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Ashland students may debate in Cuba By DANI DODGE ASHLAND -- Ashland High School debate team members may be the first high school group in the nation to visit Cuba in more than 40 years. But first, the debate coach wants to make sure it's safe. Coach John Tredway finalized his own plans this week to visit Cuba in August. His trip will pave the way for the students, who may go there for a nine-day trip to debate Cuban youth in late January 2000. The focus of the debate would be the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. "It's going to be so wonderful for them to be part of the diplomatic process," Tredway said. "To not only learn about Cuba through books but to be a participant in the discussion about the future." Tredway -- who has led the Ashland High debate team to eight state championships in the 1990s -- has been working toward his dream of a Cuban/U.S. student debate for more than two years. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 after Fidel Castro's communist government nationalized U.S. businesses and tried to kick the U.S. Navy out of its base at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. imposed an economic embargo the next year and restricted travel to the country by U.S. citizens. Because of this, the U.S. government has denied Tredway's request for a student diplomatic debate in the past. "On Jan. 5, our big breakthrough came when President Clinton announced his desire to increase people-to-people contact with Cuba," Tredway said. Tredway reapplied for a student trip and was given a license in June. On Wednesday, he finalized flight plans for his personal trip on Aug. 3. To make sure it will be safe for the kids, Tredway will take the same route and visit all the places the students will visit on their trip. "I know parents will have questions about safety and I want to be able to answer them," he said. He said if he does not feel it will be safe, the debate will be canceled. The number of students who will go has not been decided, but Tredway said some students who are not Ashland High School students also may be invited to debate the Cubans. Students will be chosen based on their debating skill, Spanish-speaking ability, and an interview process. "I want kids who will be good representatives of the United States ... and who want to go for the right reasons," he said. "We aren't going to just visit beaches." He said he expects the trip to have national significance. "The Orioles trip this spring was great, it was baseball diplomacy," he said. "But this could have much greater impact in terms of opening the door to much greater discussion. "We are very optimistic that it can accomplish some things there." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA