Five students to participate in annual peace oratorical contest Feb. 19
Lecture: C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest
Date and time: Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Umble Center
Cost: Free and open to the public
Five Goshen College student speakers will participate in the college’s 2013 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on Tuesday, Feb. 19 in Umble Center at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.
Participants in the 2013 contest and their topics are:
Senior Marcelle Al-Zoughbi, a TESOL major from South Bend, Ind., will speak on “Please don’t invest in Palestine’s oppression.”
Sophomore Abby Deaton, a psychology and communication double major from Indianapolis, will speak on “Making Peace with Warriors.”
Senior Jeffrey Moore, a Bible and religion major from Ashland, Ohio, will speak on “Tribalitis: Curing the disease of polarization.”
Sophomore Jacob Putnam, a sociology and Spanish double major from Chicago, Ill., will speak on “Laos’ history of war: The need for UXO removal.”
Senior Mara Weaver, a history major from Bloomington, Ill., will speak on “The price of incarceration: Private prisons in the U.S.”
Each participant will deliver an 8 to 10-minute speech on a topic of their choice relating to peace in a universal or specific context. In the past, speeches have related to war and violence, political policies, peacemaking strategies and personal violence and healing. Speakers will be judged on originality, the integration of the topic and a peace position and general standards of delivery. While judges deliberate, refreshments will be served, and then the winner will be announced.
Participants compete for cash prizes and the top winner may enter the U.S./Canada Mennonite Central Committee-sponsored C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest. The trust of C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen and Bluffton (Ohio) colleges, funds the contest, which gives students an opportunity to become involved with the peace cause while cultivating rhetorical skills.
Speech contests have been part of Goshen College’s history since the early 1900s; the C. Henry Smith contest allows the campus community to hear more about relevant, contemporary issues. For an archive of past winners, visit www.goshen.edu/communication/about/contest.
-By Becca Kraybill