Students tackle peace issues in annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest
Lecture: C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest
Date and time: Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Umble Center
Cost: Free and open to the public
Five Goshen College students will present speeches during the 2015 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The annual event will take place at 7 p.m. in the Umble Center and is free and open to the public.
This year’s participants and their topics are:
Sarah Hofkamp, a sophomore interdisciplinary and peace, justice and conflict studies major from Peabody, Kansas, will speak on “Sexual violence and Mennonite institutions.”
Anya Kreider, a sophomore social work and peace, justice and conflict studies major from Akron, Pennsylvania, will speak on “Apathy: the evil within.”
Morgan Yordy, a first-year history and peace, justice and conflict studies major from Rochelle, Illinois, will speak on “Saving the future: one girl at a time.”
Peter Meyer Reimer, a senior biology and interdisciplinary major from Goshen, will speak on “Dead white men show us the skeletons we didn’t know we kept in our closets.”
Dona Park, a sophomore art and interdisciplinary major from Abbotsford, British Columbia, will speak on “Through the eyes of people.”
The participants will deliver 8- to 10-minute speeches on topics of their choosing that relate to peace. The speeches will be judged on originality, integration of the topic and a peace position, and general standards of delivery. Refreshments will be provided while the judges deliberate.
The C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest is a U.S./Canada Mennonite Central Committee-sponsored event. Participants compete for cash prizes provided by the trust of C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen and Bluffton (Ohio) colleges. The purpose of the contest is to give students the opportunity to become involved with the cause for peace and develop rhetorical skills.
Speech contests have been a tradition at Goshen College since the early 1900s. The C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest provides the opportunity for the campus community to hear about contemporary peace issues. For an archive of past winners, visit www.goshen.edu/academics/communication/annual-peace-oratorical-contest