NOMINATION DEADLINE: March 29, 2024

The Barge Oratorical Prize has a rich tradition at Lafayette College.  The prize was first endowed by Benjamin F. Barge in 1900 to be awarded annually to a deserving senior skilled in the arts of oratory.  Dormant since 1989, the prize was rebooted in the Spring of 2013.

Today, the Barge Oratorical Prize has grown into a multi-stage competition awarding prizes for outstanding oratory at different levels of campus life.  There are two categories:

Oral Defense of Honors Thesis – Departments and programs will nominate graduating seniors who demonstrate outstanding oratory during the defense of their honors thesis.  The nominated students will be interviewed by the Barge Oratorical Prize committee and up to three students will be selected to receive the prize.

Forensics and Mock Trial Excellence – Lafayette College’s Forensics Society and Mock Trial teams travel around the region and nation excelling in all levels of competition.  Up to three rising or graduating seniors will be recognized for excellence in oratorical competition.

Students are only eligible to win the Barge Oratorical Prize once, and in only one discipline.