Whitehall Area Rotary Club held its annual 4-Way Test Speech Contest March 9, featuring five students from Whitehall High School and one student from Catasauqua High School. The contest was held at Fellowship Community in Whitehall and livestreamed on the Rotary Club’s Facebook page.

According to the Rotary Club, six club members had roles, including judges, moderator, timekeeper and teller. The students are taught and coached by Michelle Abbadessa, WHS English and speech teacher; Ashley Schmidt, CHS career facilitator; and John Yanek, CHS learning support teacher and debate club sponsor.

According to the Rotary Club, the 4-Way Test asks four key questions about the things we think, say or do.

First, is it the truth? Second, is it fair to all concerned? Third, will it build good will and better friendships? Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned?

High school students in grades nine through 12 are eligible to participate in the contest and are able to select their speech topics.

Abbadessa described the writing process her students followed when developing their speeches.

“The students brainstormed ideas, first regarding issues or problems they would like to see changed in society, then considered these issues through the framework of the 4-Way Test questions of the Rotary Club,” Abbadessa said. “Then, they researched their issue and found evidence to support their argument about how to make society better. They also consider their vested interest in the topic. Are they personally impacted?”

WHS senior Mackenzie Laub was selected as the winner, with her speech titled “The Real Story of Title IX.” Rotary Club President-elect Dianne Frana and club member/contest moderator Mary Kay McMahon awarded Laub with a check for $250.

Rotary Club judges stated it was difficult to select the winner, but they ultimately chose Laub’s “moving and persuasive speech,” which centered on gender inequality issues in collegiate sports.

“It has been 50 years since Title IX has been passed, but still we see an undervalue of our female athletes,” Laub began. “There is a significant difference in the way women’s and men’s athletic programs are portrayed at the collegiate level. Title IX states the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibit sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal funding.”

Laub cited examples of the lack of funding, resources and promotion provided for women’s collegiate athletics. She also discussed how sports scholarship money is given mostly to men and gave examples of ways college sports could solve inequalities between sexes.

Laub ended her speech by answering the fourth question, “Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

“It will only become beneficial to all if we bridge the gap between these men and women. Empowered women empower women,” Laub said.

Laub represented WHS and the local Rotary Club at the regional contest April 2, at Willow Lane Elementary, Macungie. Laub won at that level of the contest as well, according to an April 4 post on the Rotary Club’s Facebook.

This win moves Laub ahead to the Rotary District 7430 competition, scheduled for April 9 at DeSales University.

“I believe the contest provides an exceptional opportunity for students to think about the world through these critical questions and voice their passions to an audience outside the classroom,” Abbadessa said.

“Mackenzie’s speech was well-researched and -written and her presentation polished but sincere. I am so very proud of her work on her speech about the ‘Real Story of Title IX,’” she said.

Runners-up included CHS student Grant Heimbecker and WHS students Vanamarie Huynh, Jasmin Abdalla, Janet Rivera and Giovanni Failla, who will each receive a $50 prize from Fellowship.

Huynh’s speech addressed racism and hate crimes against Asians, and Failla spoke about drug addiction and the criminal justice system. Abdalla talked about challenges low-income students face when applying to colleges, Heimbecker’s speech explored the history and meaning of separation of church and state and Rivera discussed book censorship.

The local Rotary Club was formed in 2017. Its mission is to serve Whitehall and the surrounding community through volunteerism, fundraising and service projects.

To view the speeches, visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/whitehallcoplayrotary/about/?ref=page_internal or portal.clubrunner.ca/13794.

For more information about the contest, contact Tracy Bozik at 610-769-9198 or tbozik@FellowshipCommunity.com.