Reflections on the Baileys
The Bailey Oratorical Contest is one of Juniata College’s oldest traditions. The contest involves students writing and giving a speech on the topics given. Seven students had made it to the final round, with many others losing in the prior rounds.
The first person to speak was Taylor Hallabuk. Her speech was on meta-ignorance which I found to be interesting. She said that we want to see everyone the same, but we often make mistakes. I really liked Taylor’s speech and I think it something many people can relate too. Every one of us has made mistakes. Some ideas are so ingrained in our culture that they are hardwired in our brain without us ever thinking about it. I really liked when Taylor said “Be vulnerable, apologize. Be curious, ask how to be better. Be humble, know better and do better”. Following these things would make the world a better and more accepting place.
The next person to speak was Logan Peachey. He spoke of the census, and how for the first time ever for us it will be online. His main point was that the elderly may not know how to complete the census this way, and so they will not be counted in it. This speech was important, but dragged on for way longer than it should have. I agree we should help the elderly complete the online census because it is important that the data is accurate for a number of reasons. Logan spoke too long and didn’t have enough to say in that time. I felt like his best points were drowned out in a sea of uneccessary information.
After Logan was Madison Troha, who had one of my favorite speeches. Her speech was on allowing prisoners to vote. I thought this was an interesting topic because while everyone does have the right to vote, rights are often taken away from prisoners. A great point she made was that allowing prisoners to vote would make them more important in legislators’ eyes. This would bring reform to the prison system and give prisoners the conditions and help they need to become better and not end up back in prison once they get out.
Catherine Lanigan’s speech was next, and it was on creating better sexual education. She talked about how we should make normalize sex talk so it doesn’t seem like something to be ashamed of. A large amount of people are going to have sex when they are teenagers, and they are going to have sex whether they are allowed to or not. It only makes sense to give teenagers the tools necessary to have safe sex instead of ignoring it which makes the problem worse.Cat’s speech was very good and the idea presented is incredibly helpful.
Rachel Desfosses had my favorite speech. She spoke about the arbitrary boxes we put ourselves in, and how we often don’t see the boxes as overlapping when they usually do. What made Rachel’s speech special was that she spoke from her own experiences. Seeing her struggle with her race identity really helped her points. She also taught me about the issues with the “other” catagory on the census. This was something I didn’t know about before because it didn’t affect me directly. Rachel’s speech was strong and helpful in spreading her message.
Following Rachel was Sierra Nawalinski. Her speech was about dismantling the electoral college. She raised good points about how the people should have the power to select our president. We are educated enough to decide ourselves. However the speech did go on a little long and I’m not sure I can fully agree with the main point. I do think each vote should count but the electoral college does let smaller states have an actual voice. I liked Sierra’s speech but I do not think it was the strongest one at the finals.
The last speech was done by Lara Sharpless. She spoke about the need for accessibility. She reminded us to be respectful and to be a voice of change. I agree that I think our campus is not that disability friendly. I also feel there is a lot of work to be done to make Juniata accessable to everyone who may want to come here. The way things are now can drive people away. I didn’t think her speech was the strongest but I did like it and found the message she was spreading to be an important one.
After everyone’s speeches the judges decided the winners. Lara got 3rd place, Madison got 2nd, and Rachel got 1st place. I was very happy that Rachel won. I think she deserved the top spot so I think the judges made the right decision. Overall this was an interesting experience and will likely watch the live stream of the Bailey oratorical contest next year.
