After delivering a speech challenging the inadequacies of the New York small claims court system, Jeremy Kaufmann '12 won the Benjamin F. Barge Prize for Oratory, a $750 award given to a senior, in the College's annual speech contest held on Thursday afternoon in Kemeny Hall.
Rachel Abendroth '13 and Sebastian DeLuca '14 received the Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory, $250 awards given to one junior and one sophomore each year "for excellence in original orations," according to the event program.
Each contestant gave a roughly six-minute speech in front of an audience of about 20 people and three judges theater professor Jamie Horton, writing professor Jennifer Sargent and legal rhetoric professor Paul Klaas '74.
In his speech, Kaufmann addressed the "abysmal" nature of the New York court system, which deals with traffic violations, small claims and other misdemeanors. These courts' judges, approximately three-fourths of whom have not attended law school, convict and jail people indiscriminately, Kaufmann said.
"I wanted to pick something out of the box," Kaufmann said. "When you want to attract someone's attention, you need to hit them with something that they don't know."
Kaufmann, who wrote the speech for his "Persuasive Public Speaking" course, said the idea stemmed from a 2006 New York Times article describing the courts' abuses of power and the law.
"When I first read about this subject matter in The New York Times article, it was one of the most surprising and shocking articles I've ever read because it's a subject that is so under the radar," he said.
Abendroth spoke about the benefits of applied behavioral analysis, a psychological tool that attempts to modify individual behaviors in autistic children during their development. Although ABA is a time-intensive program requiring about 40 hours per week of one-on-one counseling, its use for autistic children provides long-term social and monetary benefits that exceed its costs, according to Abendroth.
Abendroth, who wrote the speech for her public speaking course, said she has always had a personal interest in the topic.
"The speech stemmed from my interest in special education and supporting youth in general with the education system," she said.
Abendroth participates in ASPIRE, a Tucker Foundation service organization dedicated to providing resources and support for individuals with autism.
DeLuca, who called himself a "tech geek," spoke about the efficacy of social media in communicating directly with congressmen, businessmen and other seemingly inaccessible people.
"I think social media is something that affects all of us, but we need to start thinking of it as a tool to improve the society we live in," he said.
DeLuca, who has not taken a speech course at the College, said that the research and preparation for the speech involved synthesizing information from technology blogs to create one cohesive message.
Other finalists included Salman Rajput '14, Malcolm Leverett '14, Ben Schifberg '13 and David Rolla '12.
Contestants were judged on both the strength and delivery of their arguments, Horton said.
Horton, who has judged the speech contest three times, said he was impressed by the quality of speeches at this year's competition.
"As always, the speeches were really, really good," Horton said. "I was impressed by this crop of speakers."
Contestants submitted written manuscripts of speeches they had written to the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric or were nominated directly from speech courses, Institute for Writing and Rhetoric senior lecturer Josh Compton said. Following a preliminary round, seven students were selected to speak in the final round of competition.
Although he was nervous before his speech, Kaufman said he enjoyed participating in the event because it provided him with a valuable opportunity to improve his public speaking skills.
"I think everyone gets nervous," he said. "The best way to get better is to put yourself into the most nerve-wracking situation."
Abendroth agreed with Kaufman's sentiments and said that she was nervous before giving her speech.
"I will never enjoy public speaking," Abendroth said. "I feel so miserable leading up to every speech that I have to give. But I think [the contest] was so unique. When else would I participate in a speech competition?"
The Barge Prize for Oratory was established by Benjamin Barge in 1901, and the Class of 1866 Prizes for Oratory were established in 1905 by Waldemer Otis and James Spaulding, members of the Class of 1866, according to the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric's website. The prizes were presented annually until a hiatus in 2004. The Barge Prize was reintroduced in 2010, and the Class of 1866 Prizes reinstated in 2011.
The event was organized by Compton and Institute for Writing and Rhetoric lecturer Claudia Anguiano.
