The Bailey Oratorical: A Juniata College Tradition to Be Counted
Be Counted: Census 2020
The Bailey Oratorical is one of Juniata College’s longest standing traditions. Seven finalists compete for three cash prizes in this persuasive speech competition. These seven contestants never fail to “wow” me with their eloquent messages and elegant delivery. This year marked the Bailey’s 110th year — and I have to say this year was the best one I have been present for. I have attended the Bailey for the past three years and have always disagreed with the judges for one reason or another. However, this year I was in consensus with them.
The prompt encouraged finalists to reflect on the question: “In what ways does being counted (or not) shape our priorities and communities?” All audience members, whether they were in the crowd or livestreaming from home, leaned in closely to hear what the contestants had to say about being counted. And wow, the contestants sure made their messages count. I argue that Lara Sharpless ’20, Madison Troha ’20, and Rachel DesFosses ’21 delivered the most effective speeches.
Lara Sharpless ’20: Make the World More Accessible and Inclusive
Lara Sharpless asked us to consider this: “As a society, are we privileging ability over disability and leaving out millions of people just because it’s easier than making things more accessible? How are we supposed to count everyone if we are ignoring some of the numbers?” Right now, I would have to say we are discounting a lot of people. Sharpless is absolutely right by arguing that our world is not accessible or inclusive for people with disabilities. Her strong delivery and thoughtful approach reminded us to promote accessibility and inclusion.
Sharpless explained that “spreading inclusion to those who may move or think differently is easier than you may realize. The three easiest way to become an advocate for accessibility and inclusion are to be aware, be respectful, and be a voice. By being all three, we become advocates.” I love how we can become advocates for the seven million Americans that face this reality of inaccessibility every single day (as mentioned by Sharpless in her speech). We can change, no matter how small those changes start to be. Sharpless connected her speech to the audience in a way that empowers us to become advocates, but not speak over people with disabilities.
To make her speech more personal to Juniata students, Sharpless talked about how Juniata has become more inclusive and accessible over the years. However, Sharpless thought back to a time at Juniata before elevators were implemented. She recalled having lunch with a prospective student who said, “This campus isn’t made for me. I can’t come here.” This point resonated with the audience. I think we all imagined what it would be like to not get to go to Juniata, our home away from home, because of something out of our control. However, Sharpless points out that Juniata has made small steps towards then and that’s how we can improve: one step at a time. At one point, Sharpless quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” We need to be in favor of accessibility and inclusivity for all people. We need to give people access to the same opportunities. In the end, I think it’s our abilities, not our disabilities, that count. We need to make the world more accessible and inclusive.
Madison Troha ’20: Make the World More Humane and Compassionate
To start her speech, Madison Troha asked, “3500 men in Huntingdon are counted in the Census. But, do they actually count?” Troha went on to elaborate about how she grew up in Huntingdon, PA, and drove past the prison without giving the community on the inside a second thought. She addressed how prisoners are counted in the Census, but they do not have the right to vote. After taking an Inside Out course at Juniata College that lets students take classes in maximum-security prisons with those inside, Troha changed her perspective on this issue — and we can, too. Troha addressed her change of heart, which shows us that we can do the same and take action to follow in her footsteps.
Troha said, “I see the building differently as the homes to the men that have changed my life. The fences and the wires that separate us. The gates that I pray will open for some of the men who have made the effort to change. And the patrolling cars that represent the inevitable, never-ending cycle of recidivism that many of these men face.”
Troha’s words stuck with me throughout the rest of her speech as she addressed racial disparities and disenfranchisement. Her language was vivid and concrete. Rather than continuing to perpetuate the problem, Troha encouraged us to remember our shared humanity. Her speech was well-researched and well-argued, but her words were filled with well-written personal experiences that captured how we can change our minds. She helped me understand why we need to view everyone as a citizen, rather than by their circumstance. If we expect incarcerated people to re-enter our communities and feel valued as people again, we need to create a space that promotes their revival as members of society, not their recidivism as members of the system that oppresses them.
To do this, we can make a change and given prisoners back their right to vote. Troha clarified that “we can reinforce civility by educating the incarcerated and preparing them for citizenship.” Everyone instinctively educates themselves to have a purpose and feel useful in society, so why should prisoners who want to change be treated any differently? Voting would help them connect to society and value their communities.
In the end, Troha encouraged us to be counted and to vote on behalf of the voices who aren’t head because we all count no matter what side of the barbed wire we are on. A prisoner who took the Inside Out course alongside Troha stated, “In an inhumane environment, every Wednesday I felt a little more human.” After listening to Troha’s speech, I agree that we need to do this. We need to make the world more humane and compassionate.
Rachel DesFosses ’21: Make the World More Open-Minded and Out-of-the-Box
Rachel DesFosses started off her speech by asking us if we could guess her ethnicity. She said we might be unsure because she doesn’t fit into a checkbox. DesFosses talked about her experience of facing these assumptions — and how we all can live in the space between checkboxes.
DesFosses style helped her reach all members of the audience with her message. To connect with us, DesFosses explained how she’s “come to realize that boxes don’t just exist on paper; boxes exist in all areas of our lives, attempting to define our ethnicity, our religion, our gender, our politics.” We all know what it is like to be put into a box. It made me question: why are we asked to think outside of the box when we are put in boxes?
Beyond that, DesFosses asked us to consider the boxes we are put into ignore most of who we are. DesFosses shared her story of growing up as a mixed-race person and talking to her brother. Jokingly, she talked about if someone put a wig on her brother, they’d look exactly alike. However, DesFosses shifted the speech to get personal. She said that she sees herself as more Asian, while her brother sees himself as more White. Due to this, DesFosses challenges us to consider this: “What parts of yourself do you identify with and what part do you choose ignore?”
DesFosses explained how when she applied to college using the Common App that she selected the checkbox “other,” but she was hesitant to do so. She cracked a joke that she was having an identity crisis that college applications don’t wait for you to solve. Yet, in her job position on campus, DesFosses learned that students who choose other on college applications are not counted in the demographics at colleges, including Juniata. Beyond colleges, there were nearly twenty million people that picked the “other” checkbox in the last census. Were they counted? They probably were not. Again, the clarity and simplicity of her message was strengthened by her versatile style.
To conclude, DesFosses talked about finding the space in between. She told us how boxes polarize us by stating: “Are you Democrat or Republican? Bipartisan politics creates conflict. Are you male or female? Misrepresenting gender creates misinterpretation. Are you Christian or Muslim? Religious opposition creates judgement.” She cited a UC Berkeley article that stated, “this polarization makes us more likely to demonize each other.” In order to combat this, DesFosses argues that we need to envision a blank space for us to fill in ourselves and decide who we are on our own terms. We can live in the space in between. I agree that we can think outside the box and reclaim the space in between, so we can be counted for who we truly are. We need to make the world more open-minded and out-of-the-box.
Be Inspired: Watch the Bailey for Yourself!
As I mentioned, the Bailey Oratorical was filled with eloquent messages and elegant delivery. All the contestants had messages that counted. Rachel DesFosses (1st place and People’s Choice), Madison Troha (2nd place), and Lara Sharpless (3rd place) made their messages count beyond just winning. These three powerful women left an impact.
By watching the speeches for yourself, you can learn how to make the world more accessible and inclusive, more humane and compassionate, and more open-minded and out-of-the-box. So, if you want to watch the Bailey Oratorical for yourself, please visit Bailey Oratorical 2020. You can count on the contestants to deliver moving speeches.
