Wallys from various majors and fields of study will be competing today and tomorrow for the opportunity to compose and pronounce the best orations. The 134th Baldwin Oratorical Contest, which is named after Judge D.P. Baldwin, a long-time member of the Wabash Board of Trustees, will hold its final competition Monday, February 11, at 7:00 P.M. in the Korb classroom.
The preliminary tryouts are available by appointment and will be conducted tonight and all of tomorrow. Each contestant will speak on this year’s theme, “Get Rich or Die Trying?,” and will be judged by the professors in the Rhetoric Department.
“We want the students to speak their own perspective on what that [the topic] means,” said Associate Professor of Rhetoric Todd McDorman. “The direction they take is up to them, but we hope they choose a variety of perspectives, such as how the theme is symptomatic of society’s current state, or perhaps whether it’s a good lifestyle to live.”
This year the contest is based upon a pop culture reference, but that is not always the criterion.
“Traditionally, we switch back and forth each year between a Wabash reference and a pop culture reference,” said Professor McDorman.
The initial contestants, who can sign up by visiting Professor McDorman’s office in the Fine Arts Center, will be narrowed down to five finalists who will be judged by a separate panel. The panel will consist of Jim Bond ’62, a former winner of the contest and graduate from Harvard Law School, who won national debates while enrolled at Wabash, and currently is the Dean of the University of Seattle; John Lamborn, the Head Librarian; and an unconfirmed third judge.
Grant Gussman ’09, who finished second in last year’s competition, is excited to compete once more. “I think it’s a great competition,” he said. “It really brings Wallies together, and since it’s the 134th annual one this year, it’s something we’ve been doing a long time. It’s the longest continuously running speaking contest west of the Alleghenies, and every Wallie should give this a shot at one point or another and be part of the tradition.”
The contest is very prestigious and has had several famous winners, including David E. Kendall ’66, the famous Rhodes Scholar who was a civil rights lawyer for the NAACP and also represented former president Bill Clinton. The first contest, designed by Judge Baldwin, gave as its first prize The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Following with tradition, every finalist of the competition is presented with The Complete Works of Shakespeare, as well as a cash prize to the winner.
Professor McDorman also wants to remind Wallies that the contest is designed for everyone. “Sometimes rhetoric majors win, sometimes they don’t,” he said. “Sometimes no rhetoric majors sign up! But we want people of all majors to try out. We’re very pleased when a senior comes to us and says, ‘I’ve always wanted to try this.’ Whether you’re an econ major, a physics major, or otherwise, we want you to try out.”