BENTONVILLE — Bentonville High School students impressed professionals with their oral advocacy skills during a speech competition on Saturday.
A group of 20 students from the school debated the pros and cons of government involvement in cyberbullying during the second Bailey & Oliver Law Firm Speech Competition.
“Cyberbullying is not an issue we can ignore and sweep under a proverbial rock,” Kelsey Cain Myers, a junior at the school said during her speech.
Myers stood before a panel of nearly 20 judges made up of politicians, lawyers and pastors. Her classmates sat in the audience watching her deliver the speech that would win her first place in the competition.
“A bully is a bully despite what medium they use to communicate,” Myers said. “We must focus on a nationwide policy.”
Myers said she was shocked to hear she won.
“The competition is really intense,” Myers said. “There are so many great speakers in our group.”
Speech has become a passion, Myers said. She said her plans are to become an oral advocacy teacher.
Sach Oliver, a partner in the law firm holding the event, hopes to promote oral advocacy through the competition. He praised the ability of the students who gave speeches after the event.
“I have been educated by the speeches,” Oliver said. “I have been sitting here thinking what do I and our firm need to do about cyberbullying.”
Benton County Circuit Court Judge John Scott was one of the professionals judging the speeches.
“It is an excellent experience for the students and the one’s doing the judging,” Scott said. “The speeches have been excellent. They have been thoughtful and well-presented.”
The event was held at the law firm’s Bentonville office at 2000 S.E. 14 St.