Washburn University

The next day we took the relatively short drive up to Topeka, to Washburn University. We met Kevin and Steve, our hosts at Washburn, and after lunch took a ride through Topeka. We were shown some of the sites of Kansas's state capitol, including the Phelps family compound, the family who are a part of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church (stars of the documentary “America's most hated family”); the infamous nature of the family and their church was demonstrated by the 'God Hates America' banner on the side of the building.

After meeting the debate team and checking out the Washburn campus, that evening we judged Washburn's 'Speak-off', a public speaking contest the Department of Communications hosts each year for students new to debating and public speaking. It was interesting to see a different kind of competitive speak, with the contestants offering an 'informative' speech, and were fighting to win a scholarship. We headed out that evening for an excellent Thai meal, followed by drinks at a local sports bar with some of the team. The next day, after a bit of shopping at a local mall, we went to the cinema with Steve to watch Inception (again!). Our debate that evening was on the motion of banning extremist speakers on University campuses. The topic was a particularly pertinent one in the context of Topeka, with the Westboro Baptist Church as local residents, who regularly picket military funerals with homophobic protestations.