Rock Bridge High School student Vignesh Kumar topped two other area high school students Sunday in an American Legion constitutional speech contest.
"I'm overjoyed," Kumar said after winning the contest. "But I think the biggest thing that I'm feeling right now is I'm just amazed at all the volunteers and all the people who came to attend. I do debate, and I've never had an audience like this, so respectful and so organized."
The Legion's 87th annual High School Oratorical Scholarship Program took place at American Legion Post 5 in Jefferson City. The contest covered the Legion's District 8, which encompasses many Mid-Missouri counties.
Gaven Smith, of Cole R-1 Russellville, came in second place and Emma Price, of Camdenton High School, came in third.
Kumar spoke on "A Lego House Divided Cannot Stand," comparing our government to his and his sister's sometimes acrimonious work to build Lego structures. While the process isn't always smooth, both should result in a better end result, he said.
"Because of our heated discourse, we were able to build a stronger, more creative Lego masterpiece," he said. "As children, my sister and I were able to take our conflict and make it something beneficial. And even in the great history of our nation, we have always managed to use conflict, disagreement or even division to drive progress.
But today, he said, we aren't using conflict as a force for good. However, he said, the Constitution holds the key to turning conflict into compromise in the future.
Our bicameral legislature is the result of a compromise of our Founding Fathers, he said.
"So it's time we embrace not only the phrases within the Constitution, but the spirit it was ratified in," Kumar said.
Kumar, who participates in speech and debate, started working on his speech over Christmas break. He said he hopes to pursue science in college.
The senior won a $500 scholarship, and a chance to compete at the zone level, one level below the state level. The top four at the state competition win scholarships, including $2,000 for first, and the chance to compete at nationals, where the top scholarship is $25,000.
Price's speech was titled, "The document of the public."
The public, she said, knows the words "We the People," but a common belief is that it doesn't apply directly to citizens.
"We may know these words, but we clearly do not understand their meaning or believe in their powers," she said.
Smith delivered a speech about the First Amendment and equality but was penalized for going too long on his first speech and too short on his second.
About two dozen people attended the event.
The contest consists of two parts: a five- to six-minute speech on the Constitution, followed by a three- to five-minute impromptu speech on one of four topics chosen randomly. On Sunday, the topic for the second speech was Article 3, Section 1 of the Constitution, which vests the judicial power of the United States in the Supreme Court, as well as inferior courts established by Congress.
Christine Sapp, the District 8 oratorical chairwoman, said it was fun to listen to the speeches because they had similar and different views on the Constitution.
"It shows we are still learning and studying our Constitution, bringing the information forward with our youth to make the United States a better place for all of us," she said.