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Ashland High School debaters gather before dawn this morning for a live satellite-fed interview with Bryant Gumble on CBS's "Early Morning Show." Ashland Daily Tidings/WILL MASCHMEIER Ashland debaters leave for Cuba The trip has attracted national and international attention, and is the first time American debaters visit Cuba in 40 years By M. McGehee Ashland Daily Tidings The wait is over and the adventure has begun for 27 Oregon high school students venturing to Cuba for the first open-forum debate between the United States and Cuba in 40 years. The team departed from the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport this morning bound for the tiny Caribbean island. Members of the U.S./Cuba Youth Debate Team turned sleepy eyes toward the camera about 5:30 this morning in a live interview for the "CBS Early-Morning Show" from the cafeteria of Ashland High School. Students beamed with excitement and anticipation for the trip. They joked and laughed among themselves as parents interrupted occasionally to make sure no one had forgotten their passport. "The biggest fear I have is loss of a passport," said AHS Speech and Debate Coach John Tredway, director of the Cuba trip. "It's our biggest concern." But AHS student Skye Mathieson said he was ready. "I'm a little nervous, but more excited than anything else," he said. "I think when we get there we'll see everything is going to be all right." Ian Swallow from AHS said his biggest concern for the trip was his Spanish. "I'm wondering if my Spanish is good enough," he said. "It's one thing to be conversational, it's another to debate in it." However, Misha Isaak, of Lincoln High School in Portland, said he doesn't have any real concerns about the trip, but he thinks it will be interesting. "I'm looking forward to a real one-on-one dialogue with students from a different culture," he said. "First of all, I hope all the students will teach and learn from each other. And second, start down the road of reform for Cuba." Tredway said it is fitting that the team is departing on Martin Luther King Day. "It's in the spirit of Dr. King," he said of the trip. "We're going down there to promote peace. If Dr. King were alive today, he'd be supporting this trip. He was killed in 1968, and at that time, he was calling for better relations with Cuba." The international debate is hoped to usher in a time of cooperation rather than conflict between the tiny island nation and the United States, which have been at odds since Fidel Castro took control nearly four and half decades ago. American and Cuban youths will discuss Internet censorship, human rights and baseball, and the possibility of better relations between the small Communist country and its nemesis, the "Giant of the North." The list of those traveling to Havana The U.S. Youth Debate Team is made up of students from Ashland, Portland, Hillsboro and Eugene schools. · From Ashland High School: Paul Bingham, Poppy Alexander, Tara Anderson, Nick Hershman, Ben Bryan, Larkin Carey, Chelsea Ruediger, Cali Saldana, Eric Sharp, Ian Swallow, Noah Trieger, Nicole Clarke, Jan Grauman, Skye Mathieson, Jonah Morningstar, Kelvin Nicholson and Rex Reichenshammer. · From Lincoln High School in Portland: Misha Isaak and Jessica VanDerMeer. · From Grant High School in Portland: Greg Buss. · From Glencoe High School in Hillsboro: Andrea Schmidt, Madeline Steele and Kevin Stone. · From North Eugene High School in Eugene: Kristina Edmunson, Chris Habliston, Diego Kelly and Andrea Smith. Accompanying the students will be John Tredway, director of the project; Gloria Tredway, a chaperone; Karen and Jenna Berman and Phoebe Seligman, translator/chaperones; Abram Ditman, teacher/chaperone and Carlos Reichenshammer, parent/translator/chaperone. Two teachers from Eugene and Hillsboro also will accompany the group. Cuba, the itinerary: · Today - Team departs (8:20 a.m.) Medford to Miami by way of Los Angeles. · Tuesday, Jan. 18 - Departure from Miami for Havana. Arrival in Havana. · Wednesday, Jan. 19 - Debates at Vladimir I. Lenin High School, Havana. · Thursday, Jan. 20 - Debates at Villena-Revolución Agricultural High School, Havana. · Friday, Jan. 21 - Debates at Matanzas High School, Matanzas. · Saturday, Jan. 22 - Recreational day, Pioneers Camp, Veradero. · Sunday, Jan. 23 - Recreational day, Havana City. · Monday, Jan. 24 - Visit to Solidarity With Panama Disabled Children's School and Latin American Medical School. · Tuesday, Jan. 25 - Visit to National People's Assembly and a pediatric hospital. · Wednesday, Jan. 26 - Depart Havana for Medford by the way of Miami. Visit our back issue library Email your... 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