Caden Hendrickson
Juniata College
3–4–22
Bailey Oratorical Reflection
The Bailey Oratorical is a unique scholarly event that happens here at Juniata College and it consists of some of the brightest, most opinionated, and most well-spoken students on campus. All of the speakers at the event were very interesting to listen to and they each chose different routes to address the prompt of the event. The prompt or topic of the night asked the speakers to nominate a “TIME Magazine person of the year”. Kyle Louder ’23, a speaker, chose to nominate a politician from Wyoming who displayed a great sense of bipartisanship and empathy towards all people. He argued that through all of the division in America between Democrats and Republicans, that bipartisanship and being able to understand both sides of an argument is imperative for our country to grow and become a better place. He encouraged all people to have the same mindset and not become so polarized or hateful towards opposing viewpoints. Meanwhile, Kayla Blackstock ’23 spoke about the TIME Magazine Person of the Year award itself and argued that no one should be rewarded such a pretentious label or award because it lacks parameters, standards, or benchmarks, and that no one should be put on a pedestal to the world as the “Person of the Year”. She argued that influence on the world and its events, for good or for ill, does not warrant an award. I personally respect her opinion and position but I would disagree because I think the TIME award is a fitting and interesting award to document history. Influence is an important thing throughout history because it describes and documents the ideals, norms, problems, and events of an individual, a place, or a time.
Next, Emily Kaltenbaugh ’23 spoke about misinformation throughout media. She deemed that fake news and misinformation was the biggest influencer of the past year because it caused people to believe and feel so many different things. It caused people to argue, riot, and believe things they otherwise would not have if misinformation and facts were construed about over news outlets and social media. This avenue to take on arguing for the most influential entity is a creative and appropriate one to take. Social media and the misinformation that comes with it, had to be the most influential force on politics and what people believed was true and false last year. The rest of the speakers made really valid and intriguing claims for TIME Magazine’s most influential person of the year. However, Megan O’Reilly ’22, who won first place in the contest, impressed me the most and opened my eyes to new viewpoints. Megan argued that the person of the year award should go to Therapists. Due to the unprecedented hard times that people everywhere in the world came upon throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic, therapists pulled a weight that was different than others. Therapists were there for ordinary people to lean on throughout whatever mental, emotional, or physical hardships they face through these times. She brought up a point that was very influential on me and made me think differently about my own mental health and others. She talked about how by talking to her therapist about her own mental anxieties and depression that it helped her understand herself better which in turn rubbed off on her in her understanding of the people in whom she interacted with. She gained more empathy for others and she argued that therapists can influence one to be a kinder and more empathetic person and that if everyone reflected in ways that therapists encourage you to, people would hate each other less and help each other more.
