Law Day Speeches

Every year, the seniors at Calvary Christian Schools participate in the annual Law Day Speech competition of the Muskegon County Bar Association. Two students from each of the participating schools go and give their speech to a panel of judges and the top four contestants receive a scholarship. This year the contest will be held on May 4. At Calvary, every senior gives a speech as a World History requirement and the two best of the class are chosen to participate.

                The theme this year was "No Courts, No Justice, No Freedom" and the topic was on" A Michigan Legal Milestone, Public Access to Public Water" The case that was chosen as a topic for the speeches was about a dispute between two men who disagreed about public water access. One man thought that he had private access to the public river on his private land. Another man disagreed and felt that the public river was free for all to use for fishing and other recreation. The dispute led to a court case on trespassing and the use of public water. The court ruled that the private landowner did have private access to the public river and anyone else who used the river was trespassing. However, the dilemma reached the Supreme Court and in 1926 the Supreme Court ruled that all public water was free for anyone to use.

                 Each student took the theme and topic and created an original speech to present to the class. The students gave their speeches in History class on April 13. The speeches were being judged by Mrs. Meyer, Mrs. Collins, and Mr. Kapanka. All the seniors gave great speeches, but the two students who will be participating in the contest are Joelle Byers and Jade Kroening. The Law Day competition is a great opportunity for the seniors to polish their speaking skills and a way to potentially earn a scholarship.  It is yet another opportunity that encourages Calvary students to excel.

            - Katie VanderVelde, Senior