This afternoon after school, 60 students from 19 Saint Louis area schools streamed into 26 classrooms in the A-wing of MHS for a Greater Saint Louis (GSL) Speech Association conference.

The conference, held most Tuesdays during the Fall Semester at different local high schools, was hosted this week by Speech and Debate.

Each GSL conference focuses on one of three main areas: interp, public speaking, and debate. Today’s conference was focused on interp, which consists of prose and poetry reading, storytelling, and other oral events.

“Most of the events today are going to be acting,” Ravali Gummi, senior and Speech and Debate member, said.

Gummi spent the afternoon helping to coordinate the conference, setting up rooms for events and the Teachers’ Lounge for judges.

Judges at the conference consisted of a combination of coaches, teachers and parents, Ashley Kuykendall, senior and president of Speech and Debate, said.

Before the conference began at around 4 pm, many contestants were lined up against walls practicing speeches, a common occurrence at GSL conferences, Dennis Kane, Speech and Debate coach, said. Kane even sent an email to give teachers a heads up about the students’ unusual practicing methods.

“They like to talk to walls,” Kane said.

21 of the 26 rooms being used for the conference were on the second floor. The five other rooms on the third floor were set aside for a mock- Congress. Participants have the chance to create and present their own legislation, and then vote on that legislation.

The Congress section of the conference is divided into five “chambers.” Dennis Kane, Speech and Debate coach, chose to put the Congress section on the third floor because “they like their own space,” Kane said.

“[Congress] is its own little beast,” Kane said.

Congress is held in two hour-and-a-half sections, between which members politic and bargain to get other students to vote for their legislation.

During events at the conference, students earn points for scores and victories. GSL conferences will continue until January, when students who have accumulated enough points during the semester will be able to compete in a “Finals” competition.

“GSL is a great place to make your cases better for weekend tournaments,” Kane said.