UCLA hosts speech contest
By Samantha Masunaga
Jan. 25, 2009 10:47 p.m.
As a child, Artel Great was inspired by the powerful speeches and message of Martin Luther King Jr.
“(He) has been my role model since I was 4,” Great said.
“I patterned my life after him.”
Like King, Great’s grandfather was active in the civil rights movement, allowing him to become more aware of the “struggle for peace.”
Now, as a fourth-year film, television and digital media student, Great won the annual oratorical contest held in King’s honor on Thursday.
The 21st annual Oratorical Contest, held at the Northwest Campus Auditorium, combined the teachings of the famous civil rights leader with the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama.
With the theme, “We are the Change We’ve Been Waiting For,” the competition allowed participants to analyze the similarities between King’s dream and the installation of Obama.
“(The inauguration) was a historic event,” said Jermaine Ratliff, resident director for De Neve Cedar and Dogwood. “It makes us think, “˜Where do we go from here with the first African American president, and is that change (that) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked about really here?'”
The competition was sponsored by the Office of Residential Life, the Center for Community Learning and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
This tradition began through the efforts of former Resident Director Della Prysock and acting Program Coordinator Eric Barnum.
“It was a way to encourage students’ oratorical skills,” Ratliff said.
This year’s contest featured three high school students and four UCLA students. Because of the age disparity, there were two winners ““ one from each category.
The first-place winner in the high-school group, sophomore Ericka Jones, received a $250 Borders gift card, while the other two participants received $100 gift cards.
Great received a $250 book scholarship from the UCLA bookstore, and the other three contestants received $100 book scholarships.
Great, a Chicago native who came to UCLA to pursue filmmaking, plans to earn a doctorate in media studies.
“I desire to make films from a philosophical platform to impact culture in a positive way,” Great said. “The media often caters to the lowest common denominator … but by changing the content, I can make a positive change in our culture.”
Throughout his speech, Great spoke about “a new vision,” which was based on King’s dream.
“We create a new vision where we can go even further to become better,” Great said during his discourse.
He also commented that although he believed the manifestation of King’s dream of equality could be found in Obama, “there is still a lot more for us to do.”
With a passionate speaking style that utilized vivid imagery, Great called for the unification of all people to accomplish true change.
“There is only one race ““ the human race,” Great said in his speech. “Though our lives are singular, our destinies are parallel.”
Great also acknowledged the contributions of past civil rights leaders and their importance in getting to this point in the future.
“Today, we stand on broad shoulders of others who have celebrated change.”
At the end, Great’s tone and words seemed to emulate that of his role model.
“I see a vision where a populace unites its thoughts,” he said. “I see a vision where we will unite as a hand in the tool bar of liberty.”
While many orators discussed the importance of the civil rights movement, third-year Afro-American studies student David Eaton has a personal connection to this historic time period.
Named after his uncle, the Rev. Eaton, who was a mentor to King at Boston University, Eaton has political activism in his blood.
“I was raised in a family that was politically minded and motivated by activism,” Eaton said.
Eaton based the theme of his speech, “We are the Beginning of Change,” on the teachings of his mother.
“She always taught me to think with a sense of responsibility for your community, so I decided to center my speech on the responsibility of all of us as individuals to our own society,” Eaton said. “It’s our responsibility to correct the injustices that plague our society.”
Throughout his address, Eaton stressed the importance of continuing the battle for equality.
“This will not be easy. … It invokes the courage to stand in someone else’s shoes,” Eaton said during his speech. “But each of us must act as advocates of ethic, fierce defenders of a common destiny.”
The high-school participants seemed unfazed by the large crowd that gathered to hear them speak. Of the three speakers, two had been finalists in the previous year’s competition.
“I wanted to come back and do this again,” said Rodney Witherspoon, a sophomore at Westchester High School and a returning participant. “I love speaking and performing, and this was a good outlet for me.”
Witherspoon titled his speech, “Now What?” and emphasized that there was much more to do before change could be accomplished. Throughout his oration, he stressed the importance of dreams and using these dreams to initiate action.
“We’re always capable of bettering ourselves,” Witherspoon said during his speech. “We need to dream ““ why settle for just a piece of the sky?”
After discussing the impact of change on the world, Witherspoon urged the audience to take action.
“Don’t do it for yourself ““ do it for the world, for the future.”
