The Institute for Writing and Rhetoric is pleased to announce that the Benjamin F. Barge and Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory speech contest was held on Thursday, May 18, 2017, at 4:30 pm in the Treasure Room (Baker Library). A reception and award presentation followed in the Ferguson Room (Baker Library Room 206).
Eight Dartmouth students presented original persuasive speeches to a public audience and a panel of judges. At the conclusion of the event, Titus Kabega '17 was awarded the Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory, and Jonathan Lu '19 and Morgan Corley '18 each received Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory.
The Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory was established by Benjamin F. Barge (1832-1902) in 1901 and is awarded to a senior. The Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory were established in 1905 by Waldemer Otis and Dr. James A. Spaulding, both members of the Class of 1866, and are awarded to a sophomore and a junior. The Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory and the Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory are sponsored by the Benjamin F. Barge Fund and the Class of 1866 Fund, respectively.
Students competing in the 2017 contest included:
- Jonathan A. Lu '19; Hometown: Coral Springs, Florida; Major: Mathematics Modified with Economics
- Balt von Huene '19; Hometown: Arrowsic, Maine; Major: Environmental Studies
- Young Jang '19; Hometown: Dallas, Texas; Major: Japanese Language and Literature
- Morgan Corley '18; Hometown: San Francisco, California; Majors: History; Spanish
- Alexandria Vasques '18; Hometown: Alexandria, Virginia; Major: Engineering modified with Economics
- Jinsung Bach '17; Hometown: Sacramento, California; Major: Economics
- Nicole Castillo '17; Hometown: Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Majors: Government; Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
- Titus Kabega '17; Hometown: Kampala, Uganda; Major: Engineering Sciences
This year's judging panel included Paul B. Klaas '74, Principal, North Coast Arbitration Chambers, Minneapolis and Arbitrator Member, Maitland Chambers, London; Adedoyin Ogunfeyimi, Senior Lecturer of Writing, Dartmouth College; and Hon. Mary Miles Teachout, Vermont Superior Court Judge.
This year, we also had two former presidential speechwriters in attendance, Peter Robinson and David Cavell. Peter and David were special guests for this year's "Art of Presidential Speechwriting" event, hosted by the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric for Speech students.
The contest was organized by Josh Compton, Assistant Professor of Speech; Darlene Drummond, Assistant Professor of Speech; and Svetlana Grushina, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Writing and Rhetoric.
"This is a very special event—a historic, distinctively Dartmouth contest that is, at the same time, a celebration of Speech at Dartmouth," said Compton.
A program listing planned speech titles and more information can be found online .
