Equality In Forensics
Access. Access. Access
The question of accessibility arises frequently in the discourse over speech and debate, yet we often fail to recognize and promote organizations that aim to promote access in a system that often denies it. It is important to give these organizations their flowers instead of gatekeeping resources for a select few. So it’s time to introduce, or to put it better, reintroduce Equality in Forensics.
Equality in Forensics is an organization focused on propelling students who are often denied resources into the vast world of Speech and Debate. From its volunteer-based network to endless opportunities, such as online tournaments, webinars, blog posts, and coaching opportunities, Equality In Forensics lives up to its name. One of the best parts: its online existence makes it a resource with greater access across the nation.
Upon speaking with one of its founders, Nicholas Osteinhemer, it is clear that Equality in Forensics is here to stay, to create an empowering and diverse community of speakers and debaters with every willing participant they meet. It's time that we, the Speech and Debate community, stop and take advantage of these opportunities while supporting and acknowledging their creators and volunteers.
Take some time out to visit their website at EqualityinForensics.org and their Instagram at @EqualityInForensics in order to learn more about their organization and participate!
Also, scroll down to check out A Seat to the Tables’ interview with one of key players in the creation of Equality in Forensics. Transcript is available.
Check out our interview with the founder and executive director of Equality in Forensics!
Transcript Available Below
“There is so much genuine passion for this activity on our team and on our board that is so intrinsically motivating. It is so fulfilling.”
Transcript:
Joshua: Hey guys, welcome back to A Seat at the Table, and I’m here with…
Nicholas: Hey! I’m Nicholas Ostheimer.
Joshua: Okay, so thank you so much, Nicholas, for joining us. And, so this is about Equality in Forensics, which is an organization that is mostly about providing equality within the Speech and Debate community. So, I’m first gonna start by interviewing you, Nicholas. So, I just wanna know, like, a little bit of your details, like, how did you get into Speech? Like, did you start in middle school, high school? Like, what events? That sort of thing.
Nicholas: Of course! I started in sixth grade. I signed up for the middle school elective because I was terrified of public speaking, I had a really terrible stutter, and I had massive performance anxiety. I hated it, for most of the year. I couldn't stand it. I dreaded everytime we had to give a speech, and only when we started doing Congress did I enjoy it, and that was the root to really getting through my stutter. It helped me get rid of my stutter, it helped me get over my performance anxiety, and I found, kind of, a—so far—lifelong passion in Speech and Debate and especially Congressional Debate.
Joshua: So you still do Congress, like, up ‘till now?
Nicholas: That’s right.
Joshua: Alright, and guessing by the shirt, you just went to Sunvite, so how did that go?
Nicholas: Ah, it went great; I won!
Joshua: Oh, period. Like, and they gave you the little, like, uh, what’s that thing called? Oh my gosh, whatever it is.
Nicholas: Yeah. The skimboard.
Joshua: The skimboard, okay. Alright, so I wanna know a little bit more about why and how you got involved with Equality in Forensics. Like, how did that start?
Nicholas: Sure, so I think I started it in the summer of my eighth grade year, along with a couple of friends. It didn’t really start as an organization, but just as a Discord server where a couple of people would meet up, work with each other, do practice rounds, and chat. And we did this because we observed that there are a lot of groups that kind of exist to say they do something or look like they do something, but in the end, we didn;t observe much real student action to break down barriers in Speech and Debate. We wanted to do something about this, and as that community grew into more of an organization, it took on the name of Equality in Forensics, we became a nonprofit group, we have a fifty-plus person volunteer staff team now, and that’s where we’re at today.
Joshua: Wow, that’s wild. And, honestly, I observed the same thing a lot, especially with this year when I created my Original Oratory about, like, access within the community and, like, a lot of work is said it’s being done, but it’s not really becoming, like, practical in anything. So I just wanted to ask, like, what is, like, the mission of, like, Equality in Forensics, if you had to sum it up in one sentence.
Nicholas: It is to make high-level performance in Speech and Debate accessible to those students who, otherwise, wouldn’t be able to do it at their schools.
Joshua: Wow. And I wanna ask more about the features because when I did research into Equality in Forensics, there was so much, like, the competitions, the coaching, and like, can you just tell me more about that and those aspects?
Nicholas: Of course! So, first of all, we run about three to four tournaments every year. Those are fully-online with no judge obligation, and they are totally free. We only run, like, optional donations to make sure we can cover some fees, like Zoom hosting charges or Tabroom hosting fees. Otherwise, we’ve hosted over 300 different competitors in a total of six different events, and we are going to continue doing that for, well, as long as Equality in Forensics exists. Not only that, but we publish weekly free Extemp questions—fifteen every week—we have an Extemp news brief that we publish, we are starting weekly Congress coaching labs for people who, otherwise, can’t access coaching to meet weekly with a top-level, national circuit mentor, and on top of that, we just have a massive, growing, supportive community dedicated to allowing people to find new opportunities, make new connections, and just really get the most out of Speech and Debate that they, otherwise, might not be able to.
Joshua: And the reason that I did create this initiative with, like, A Seat at the Table is, like, a lot of resources that are so great like these, like, go understated in the community and doesn’t, like, receive enough attention, so there’s still students that are, like, left out even though they are, like, the priority, like, audience for resources like yours. So I also wanna ask, like, what is your role in, like, Equality in Forensics and how do you go about that?
Nicholas: Definitely. I am the Executive Director and Founder of Equality in Forensics. I chair a board consisting of eight other directors and a volunteer staff team of fifty-plus people. We take care of, you know, all the operations. You’re absolutely correct that one of our biggest challenges is making sure that our resources actually come out to the people who need them the most. That has been our top priority to address because we’ve had a great time creating resources, but the hard time is doing that important outreach. So, for example, we’ve been working on reaching out on a more local, grassroots, and in-person level at tournaments, where we can reach out to people who aren’t part of the typical national circuit community and doing chapter, nationwide-level organizing so that people can make these connections and spread the word about our resources on a more localized, regional level.
Joshua: I think that’s so important, too. Like, going to these local areas; I think that’s, like, one of the most, like, important parts of such an organization like yours and it’s so good that the work is being done. And I usually just ask this to everybody, like, what is one thing that you love about Equality in Forensics. Like, that you’re so excited that it has?
Nicholas: I love that it’s genuine. I love that it’s authentic. There is no one who would be putting this much work in as a volunteer if they really didn't believe that they could, individually, play a role in making Speech and Debate more accessible for people who want to participate in this, but don't have the opportunity to. There is so much genuine passion for this activity on our team and on our board that is so intrinsically motivating, it is so fulfilling, and it is so fantastic to see. And when I get exhausted, when I get burnt out, it is really a source of motivation for me to see that people care this much.
Joshua: And honestly, like, a big thank you to, like, Equality in Forensics for, like, being such, like, founders of, like, accessibility in the community and just having so much passion for what they do to, like, make it more accessible to everybody, and I really applaud the organization for doing that. And, honestly, if you had to describe, like, the legacy of, like, Equality in Forensics in only, like, one word, what would that word be and why?
Nicholas: Service. Service because, at the end of the day, it comes down to the hard work you do. It’s one thing to put together a nice looking website or an Instagram page, but if you’re not making it easier for someone to participate in this activity, it’s all for naught, and that comes down to the hard hours of work, to the motivation, to what you do behind the scenes that you might not get credit for, that a lot of people might not care about. But that is what our work comes down to.
Joshua: And I just hope from here on out, like, Equality in Forensics grows to what it is aiming to be, and just all that success to you all. So, just thank you so much, Nicholas, for coming on here and being on this interview, and I just hope that you find so much success in what you do and to the people that you reach. And honestly, check out Equality in Forensics at equalityinforensics.org where you can find more about their blog and stuff and their Instagram @equalityinforensics. And, just, thank you so much for taking out the time to be here.
Nicholas: Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it!
