Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

A Distinguished Alumnus

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Brief biography of Erwin Canham, alumnus of Delta Sigma Rho.

Report Of The Legislative Committee...

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Report of the Legislative Committee at the Fourth National Student Congress of Delta Sigma Rho.

The Principles Of Poor Speaking..., Harold F. Harding

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Contrary to popular op1111on, it is fairly easy to write or to speak well. But writing poorly and speaking poorly are really difficult. To give these arts their proper due requires hard study. Many accomplished practitioners of poor speaking are not aware of their methods. It is time that poor speaking be given the systematic treatment it deserves.

The College Oration And The Classic Tradition..., Charles W. Lomas

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Recently I had occasion, after a lapse of several years, to judge the oratorical contest in a college forensic tournament. The experience brought home to me forcibly the futility and ineptness of college oratory as currently practiced in the tournament situation. I hope it is not a sign of premature senility to observe that I do not believe college oratory is as good as it was twenty-five years ago, and that it has fallen completely from the heights it attained when it was the training ground for William Jennings Bryan and Robert M. La Follette, Sr. I do not believe …

With The Chapters

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Information and accomplishments of Delta Sigma Rho chapters.

President's Page..., E. C. Buehler

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Text of the President's address to the Opening Assembly at the Fourth Delta Sigma Rho Congress.

The Report Of The Congress Observers..., John W. Keltner

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Report on observations and committee operations at the Fourth Biennial Student Congress of Delta Sigma Rho.

The Fourth Delta Sigma Rho Congress...

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Report on the Fourth Delta Sigma Rho Congress held in Chicago on March 31 and April 1-2, 1949.

Do We Teach English?, W. Roy Diem

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Not long ago I listened to a speech by the mayor of one of the. large cities of America. He gave a thoroughly interesting talk, one that hehi the rapt attention of an audience of six or eight hundred people. He was vigorous, fluent, concrete. But his language was marked by the syntax of a semi-literate person, though he is a college man. Such expressions as "he who I was the guest of" and "I was setting across the table from him" made one wince who was sensitive to correct English.

So far as I know, the mayor had never …

Forensics At The Grass Roots..., Ralph A. Micken

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

In cooperation with the adult education section of the Extension Service. Iowa State Debaters have for the past several years carried on an interesting series of debates and discussions called the Community Visits. These visits are made throughout the state, to Farm Bureau township halls, adult education classes, church clubs, high school assemblies, and service club dinners. Since the second year of the program we find that we have a core of steady customers —communities to which we are invited year after year, but each winter we add to our list and take on new visits. Trips vary in length …

What Happens To College Debaters?, H. L. Ewbank

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Preliminary report by H.L.Ewbank on alumni and members of Delta Sigma Rho.

And Now To Define The Terms..., Roy C. Nelson

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

The quality of any debate depends to a large extent on a concise, accurate, and honest appraisal of the main terms in a resolution. Al though almost all textbooks on argumentation carry chapters on definitions of terms and principles to be followed, yet many high school and college debaters arc perfunctory in analyzing the questions they debate. In listening to hundreds of debates over a period of years, I have observed many recurring deficiencies in the interpretation of the resolution. Among the most common faults have been: 1. Strained and limited definitions for purpose of strategy. 2. Quibbling over terms …

President's Page - "A Word For The Cause", E.C. Buehler

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

Introduction by E. C. Buehler to Volume 31, Issue 2 of The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho.

The Harvard Committee Approves..., W. A. Dahlberg

The Gavel of Delta Sigma Rho

The Harvard Report, "General Education in a Free Society," with its emphasis upon the importance of discussion and debate activities, should give some comfort to forensic directors whose efforts, so frequently, meet with criticism.