One Linfield professor’s legacy continues as the Mahaffey Intercollegiate Speech and Debate Tournament returns to campus Nov. 13-15.
For nearly a century, Linfield University has brought college students together to put their ideas to the test. The Mahaffey Intercollegiate Speech and Debate Tournament, now in its 96th year, continues a tradition that began with one professor’s commitment to the art of public speaking and debate.
Roy “Hap” Mahaffey first taught on campus in 1928 and became the chair of the Department of Drama and Speech in 1935. He established a speech and debate tournament at Linfield, that was later named in his honor.
During Mahaffey’s tenure, collegiate forensics — the competitive study and practice of speech and debate — held considerable prestige in academic circles. Every college had a team and success in competition made schools notable.
Mahaffey helped expand forensics across the county, building connections among programs and fostering a culture of speech and debate on college campuses. He was among those approached by a new organization seeking to form a national forensics honorary, Pi Kappa Delta. Linfield became the first Oregon program to join the organization.
The next generation
Mahaffey’s legacy continues to this day through a thriving Linfield forensics program.
The team is led by Professor Jackson Miller, chair of the Department of Theatre and Communication Arts.
Miller credits the program’s longevity in part to the continuity of its leadership.
Now in his 26th year coaching the team, Miller is just the fourth long-term director in the program’s history, excluding interim coaches who served during directors’ leaves or sabbaticals.
“The Linfield Forensics Program has been tremendously fortunate to have past directors that were true leaders in both the regional and national intercollegiate forensics communities,” Miller said. “Roy “Hap” Mahaffey, Craig Singletary and Brenda DeVore Marshall all had long and successful tenures with the team and they contributed significantly to our long and storied tradition of Linfield student excellence in the activity.”
The team is also a draw for prospective students. Eddie Long ’30, a first-year student, competed at the Linfield Singletary Tournament, a high school competition, while attending Roosevelt High School.
He later told Miller that meeting the Linfield forensics team and exploring campus helped influence his decision to attend Linfield.
Finding a voice through speech and debate
Today, 11 students make up the Linfield forensics team.
For senior and team captain Kenny McMillen ’27, an interest in debate and speech began in high school, partly because his mother recognized his gift for conversation.
He recalls his mom said often, “Kenny talks all the time.”
He was hesitant to join the team at first, but a little encouragement — and the promise of food — helped persuade him to sign up as a school elective.
“I fell in love and have done it the last eight years,” he said.
One of the biggest draws has been the opportunity to travel. Through competitions, McMillen has visited Albuquerque, Detroit and other destinations across the country. He dove further into debate during Covid, since he could no longer play football or track, he devoted more time to debate, joining online competitions through Zoom,
He remembers one debate in particular, when his opponent was sitting in a tent outside of the public library, borrowing the building’s Wi-Fi.
“You could hear skateboards zooming by in the background,” he said.
He also recognized that not all high school students had access to laptops or reliable technology during the pandemic.
“It was an experience,” he said about competing online.
For McMillen, debate has offered more than competition. It has given him opportunities to meet people and connect with others beyond his hometown of Bandon
“I get to meet people and talk to people” he said. In a small coastal community where, as he noted, golf can be one of the few recreational options, those opportunities to connect have been especially meaningful.
“My mom is right, I did like to talk and argue with her,” he said.
New perspectives
Debate tournaments also give McMillen the chance to explore current events and consider perspectives he might not otherwise encounter. Competitors receive a position on a topic and must develop an argument in its defense.
At a September tournament hosted by the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Idaho, McMillen received the prompt that journalists are holding those in power accountable.
As editor of the Linfield Review, he welcomed the opportunity to argue in favor of the statement, a position that aligns with his work at the student newspaper.
Debate, however, requires students to consider both sides of an issue.
“[When debating], I have to get into the mindset of I’m right even if I don’t want to advocate for it,” he said.
Connections through debate
McMillen has been on the team for four years and has watched its culture evolve. Where earlier generations of students might have spent long car rides sleeping, today’s trips are filled with niche music playlists and laughter.
He’s learned many lessons through forensics, particularly how to interact with people.
Traveling to tournaments has also helped him recognize how much people across the country have in common. Conversations with fellow competitors have revealed shared concerns, from high gas prices to decisions made by the federal government.
Those connections have shown him that he has more in common with others across the country than he might have expected growing up on the Oregon coast.
McMillen’s involvement extends beyond competition. He also serves as president of Pi Kappa Delta, the national forensics honorary that has been part of Linfield’s history since Mahaffey helped establish the program’s connection to the organization.
As the Mahaffey tournament returns to campus for its 96th year, that connection between generations remains at the heart of Linfield speech and debate: students learning to communicate, challenge ideas and find common ground.
