If an alien were to stand in the middle of the Quad, or maybe in the center of Lenoir Dining Hall, they’d hear some of the most exquisite diction of our species. Someone is “geekin” on the escalator.

As time goes by, I am ever more perplexed by why we make students learn to write the classic five-paragraph essay but have so much less interest in developing their spoken argument skills. As much as ...