Bluffton University will hold its annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday,  April 3, in Yoder Recital Hall.

Students selected to participate will prepare an oration, no more than ten minutes in length, which applies a peace-church perspective to an issue of contemporary concern.

Hannah Conklin of Westerville, Ohio, will present a speech titled, “Water Access as Inequality: A Vision for Justice and Healing.” A speech titled, “Christian Persecution: A Nonviolent Protest” will be presented by Zachary Lykins of Pickerington, Ohio. Kiera Suffel of Edgerton, Ohio, will share “Peace in Marriage: How the Church Can Support Struggling Couples.”

The student who is awarded first prize will receive $175. The second and third prize speakers will receive $125 and $100, respectively.

The first prize winner will advance to compete with winning students from other North American Mennonite colleges. The bi-national competition awards $250 for first place, $150 for second place and $75 for third place.

The contest is named in honor of C. Henry Smith, an early 20th-century Mennonite historian and a professor at Bluffton as well as at Goshen College.