Good people speaking well: Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha.

• Author: Burnett, Ann
• Position: Special Issue: Visual Argument-Part 2

In August 1963, the organizations, Delta Sigma Rho and Tau Kappa Alpha merged into one organization, appropriately calling itself Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha (DSR-TKA). Now, twenty-three years later, this national forensics honorary continues to grow and prosper, promoting the ideals of academic and forensic excellence.

The history of the two organizations traces back to the early 1900s. Delta Sigma Rho was founded in 1906 "to honor the achievement of college orators and debaters" (Buehler, 1991). The hope at the time was for college forensic competitors to be as well-recognized as those lettering in football. Although the organization had strict requirements for schools applying for chapterhood, the organization experienced continuous growth. DSR is credited with establishing the event of student congress, as well as helping win administrative support of forensic programs (Ross, 1991, p. 8).

Tau Kappa Alpha was established in 1908 and dedicated itself to "the cultivation of effective, intelligent, and responsible speaking" (Layton, 1991, p. 10). Equating itself with Phi Beta Kappa, the founders sought an organization which would honor the best in public speaking. TKA is credited for instituting the tradition of presenting a Speaker of the Year award, given to a superior public speaker in contemporary society.

After nearly fifty years of parallel existence, the two organizations began to contemplate the possibility of merger. While the two organizations were competitive, they also were cooperative and realized that a merger would create the largest forensic honorary, representing students from across the country.

The goals of the merger were fulfilled; today DSR-TKA is the largest forensic honorary and represents a wide variety of schools and students. In order for students to become members of DSR-TKA, they must have competed in a least three semesters of college speech or debate, must be in the top third of their class, and must adhere to the values of the organization - devoting themselves to the ideals of excellence and ethics in speaking (Handbook for Chapter Sponsors; 1991, p. 12). Chapters can easily be established by submitting a form to the National Council containing information about the institution, department and prospective members.

The DSR-TKA National Conference and Tournament is held annually in March and is open to non-members. In addition to meetings of...