It's a passion he shares with other forensics aficionados. Forensics teaches students important life skills, says David Frank, program director since 1981. They learn to research complicated subjects, organize their ideas and present concise arguments. Students discover how to question their own preconceptions by exhaustively researching such weighty matters as U.S. foreign policy, political oppression, gun control and civil rights. They may not change their convictions, but they figure out that there are no simple answers.
Students become more sympathetic to the complexity of issues.
It grew out of two literary debate societies formed soon after the university was founded in 1876. By 1910, debating contests were drawing large crowds of paying spectators. The debate team at the time even gave money to the fledgling football team. In 1969, the program was ranked No. 1 in the country. Frank since has led the team to hundreds of awards at state and national competitions.