March 6 - The Shorter College Competitive Speaking Team earned high ratings in their first state competition on Feb. 28, 2009. Haley Smith earned second place in the after-dinner speech category, and Chris Cannon earned sixth place in prose interpretation.

Members performed their speeches and interpretations in front of judges and as many as 25 audience members. “I gained a real sense of confidence from this experience,” said Julie Frayre, who competed in the after-dinner speech category.

The team is made up of six members from four different majors including communication, media studies, business administration and theater. Team members include Juliana Fayre, Antoine Mills, Haley Morgan Smith, Chris Cannon, Kalem Wilson, and Sarah Boring.

Tom Earp, chair of the college’s communication arts department, created the team one year ago. “I think forensics and competitive speaking are a cornerstone of the liberal arts education. It is debate, critical thinking, interpretation of literature and speaking,” said Earp.