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Annual oratory contest helps Right to Life
educate public
By Emily Stack
Collegian Reporter
Active for their cause,
junior Rosa Thompson and Hillsdale College professors Mark Nussbaum
and Michael Jordan worked together in the annual Right to Life
Oratory Contest held at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Hillsdale
last Sunday.
Thompson serves as a student representative
on the Right to Life of Hillsdale board. To call attention to
the contest, she emphasized advertising the issues to new venues,
collaborating with local churches, youth groups and schools
to find contestants. Contestants had to present a factual, non-dramatic
5- to 10-minute speech about pro-life issues such as abortion,
infanticide, stem cell research or euthanasia.
In such a small community, Thompson said,
word of mouth is still the best way to advertise a cause.
"A lot of students at Hillsdale have
pro-life views but aren't really active about them," Thompson
said. "It's important to volunteer on a local level because
of all the broken homes. We can affect the younger generation."
Nussbaum and Jordan judged the event. Judging
criteria included the quality of the introduction, the content
and body of the speech, the use of facts and good voice projection.
"I think the sanctity of life is a very
important and very unappreciated today," Jordan said. "We
have a culture of abortion and expediency in regard to human
life. It treats humans as property to be thrown away as inconveniences."
The winning speech will be presented at the
Right to Life Banquet before going to a state competition at
a later date. Georgette Fourney will also speak at the banquet,
which will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 20 at Savarino's.
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