FAQs

All undergraduates from any major are welcome to become members of Beach Forensics. No previous experience is required. The team meets twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursday, from 3:30-5:30pm. On Tuesdays, the team meets in PH1-108. On Thursdays, the team meets in LA1-303. Interested persons are welcome to attend a meeting to obtain information in person. For additional information on the team, please contact Dr. Michael Eisenstadt, Director of Forensics, at Michael.Eisenstadt@csulb.edu.

Beach Forensics offers speech and debate scholarships based on merit and need. Current members and prospective undergraduates are eligible to receive scholarships. Prospective graduate students are also eligible for scholarship opportunities. To apply for a scholarship, please visit the scholarships page and fill out an interest form. For more information about scholarship opportunities with Beach Forensics, please contact Dr. Michael Eisenstadt, Director of Forensics, at Michael.Eisenstadt@csulb.edu.

Beach Forensics offers a variety of speech and debate events. The speech team offers training and competitive opportunities in platform (E.G. Prose, Persuasive, Informative), interpretation (E.G. Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation), and limited preparation events (E.G. Extemporaneous and Impromptu Speaking). The debate team offers training and competitive opportunities in intercollegiate policy debate. For more information on speech events, please contact the Director of Speech, Aaron Fullman, at Aaron.Fullman@csulb.edu. For more information intercollegiate policy debate, please contact the Director of Debate, Deven Cooper, at Deven.Cooper@csulb.edu.

Beach Forensics firmly believes that success in a student’s classes and success in competitive speech and debate are complementary and mutually reinforcing. Participating in intercollegiate speech and debate provides one of the best educational experiences that a college student can receive. A few of the many educational skills that participating in speech and debate helps students to build include research and organizational skills, critical thinking and analysis skills, public speaking skills, and the ability to quickly comprehend complex readings. It is no coincidence that the best forensics competitors are also often the best students. The potential drawback to speech and debate is that it becomes so all-consuming that competitors may begin to neglect their classes and other academic obligations. To hedge against that risk, the Director of Forensics and coaching staff of Beach Forensics will continually reinforce the message that academics should come before debate, and we will monitor student grades and attendance to ensure that our debaters are making satisfactory academic progress.

The simplest answer is students will get out of Beach Forensics whatever they put into it. Beach Forensics is primarily interested in recruiting students who are highly motivated to learn, improve, and work hard. For students who want to achieve the top levels of success, forensics will take quite a bit of time and commitment. However, we are a full service program and welcome participants with varying levels of commitment.