Oratorical contest
03/28/2025
Participants in the 2024 C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest.
Students to present many facets of peace
Bluffton University will hold its annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest at 7:30 p.m. April 10 in Yoder Recital Hall.
Students selected to participate will prepare an oration, no more than ten minutes in length, that applies a peace-church perspective to an issue of contemporary concern.
Participating students and their speeches include:
- Micah Dodson ‘27, Wooster, Ohio, “Building Impossible Bridges in an Impossible World”
- Madeline Franks ’26, Cardington, Ohio, “A Light in the Darkness: Peace Churches’ Humanitarian Role During the Ukraine-Russia War”
- Coen North ’26, Denver, Colo., “Considering the Lilies: Making Peace Through Practices of Contentment”
- Kennedy Parker ’25, Lima, Ohio, “Finding Your Identity in Christ, Not Competition.
- Carter Ritchey ’25, Delphos, Ohio, “Fostering Social Cohesion Through AI-Driven Community Engagement in Peacebuilding.”
- Zane Sarcheck ’25, Sunbury, Ohio, “Prosperity Leads to Peace”
- Mya Vernon ’27, Toledo, Ohio, “Protecting Peace From ICE.”
The student who is awarded first prize will receive $500. The second and third prize speakers will receive $400 and $200, respectively.
The first prize winner will advance to compete with winning students from other North American Mennonite colleges. The bi-national competition awards additional monetary prizes for the top three competitors.
The contest is named in honor of C. Henry Smith, an early 20th-century Mennonite historian and a professor at Bluffton as well as at Goshen College. This event is free and open to the public.