The National Speech & Debate Association is honoring Bullard High School for 50 years of competing at the country’s biggest forensics tournament.

And to show the nation the breadth and diversity of the program, the school is putting out a call to former debaters, judges, and supporters for a team photo to showcase at the event. That includes any competitors going back to the club’s origins in 1958.

On Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m., Bullard High will host the Valley’s national debate qualifier. The all-day event will bring schools from Fresno, Tulare, and Kern counties to compete for limited spots at the National Speech & Debate Association competition in June, this year held in Virginia.

Also that day, the team wants former competitors and all the politicians, attorneys, judges, educators, and entertainers who ever played a role in shaping the award-winning club to show up at the quad for a photo to show at the national tournament.

“This is huge. If you have ever competed or supported BHS speech and debate in any way, small or large, we need you in the photo,” a Bullard spokesperson said in a statement.

The team asks that attendees wear either a Bullard High t-shirt or a navy blue one.

Don’t be surprised when the Bullard coach asks you to stay to judge, because they’ll need you. Trust me, with Bakersfield, Fresno, and Clovis bringing their best, it’ll be worth your time. Even Orosi will be there, and do not count them out.

Fresno Unified Down to Three High Schools Competing in Speech and Debate

Debaters would hardly be considered quiet. As a former competitor, coach, and judge for both Bullard and Hoover High, I can personally attest to seeing students finally getting comfortable and then never being able to stop talking.

The event, unlike the students, however, often goes unnoticed. A winning football team or wrestler will get social media notice — as they should — whereas speech and debate at Fresno Unified seems to be quietly fading away.

Perhaps it’s for the best that the daring kind of ideas I’ve seen so many students present slip by unnoticed. On the speech side, students have delivered graphic original pieces about sexual assault, sermonized about the benefits of hallucinogenics, and reported on the history of cannibalism — complete with images and props.

For debaters, if a competitor fails to demonstrate how an opponent’s case kills millions of people or drastically worsens racism, are they really doing their job?

Though speechies and debaters sincerely believe in the ideas they present, rational or not, the event does call for a space that trusts them to consider those ideas candidly.

When a team comes up with a plan to use hemp as alternative fuel, they don’t need a chorus of opposition saying they are promoting drug use. Though, the students I’m thinking of would jump at the opportunity to correct a naysayer.

The problem is the event is quietly struggling. Fresno Unified once boasted forensics powerhouses. Fresno High routinely won national and state awards for both speech and debate. Sadly, that high school hasn’t had a program since I competed.

The same goes for Hoover High where my one year as head coach became the last year that school had a team.

Yes, you can blame the 20-year-old who thought he could lead an award-winning team when they were left with no other option. The problem is few are stepping up and taking it on their own to restart those programs.

Now, Edison, Bullard, and University High remain the only Fresno Unified high schools to have speech and debate.

Speech and Debate Invaluable Teaching Tool

This is not a knock on the district. Coaching demands dedication. The event schedule goes all year long and — being high schoolers — competitors can be demanding. God help any teacher having to argue with a teenager trained to debate and prove their mettle verbally.

But those challenges hardly compare to the rewards of seeing what students are capable of doing.

The event demands a skill something modern society increasingly dismisses — understanding another person’s point of view.

In one round, a student will have to prove why a surveillance state protects the U.S. and the very next round have to demonstrate why it’s a threat to individual liberties.

A student may only have a few weeks to understand China’s Belt and Road Initiative and then argue why or why not the European Union should join.

A housing policy may seem great at first glance until an opponent convinces a judge how it harms neglected communities.

Though it may be struggling, speech and debate still brings out tremendous support. There are more than a few local law firms that have invested time, money, and expertise to Fresno Unified programs.

Before she became a judge, Houry Sanderson came to Mock Trial practice nearly daily to coach students pretending to be attorneys and witnesses. Attorney Robert Hendricks has more than once scheduled time out of his day to coach students on congressional legislation.

Though a Fresno High alum, attorney Peter Jones helped Bullard debaters develop cases about the benefits and harms of plea bargains, perhaps to his chagrin.

It’s not hard to understand why so many in Fresno and Clovis value speech and debate. Few things compare to seeing that quiet competitor come alive when it’s their time to speak.