Bluffton University

C. Henry Smith Contest

The C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest is hosted each spring by the communications department and the peace & conflict studies program.

2024 C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest was held Wednesday, April 10 in Yoder Recital Hall.

Arts and Lecture credit. 

The following students spoke on peace and violence:

• First place: Jenna Juarez ’25, Fremont, Ohio, “Promoting Peace in Skilled Nursing Facilities”
• Second place: Jenia Freewalt ’24, Delphos, Ohio, “Helping Students Make Peace With  Themselves”
• Third place: Zachariah Boch ’24, Lancaster, Ohio, “Deconstructing the Bully: Giving Power to Take Away Power”
• Micah Dodson ’27, Wooster, Ohio, “Making Peace in a World of Poverty”
• Kennedy Parker ’25, Lima, Ohio, “The Mental Health of College Athletes”
• Carter Ritchey ’25, Delphos, Ohio, “The Peace of the Binary Body”

Cash prizes are awarded to the top 3 participants:

1st Prize: $500
2nd Prize: $400
3rd Prize: $300

The first prize winner will compete with winning students from other North American Mennonite colleges. Winners of the bi-national contest receive:

1st Prize: $500 (plus a $500 scholarship to attend a peace-related conference)
2nd Prize: $350 (plus a $350 scholarship to attend a peace-related conference)
3rd Prize: $200 (plus a $200 scholarship to attend a peace-related conference)

The competition is administered by the Mennonite Central Committee and was established in honor of C. Henry Smith, who was on the Bluffton faculty from 1914-46. Smith is well-known for his particular attention to the peace commitments of the Mennonite tradition.

For more information, contact Gerald Mast, professor of communication, at mastg@bluffton.edu or 419-358-3208.