It pays to speak well and to speak persuasively as six students learned at the Hyde Park Forum 2006 persuasive speaking contest at Kent State University

Six winners of the Hyde Park Forum were honored by the School of Communication Studies when they were awarded top prizes for their persuasive speeches. The competition among 28 students nominated by faculty from the Introduction to Human Communication course was held March 16 in the at the Kent State Student Center.

“I’m so delighted for all of our students who were willing to participate in this year’s forum and very grateful to the community leaders who served as judges for the event. The forum provides our students with a venue for exercising their rights as advocates in a free society. They are learning to stand up and speak out on important social issues. They overcame their fears, demonstrated their communication skills, and earned the admiration and respect of some of our community’s most accomplished citizens. I could not’ be happier for them,” says Dr. Barbara S. Hugenberg, Director of the course and Hyde Park Forum organizer.

The competition not only showcases students’ oratory skills, but includes numerous awards donated by business and members of the Kent community. This year’s awards include engraved plaques for the top six finalists, $500 for the 1^st place champion, $300 for second place, $100 for third place, a People’s Choice winner received a Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) lithograph from Dick Kleinman Fine Art.

The 2006 winners are:        First Place: Danielle Reynolds Second Place: Rebecca Alexander    Third Place: Philip Perez Fourth Place: Beth Bloom  Fifth Place: Jennifer Badger Sixth Place: Bridget Durbak People’s Choice: Rebecca Alexander

                                        
Although the Hyde Park Forum is sponsored by the School  of Communication Studies, it is the cooperation of faculty, students, staff and the Kent community that contributes to the success of the program. In addition to judges from Kent State University, guest judges for the final competition round include the Kent mayor, city manager, council members, superintendent of Kent City School and the director of Tech Prep at Lakeland Community College.                                          

The history of the Hyde Park Forum dates to 1872 when a law was passed making it legal for people in Hyde Park, London to speak to audiences on any subject/ Am area of the park called Speaker’s Corner is still set aside on Sunday mornings for just this purpose.

After the events on the Kent State University campus of May 1970, the space between what is now Oscar Ritchie Hall and the old Heating Plant was cleared and was turned into a space dedicated to free speech and debate. This area, called Hyde Park Corner, inspired the creation of the Hyde Park Forum in the early 1980s. The Forum has, over the years, gone through varying incarnations. Today, it exists to bring together the best persuasive speakers in COMM 15000, Introduction to Human Communication, to celebrate the great tradition of free speech in an open society, and to reward students for engaging in issue and advocacy—a democratic obligation.

(Contributing to this report were Barbara Hugenberg, Bruce Landis, Gracie Lawson-Borders, and David Trebing.)

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