RIPON, Wis. – High school students from across the state braved wicked weather to examine the fundamental themes and ethical issues within Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, “The Strenuous Life,” during the third annual Ripon College Ethics and Oratory Youth Summit on April 11. Sixty students from ten schools – some as far away as Green Bay and northern Milwaukee – participated in the event.

The summit is the finale to a year-long project by the college’s senior communication majors. Each wrote a paper on Roosevelt’s speech and met individually with Dr. J. Michael Hogan, a visiting scholar from Penn State and preeminent authority on Roosevelt’s rhetoric. After planning nearly every aspect of the summit, it was up to the seniors to convey to the visiting students the subtle intricacies of the speech and the moral questions it raises.

“Our discussion groups with students gave us the unique opportunity to try our hand at leading discussion and adapting our presentation based on the responses we were getting from students,” said senior Eric Saari. “It’s a much more real-world, dynamic speaking experience than we could ever get in a classroom,” he added.

Since its inception by Ripon College’s Communication Department, the summit has developed high school students’ understanding of ethical issues in vital speeches from American history, including Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “I Have A Dream,” and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s, “War Message.”

Ripon College President David Joyce kicked off the event by emphasizing the vital link between morality and public speaking.

“Look within yourselves,” Joyce challenged students, “so that you can leave the summit with a sense of how ethical behavior and decision making are inculcated into everything we do.”

In the morning, participants heard presentations by Ripon professors on Roosevelt’s life and the historical context surrounding his speech. After lunch, the senior communication majors lead breakout sessions examining individual elements of Roosevelt’s speech, such as its rough language, paternalistic attributes, and polarizing nature.

Educators in attendance understand and enthusiastically support the mission of the summit. Becki Baird, a history teacher at Ripon High School, said, “I feel passionately about students exploring these important topics in American history, and [the program] also provides for reflection on historic actions and comparison to current day issues. I will absolutely be there next year!”

Other educators at the event expressed similar sentiments, leaving little doubt as to the summit’s continued success in the years to come.

About Ripon College
Ripon College, founded in 1851, prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Ripon’s liberal arts curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education. Ripon has been recognized as a “best value” and “Best 361 College” by The Princeton Review, a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s, and among the 160 best schools in the nation by Colleges of Distinction. For more information about Ripon College, visit www.ripon.edu.

Senior Communication majors Elizabeth Molitor and Adam Clark lead a breakout session with high school students

Students listen to a presentation by Lamont Colucci, professor of Politics and Government