Bluffton University senior Jason Frey, from Schuylkill Haven, Pa., placed first in the university's annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on April 7.
In addition to earning a $175 cash prize, Frey qualified for a bi-national contest with top finishers from other North American Mennonite colleges. In his speech, "The Gospel of All Monsters: Loving the Alien Within and Without," Frey focused on how stories, and fears, about monsters express human tendencies to externalize evil and thus to justify violence against it. People should recognize their capacities for monstrosity as a way to embrace the gospel of peace, he argued.
Taking second place and $125 was Kristen Shelly, a senior from Penfield, N.Y., who made "A Case for a Safe Space: Investigating the Potential for a Safe Zone Program at Bluffton University." Third place, and $100, went to Jake Short, a senior from Stryker, Ohio, who addressed "Peace Journalism: The Futility of Dualism and Sensationalism and How the Church Must Work to Restore the 'Fourth Estate.'"
Students in the contest give a speech of no more than 10 minutes that applies the Christian peace position to an issue of contemporary concern.
