But I’m Not a Cheerleader

The name Tara Tedrow has been in debate news a lot lately, thanks to her recent victory at the NCFL Grand National Tournament. This national title is not her first big win, however; Tara, who is finishing her junior year, has accumulated an impressive number of awards on the national and regional circuits.

In this exclusive VBD interview, she shares with us her thoughts on the importance of developing a debate style and keeping it flexible, building confidence, being mistaken for a competitive cheerleader, and not judging a book by its cover.

Jon Cruz: I suppose we should probably start with the beginning before we get to your most recent accomplishments. How did you first get into debate?

Tara Tedrow: I signed up for forensics class in ninth grade, not planning on joining the team however. I wanted to do debate my sophomore year. I’m not sure what my rationale behind that was. Mr. Rhoads told me that I was too “spunky” to not join forensics.

JC: [laughs]

TT: Everyone figured I would be in an interp event - err, actually, no one figured I would do forensics at all - but Mr. Rhoads got me into LD.

JC: Why did everyone figure it would be an interp event?

TT: Well, I was basically a polar opposite of every debater, and anyone who knows me can generally agree that I have a ton of energy. I guess its not until you actually get me into a serious conversation that you realize I am way too debater-ish. Though usually easygoing, when it comes to arguing, I never really back down…which surprises everyone who assumes that I’m a cheerleader or something of that sort.

JC: Have you found that frustrating as a debater, to be categorized by appearance?

TT: It was really frustrating at first. But then I sort of played along with it, letting people think that I was a cheerleader who was debating for her first time. I usually got comments like, “You don’t act like a cheerleader” or “aren’t cheerleaders nice?” after rounds.

JC: That’s terrible.

TT: But what peeves me the most is when I’m in an airport with a trophy and everyone asks, “Did you win a dance competition? You must be a competitive cheerleader!”

JC: Wow, that’s really awful.

TT: And if I say that I do debate they sorta laugh, with an, “aww, you wish, little girl” look.

JC: Well, what do they know?

TT: [laughs] It’s okay, though, I dont really mind it all too much.

JC: I would hope that such questions would die down, at least in the community, now that you have a national championship under your belt.

TT: [laughs] Well, maybe in the debate community, but the airport crowd will never learn.

JC: [laughs] So you chose debate. What then? What were your early days as a debater like?

TT: Awkward. I was in that I’m-a-weird-freshman-stage, so I didn’t put in as much effort in debate as I should have. I saw debate as more of a fun social thing than a competitve must win sort of event. I also couldn’t figure out a debate style. I would go from being overly aggressive to meek.

JC: As a side note before we go on, certainly you still see debate as something social while also competitive, right?

TT: Oh, most definitely.

JC: Awesome.

TT: Except I value the competitveness a lot more…well…equally? [laughs] I don’t know.

JC: What caused your approach to change, both in terms of your outlook on debate and your in-round style?

TT: I think I won some horrid local tournament my freshman year and then I realized why people liked winning. Also, I had a round with a senior who like smothered me with his knowledge so i was motivated to out-smart him on every debate topic from then on out. Then I realized he was graduating after that tournament…but that didn’t matter.

JC: What is the Trinity Prep team like?

TT: A lot of fun! I always look forward to traveling with them. Then again, the team is predominately speech events so the debate kids are a minority (which is why trips are always out of hand).

JC: Dean Rhoads is a very respected member of the debate community. What has it been like working with him?

TT: Oh, Dean. Where do I even start? He really turns into a father figure when you get to know him. I think what makes Dean different from other coaches is that he doesn’t put all of his emphasis on winning. He wants debate to be enjoyable. He does put the pressure on us to work hard and be accomplished, but he won’t make us do extra punishment practice rounds or anything if we don’t do too well.

JC: [laughs]

You’re now at Celebration for your senior year. Has it been difficult letting go of your team, or do you play to stay with them a lot next season?

JC: Did they know before Cat Nats that you would be debating under their name? I admit that while I updated VBD during the tourney, I listed your code as “Trinity Prep TT” until I realized my own subconscious mistake.

TT: Yeah, it was planned before the tournament. It’s a long story, so if anyone wants some detail they can IM me [STUDIO232] to get the full story. :-)

JC: Cool.

Once you became more focused on improving your record, what steps did you take to achieve that goal?

TT: I actually read the Victory Briefs [laughs], and started to do independent research, though I was a pretty stock debater to start off.

TT: And I started consenting to doing practice rounds, attending the topic analysis sessions and block sessions, etc.

JC: When do you feel this began to pay off?

TT: I went to camp the summer before tenth grade and was surronded by people who were all really motivated in debate. So in the beginning of my sophmore year i started to put in effort and it began to pay off

TT: I think it was after Wake that i really started loving debate and realizing the benefits of working.

JC: You made a big splash at Wake with your success there. How did it feel?

TT: It was really nice. I was actually shocked to win. To be honest, when I was on stage, I whispered to my final round opponent: “Oh my God, I think I’m going to pee my pants!”

JC: [laughs hard]

TT: [laughs] Yeah, I have no shame. I wont lie about that.

JC: So you were shocked to be there…were you confident going into the tournament that you’d at least do well?

TT: Every debater thinks they are unstoppable. I don’t know if I had that exact attitude, but I was confident. (It takes that element to be a part of debate, I think.)

JC: I definitely think confidence is important. How were you able to develop it? Many debaters struggle with that.

TT: I think Mr Rhoads helped me to develop that. He always told me that I would do well if I tried. And I never paid much attention to what other people thought - that’s why losing wasn’t that big of a deal to me.

How would you describe your in-round style now?

TT: [laughs] Oh dear. I’m definitely a different person in rounds. I don’t show my aggressive side too often. But it also depends. If I am hitting a really nice soft spoken girl, I’d look like a wolf tearing up a baby rabbit if I used my normal style.

Because as most say, I have a “man’s voice” when I debate.

JC: Part of me wants to laugh, but on the other hand, that’s a really telling comment about the views of some people.

TT: [laughs] No no, laugh. I do. It’s true. My voice deepens when I get all intense.

It’s funny, because when I try to control my voice, I’ll speak all nice and girly when reading the constructive, but then the real voice comes out in rebuttals. It’s a shocker.

JC: [laughs hard] Okay, there, I laughed!

TT: [laughs]

JC: So would you consider that a form of “in-round strategy,” or not really?

TT: What, sounding like a man? [laughs]

JC: [laughs] No, no - letting your “real style” out later.

TT: I think that if I have a panel of 80 year old grandmothers, I have to ease them into The Voice.

JC: [laughs hard]

TT: But if I’m in front of a national circuit panel or something I will just let it out in the beginning. Not that a panel like that doesn’t get taken back by it. I like to think that I come off pretty friendly and nice out of round, but serious in them.

JC: So, back to the narrative for a moment. Wake no doubt gave you a confidence boost, even if you were already confident. What then?

TT: I actually thought that i could win every JV tournament i went to after that. I worked pretty hard sophomore year. Jon Detzel was a big help; he always had the more original positions that he didn’t mind sharing with me.

After Glenbrooks JV, though, I realized that winning once doesn’t mean you can win anything. So my confidence went back to a normal level and my outlook on winning changed. While winning was nice, it wasn’t everything, and instead of being angered by losing, I focused a bit more on trying to learn from those who were winning

JC: Was there anything in particular that you changed in your own style or strategy, out of curiosity?

TT: Yeah, I started learning when it’s necessary to use line by line or big picture in rebbutals. When I started competing more, I became a more techinal debater, of course using all the wonderful debate jargon. It’s hard to think about my specific strategies last year.

JC I’m sure that’s a result of how much you’ve evolved your own style.

You’ve dedicated yourself big time to debate. Were there other activities you were doing before that have become marginalized, or have you struck a balance?

TT: Well, after I realized that I only made all the middle school sports team since they didn’t cut kids, I gave up on wasting time with that.

JC: [laughs]

TT: Debate takes up alot of my time - especially my weekends. However, I am able to balance school and friends with debate.

JC: You’ve also made a lot of friends through debate. Do you ever see them outside of tournaments?

TT: I think I have formed some of the best friendships with debate kids. I hang out with the Florida debaters alot and I see the out of state ones often enough- for example, my favorite Chris Bentley came to Florida this year and during winter break I went to Minnesota to see the my most favorite Liz Scoggin, the spastic CTS [Casey Trombley-Shapiro], Chris Bentley, my love Lindsay Anderson, and I met, for the first time, the very interesting Eric Palmer.

I’m like the adjective queen right now.

JC: [laughs] Are you looking forward to this summer? Some of those people will also be at VBI. And no, I’m not trying to shamelessly plug.

TT: Oh man, I am looking forward to VBI so much. It is probably the best camp in the country. Not to mention it is SO much fun. And Liz Scoggin will be my roommate, so you know I’m looking forward to this. And Chris Bentley is teaching there! As is Stephen Babb - my ultimate favorite. There are tons of amazing people coming on staff this summer. I feel obligated to attach pretty adjectives to all my friends names, but we should probably go on. [laughs]

JC: Your name has most recently been in the news for your big win at the NCFL this past weekend. First off, I’ve said it elsewhere, but - congratulations!

TT: Thanks!

JC: Going in, did you have that Wake-like confidence?

TT: Noooooooooo! Did you read the NCFL briefs?

JC: I compiled them! [laughs]

TT: I think the general comment was “it is hard to do well at this tournament.” Elsewhere, people said, “prepare to lose infront of bad judges.” So I was going in thinking that either no one was going to buy my affirmative case or my style would not be conducive to the tournament unless I adapted majorly.

I got to hit some great kids, and I had some good judges - take Joe Vaughn for example!

JC: Joe Vaughan is awesome.

TT: Whoa, I totally slaughtered his last name. Well…by one letter.

JC: [laughs] It’s okay. His own debaters do that. I had to correct every single instance of Matt Shields using his name in his interview.

TT: [laughs] All right, Matt, you have no excuse. He’s your coach! That’s like spelling your schools name wrong.

Anyways, I was really happy to see him on the panel when I walked into my fourth round.

JC: I would say the adapting you were talking about before paid off. I know there’s some debate over how much debaters need to adapt - Bietz thinks debaters shouldn’t have to adapt at all - but I think the skill of adapting to different audiences is one of the most valuable things a debater can learn for the real world.

TT: I definitely agree. Look at politicians - they can go from a ritzy, money-grubbing cocktail party to wearing a paper hat and flipping burgers for the cameras. You’re never going to be around the same type of people anywhere.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to tone down your jargon or speed. I think your speaking style is necessary to adapt. If you’re infront of a lay panel, what is the point of going line-by-line and reading eighteen rebuttal cards in the 1NR? And if you have a circuit panel, you can put down the “big picture” paint brush and go as fast as they’ll let you.

JC: You won a national title as a junior. That’s extremely impressive. Has this changed any of your goals for next year?

TT: Yeah, I’m not going back to CFLs, because then I’d have something to live up to. Kidding!

My goals really haven’t changed. I’ve been planning on trying to have a really successful senior year.

JC: How did you react when you knew you’d be in finals?

TT: [laughs] I think I had the same reaction that I did at Wake.

JC: [laughs]

TT: Yeah, I was pretty nervous about it, especially since earlier, I was like, “man, I just hope I drop before finals, I’m not sure i’d wanna debate that round!” Though, I admit, while I really wished I would break that far, thinking about that type of pressure was a bit much. I was also nervous about finals because I was hitting Matt [Scarola], who I knew was a great debater.

JC: The final round has gotten a lot of attention.

TT: Oh yes, it has. [laughs] It has “polarized debate,” and Matt and I know that that isn’t good.

JC: You may want to give our readers a bit of context to that line, for those who weren’t there.

Even though I know that would detract from it’s zinger-like nature. [laughs]

TT: “Just for context: in round, Matt and I had a bit of a disagreement as to whether ‘polarized debate’ was bad, as mentioned in his rights talk analysis.”

Something like that? Yeah, the zinger lost its zing but no worries.

JC: I’ll work it in so it doesn’t hurt the genuine funny-ness of the line. I’ll restore it’s zing in post-interview editing. [laughs] Actually, I’ll keep in this exchange…because this is funny.

TT: [laughs] Well, I hope people actually find my comment funny, or else this is alot of effort for nothing. Let’s just assume they laugh.

JC: [laughs] I think they will.

Side note…what’s with the guitar picture?

TT: I don’t ever wear cowboy hats, and I don’t play the guitar. You should put “see, Tara CAN adapt to anything” under the picture! [laughs]

JC: [laughs hard] Classic!

Anyway…what was your favorite break round ever…well, at least, so far?

TT: My favorite break round at CFL’s was against Mike Baer. He is so amazingly funny in and out of rounds and he is a wonderful debater. Another memorable round was against the one and only Mr. Paul Schiano. Let’s just say that I walked in shame afterwards.

I have had alot of fun rounds. At the time, I probably didn’t find it so fun, seeing as how I probably made a complete fool of myself. But again, I don’t really take things like that too hard. I can always admit when I do dumb things. Some people would even believe that i am proud of my idiotic moments.

Some would say it’s a credit to one’s character to be able to admit when one has messed up, so I think that’s cool.

TT: I have a pretty self-depricating humor. But in regard to favorite rounds, those are the only examples i can think of.

But in regard to favorite rounds, those are the only examples I can think of.

JC: I have a feeling you have a future of many more enjoyable and successful rounds ahead of you.

TT: Aww thanks! Hopefully I can live up to that.

JC: I want to turn back to something you touched upon at the very beginning…pre-judging and essentializing. It seems clear that these people didn’t think you were a debater because, frankly, you are a blonde girl. That seems ridiculous to me, but many people have said for a while that there aren’t enough girls in debate, or that girls sometimes feel excluded. I don’t mean to put you on the spot, but it occurred to me that you are the first woman I have interviewed for this site, and it surprises me that it’s taken so long.

TT: Am I really? [laughs] I feel like the first female president.

JC: [laughs] Well, while I certainly don’t mean to make you the representative of all girls, just like I would never make any of the previous men I have interviewed the representative of all boys, what has your experience with this been?

TT: I think that, generally, more guys are attracted to debate than girls. I find that a lot more guys are willing to be outspoken on issues that come up in debate.

I like being the minority in debate. (Funny that I am calling myself a minority.) Girls stand out more in debate…those that do well, at least. You know, the Steph Bells and what not.

JC: And, I would say, the Tara Tedrows. You’re a very recognized and respected debater, and you’ve had a great deal of success.

TT: It’s all been a good experience. And I appreciate that, Jon!

JC: No problem.

What would you say to the female debaters who find themselves in a similar experience as you, confronted by people who think that they couldn’t possibly be debaters?

TT: [laughs] Oh dear, I feel like some “girl power” spokesman.

JC: Well, like I said, I don’t want you to feel like you should be the representative of all women - that would be ridiculous, and a double-standard - so you don’t have to even answer that if you don’t want to.

TT: [laughs] No worries. I think girls are just as capable as guys in debate. If anything, having female debaters makes debate more interesting. Not just because you run into the occasional valley girl or absolute devil, but because girls by and large have a completely different style of debating.

I think on a general note, its sad that a lot of girls, and some guys too, shy away from debate because its “uncool.” Girls seem to be the most engulfed with the whole popularity thing. Hopefully the label of “dork” in reference to a debater will subside, because I think debate is more rewarding than anything else you can do in high school.

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