Hanna Yesuf wins Goshen College peace speech contest by talking about poverty in her native Ethiopia

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Sharing the story of poverty from her native Ethiopia, Goshen College first-year Hanna Yesuf won the annual campus C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest Jan. 13.

Yesuf, a communication major from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, presented "Poverty in Ethiopia: What Can You Do?" She called on people to make a difference in the lives of those who are starving, noting that there are 7 million needy people in Ethiopia right now.

"I have always heard about famine but never had a personal experience with it until I visited poverty-stricken sites while working for USAID-Ethiopia," Yesuf said. "Two years ago a famine hit a large amount of country and 15 million people were starving. I saw children who were literally skin and bones. I saw young and old people struggling for their lives. It was a disaster."

 

She said, "I promised then to make it my purpose in life to help people in need no matter how much it costs, to reach out and help with everything that I am blessed with."

Yesuf then challenged the audience to give up the cost of a bottle of soda from a vending machine each day -- about one dollar -- for starving Ethiopians. She said it costs one dollar to feed an Ethiopian three meals a day.

Yesuf received a $150 award and is now eligible to enter the bi-national Mennonite Central Committee-sponsored C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest.

 

Glenn Schumacher (So., Brookings, S.D.), a sociology/anthropology major, received second place and an award of $100 for his speech, "The Caucasian Invasion of 1492: Debunking Columbus Day," offering reasons that Columbus Day should no longer be observed as a holiday, including because Christopher Columbus wasn't the first to discover the Americas and because of the way he poorly treated the natives.

Other competition participants were:

Maggie Hoogenboom (Fr., Goshen, Ind.), a business major, presented "Rehabilitation vs. Incarceration," showing the benefits of rehabilitation for nonviolent drug offenders over incarceration.

                 

Scott Lehman (Fr., Elkhart, Ind.), an elementary education and music double major, presented "The S.O.A. and Consumerism: What You Need to Know," connecting corporations, Latin America and the former School of the Americas together.

Sarah Rohrer (So., Leola, Pa.), a communication major, presented "Peace Is Not Just for Mennonites," showing how the hope for peace crosses denomination and religious lines.

Judges for the competition were Bill Dixon, news director from WAWC radio in Warsaw; Gayle Dantzler, editorial page editor for the South Bend Tribune; and Shirley H. Showalter, president of Goshen College.

 

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.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values -- passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership -- prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, Kaplan's "Most Interesting Colleges" guide and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit http://www.goshen.edu/.

Editors: For more information, contact Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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