GOSHEN —
Lauren Treiber, a junior at Goshen College, won first prize in the 2012 C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. Her speech was titled, “The Real Occupy Movement: Understanding Capitalism in a Christian Context.”
The annual event, open to students in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ universities and colleges in Canada and the U.S., is administered by Mennonite Central Committee U.S. The top three speakers receive scholarships to attend a peace-related conference or seminar as well as cash prizes, with $300 awarded for first place.
In her speech, Treiber, who is from Grand Rapids, Mich., empathized with those affected by economic inequities that have led to the “Occupy Wall Street” (Occupy) movement. Leaders of the Occupy movement, which began in Sept. 2011, describe it as a struggle for improvement in measurable terms in the lives of the “99 percent” of the global population who are not part of the world’s wealthiest “1 percent.”
Treiber suggested that both the 1 percent and the 99 percent miss what is foundational for social betterment. She contended that both operate out of a sense of entitlement to what we want materially, to be delivered to us by capitalism of one form or another. She also noted that she saw more judgment of the 1 percent by the 99 percent than the love that she would like to see.
Treiber argued that the church has a different message to speak and live out.
“If we share what we have, if we treat others’ needs as our spiritual obligation, if our treasures are relationships and not things, if we love the poor, the sick and the hurting and lost: we will make brothers and sisters out of strangers, we will share Good news for all people, we will transform the face of this culture and build (God’s kingdom) on earth,” she said.
The 2012 second-place winner in the contest was Katie Wineland, Gibsonburg, Ohio, a senior at Bluffton (Ohio) University. Her speech was titled, “Speaking a Wor(l)d of Truth: Proclamation as Peacebuilding.” Wineland received a $225 cash prize.
The third-place winner, whose cash prize was $150, was Rose Byler, Goshen. Byler, a 2012 alumna of Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va., was a senior when she gave her speech, titled, “Living in the Tension: Social Services and Systemic Change.”
Directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust established the contest in 1974 in honor of the late C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen College and Bluffton College (now University). Participating colleges host a contest with student speeches on the general theme of applying the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns. These individual campus contests usually take place during the spring semester of the academic year.
The judges for the 2012 contest were Calenthia Dowdy, professor of youth ministries, Eastern University, St. Davids, Pa.; Leo Hartshorn, interim pastor, Zion Mennonite Church, Hubbard, Ore.; and Carol Penner, pastor, First Mennonite Church, Vineland, Ontario. The judges evaluated speeches from students at five participating colleges.
Treiber’s speech and more information on MCC’s peace education work, including resources for youth and young adults on conscientious objection and alternatives to military enlistment, can be found at mcc.org/usprogramservices/peaceeducation.
Local News
Related Photos
-
Lauren Treiber, Grand Rapids, Mich., a student at Goshen College, won first prize in the 2012 C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. Her speech was titled, "The Real Occupy Movement: Understanding Capitalism in a Christian Context." Alysha Landis | Goshen College
Speech winner takes on economy
- Local News
-
-
Council won’t fund school sidewalks
GOSHEN — Goshen City Council members voted along party lines Tuesday to defeat a proposal by Goshen Community Schools for a 50-50 cost split between the city and the school corporation to pay for a $125,000 sidewalk expansion project.
-
'Experience Michiana' segments to be taped in Goshen
The crew with WNIT program “Experience Michiana” is set to tape segments in Goshen this week. The segments will be broadcast June 27 and 28.
-
State officials warn people to be alert at fairs, festivals
The Indiana Department of Homeland Security and state police are reminding state residents to be alert for safety concerns when attending county fairs and other local festivals.
-
SLIDESHOW: Pets of the Week
Featured pets available for adoption at the Humane Society of Elkhart County.
-
Goshen officials donate former Hawks Building to LaCasa
An agreement between Goshen city government and LaCasa Inc. allowing for the donation of the former Hawks Building to the local non-profit was approved Monday.
-
LIBRARY NEWS: Reading programs underway
Summer reading programs for young people are underway at the Goshen library.
-
GROUNDS FOR INSANITY: In need of a support group — or several
It’s an idea whose time has come. Actually, the country’s been ripe for it since the oil crisis of the Carter administration, but I was young then and hadn’t twigged to it yet.
-
Rocket Science gains some national exposure
NAPPANEE — Things were buzzing at Rocket Science Ice Cream Shop on a recent Friday when camera crews from The Food Network and The Cooking Channel arrived at the shop inside Coppes Commons.
-
Fabric repurposed for medical uses at local nursing home
NAPPANEE - One person’s trash is another’s treasure, the old saying goes. For a group of women at a nursing home in Nappanee, that saying has never been more true.
-
Welcome back, Inn: Oakwood Reopens
SYRACUSE — After five years of uncertainty, the Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee checked in its first guests under new ownership last week.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Obama Renews Call for Nuclear Reductions
Raw: Car Jumps Curb in NYC, Injures 8
Obama: 'Lives Have Been Saved' by NSA Programs
Obama: Friction in Afghan Talks No Surprise
Unusual Heat Wave Bakes Alaska
Raw: Massive Protests Fill Brazilian Streets
Raw: German President Welcomes President Obama
Fans Cheer Dramatic Heat Comeback
Raw: Arizona Wildfire Scorches 8 Square Miles
Hoffa Mystery Still Fascinates After 4 Decades
Raw: 1 Dead in Shooting at Mo. Apartment Complex
Raw: Huge Fire Near Yosemite National Park
3 Charged in Ohio With Enslaving Mom, Daughter
Kid Couture: Spending Big Bucks on Babies
