By WESLEY LOWERY
The UNITY News

Atop a modest stage not far from soapboxes once used by public speakers and flanked by listeners eager to cheer, jeer and debate her, Kelly Underman is to deliver a speech she rehearsed countless times. Yet in an era in which many speakers are granted a full security detail, she is to convey her message just a few feet from listeners.

The last of 11 speakers, Underman, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will address the failures of abstinence-only sexual education in the forum that once played host to such figures as anarchist Emma Goldman and author Studs Terkel.

The Bughouse Square Debates, held on the final Saturday in July, date to the 1880s. The event is hosted by Newberry Library and takes place at Washington Square Park. The nickname “Bughouse Square” was slang for mental health facilities.

Today the debates remain true to the original format, soapbox-style speeches and enraged hecklers.

“I’m a very comfortable public speaker, but I’ve never spoken in this format,” said Underman, who added she did not realize how heavily the audience participation would be until after agreeing to participate.
Other speakers include Erwin Lutzer of Chicago’s Moody Church and former radio host and social activist Rob Sherman.

Sherman said he is adequately prepared for the event’s one-on-one format: “I’m used to having to articulate an issue in a concise and intelligent manner … and deal with the hecklers.”

Another way in which the debates stick to the original format is in the awarding of the Dill Pickle Award, given annually to the speaker deemed the most compelling.

Ed Yohnka, communications director for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, won the award in 2007 for his speech “Why Defend the Offensive? The Importance of Free Speech,” which defended the Westboro Baptist Church’s protests of military funerals.

“It was really quite a great experience,” said Yohnka, who believes the soapbox format is what distinguishes the debates from other forums.

“It’s a wild free-for-all,” Yohnka said. “People will debate with the speakers, speakers will engage the audience, and people will have side conversations to keep the debate going.”

Event coordinators asked Yohnka to speak about Kansas-based Westboro, and he credits the audience reaction to the controversial topic for leading to his award.

“My speech generated a little bit of heat,” said Yohnka, who added that at one point an enraged audience member stepped onto the stage and took part in an animated one-on-one debate with him. “It got people incredibly engaged.”

topic: uncategorized

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm and is filed under uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.