Student Proposals Sought for Oratorical Competition

Students are invited to submit proposals for the second annual Sturcken Memorial Oratorical Competition, which will be held on Feb. 29, 2020. The deadline to submit proposals is Tuesday, Feb. 11.

The competition will be held in two rounds. The first round calls for an approximately 300-word outline of a problem and potential solution on campus. The problem must be clearly articulated in terms of its relation to lived experience on campus and connection to a larger discussion of marginalization, equity and justice. The solution will be understood in conjunction with the problem and its potential for being both expanded upon and implemented. A selection committee composed of students, faculty and administrators will convene to discuss which proposals will be eligible for the next round.

RELATED: Read more about the alumnus for whom the Sturcken Memorial Oratorical Competition is named.

The second round, which consists of the oratorical competition, will feature the finalists discussing their proposals in a 5–9 minute verbal presentation. A panel consisting of two students, two faculty members (including emeritus faculty), a campus administrator and a community leader will determine the ranking of the speeches.

The overall winner will receive a cash prize and a trophy featuring a Philip Simmons design.

In 2018, Honors College student Tanner Crunelle led the effort to bring back an oratorical competition at CofC aimed at empowering students to make a difference on campus. The competition is named in honor of alumnus Francis “Frank” Sturcken ’51 who delivered a speech advocating the College rethink its exclusion of students of color during an oratorical competition at the College in 1951.