The annual Pflaum lecture saw another great speaker this year as David Register, director of debate for the Bard Prison Initiative, took the stage.
Register is an alumni of Emporia State University, a public speaking teacher at New York’s Bard College since 2012, and a debate coach. He works within the Bard Prison Initiative (BPI), a college-in-prison program allowing incarcerated students to receive an education.
The theme for Register’s speech was “Coaching Debate in Prison: Education and Redemption,” and contained stories about his time as an educator and coach within the BPI.
Register reveals that although the school started off without the program, the student’s desire for debate is what led them to where they are now.
During his years at BPI, the BPI Debate Union defeated Harvard in 2015. Register attributes many of their successes to the amount of learning the students do and says that the program is an excellent opportunity for such.
The Pflaum lecture is presented by the department of Communication and Theatre. It’s an annuanl event in honor of Dr. George R.R Pflaum who came to Kansas State Teacher’s college in 1923 and served on the faculty for more than 40 years.
