ConVal senior Liam McCall (center) won first place in the District 2 American Legion Oratorical Contest which was held at Post #23 in Milford on Saturday, February 15. McCall won with a pair of successful speeches, one on the principle of no taxation without representation and the second on an assigned topic, which for McCall was the 20th Amendment.
ConVal High School was represented by three students at the competition which included students from Merrimack and Milford high schools. Garrick Colby spoke on “The Bulwarks of Tyranny” while Daniel McCall, Liam’s younger brother who is a freshman this year, delivered a speech on civil liberties.
The mission of the American Legion Oratorical Contest is to develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for the U.S. Constitution among high school students. Speaking subjects must be on some aspect of the U.S. Constitution.
The competition is held in two rounds. The first set of speeches involves orations on a constitutional topic and are eight to ten minutes long. In addition, contestants prepare four three- to five-minute speeches on four different constitutional amendments and must be ready to speak on all of them. One of these “assigned topic” speeches is then chosen for presentation at the contest.
With his win at the District 2 American Legion Oratorical Contest, his second in a row, McCall advances to the state-level contest at St Anselm’s College which will be held on March 7.