are focusing on Congressional debate. In this event, students from different schools propose bills or resolutions and deliver speeches on whether or not to negate or affirm them. The two will work on strategies of Congress as well as how to build a concise speech. Additionally, the program will consist of ample practice time where the students can conduct mock rounds.

“It’s very intense, but the assignments make us grow a lot,” said Nadel.

Pursuing a different type of event, Ebanks is focusing on Original Oratory, in which a student gives a 10 minute oratory on a problem in society, discusses the cause and poses a potential solution. Throughout the course of the program, Ebanks will develop her topic and work on forming her outline. She is also able to work one on one with many coaches and other students.

“I feel that I’ve improved so much and that FFI will lead to a hopeful success in forensics,” Ebanks said. She, along with the other two students, learned about the program through debate coach Angela Weber. “I could see that others had improved greatly as a result of the camp so I thought I should go too, to bring my speech game to the next level.”