KIDS SPEAK OUT THREE WIN LIONS' ORATORY AWARDS.Byline: Daily News PALMDALE - Fifteen-year-old Marilyn Rajaratnam of Ridgecrest won the Lions Club regional student speakers contest on the theme ``Democracy - Is It for Everyone?'' Runners-up were home-schooler Theresa Frassrand, 16, of Acton and Antelope Valley High School Antelope Valley High School is located in Lancaster, California and is part of the Antelope Valley Union High School District. It was founded in 1912[1]. It is located in the Mojave Desert. senior Jonathan Deguzman, 18, of Lancaster. The speech contest is sponsored by Lions Clubs International Lions Clubs International is the world's largest secular service club organization with 45,000 clubs and nearly 1.35 million members in 200 countries around the world. Its motto is "We Serve". The international headquarters is situated in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. , Multiple District Four, California/Nevada. Rajaratnam will move on to the district contest, for which the prize is a $4,000 scholarship. The final speech contest prize is more than $20,000. Rajaratnam's speech explained how democracy began with the Greek ``demos.'' Her speech said democracy is now the world's most common type of government, compared different forms of government and said authoritative regimes have given way to more modern forms of democracy. In a democratic society, she said, the government is responsible to its people and the people are responsible for their government. ``Democracy is freedom, but freedom with responsibility,'' she said. Born in India, Rajaratnam is a sophomore at Immanuel Christian School Immanuel Christian School is a private school located at 215 Rougeau Ave in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It was founded in 1976 by members of the Canadian Reformed Church, a Christian church. It has a Kindergarten to Grade 12 program and serves 181 children. and represented the Ridgecrest Lions Club in the regional contest. She plans to attend the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission and eventually become a gynecologist gynecologist /gy·ne·col·o·gist/ (-kol´ah-jist) a person skilled in gynecology. gy·ne·col·o·gist n. A physician specializing in gynecology. . All the orations were well-researched, organizers said. ``Democracy gives each individual the right to change the government with a single vote,'' Deguzman said. ``Democracy gives each individual the right to his or her own freedoms. Democracy gives equality to all.'' Frassrand, who was the returning Acton Lions Club winner, quoted a line from President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address Gettysburg Address, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 19, 1863, at the dedication of the national cemetery on the Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa. It is one of the most famous and most quoted of modern speeches. that democracy is ``a government of the people, by the people, for the people.'' She added: ``Just as democracy is a government, it is also a way of life.'' She agreed with Nobel Prize Nobel Prize, award given for outstanding achievement in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, peace, or literature. The awards were established by the will of Alfred Nobel, who left a fund to provide annual prizes in the five areas listed above. literary winner John Galsworthy, who said: ``The measure of democracy is the measure of the freedom of its citizens.'' Organizers said the Lions Club contest is aimed at providing an opportunity for competitive public speaking among students on a subject of interest to them and to the American people An American people may be:
It also is meant to stimulate self-expression and independent thinking, to present to the public the problems in maintaining a free nation and to consider the means for meeting present and future world problems, organizers said. Judges were Norm Hickling, Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San ; April Ray, costume designer and owner of Daisy's Costumes in Lancaster; Acton resident June Houlton, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees in political science and economics; and Joel Mabon, a businessman with a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in management. The judges considered the speeches' content, delivery and overall effectiveness. The speakers had to be age 13 to 19 and still in school. Their talks had to be five to 10 minutes. Lions Region Chairman Marcia Newyear of Acton presided over the region contest, which was held March 27 at the Chimbole Cultural Center in Palmdale. Lions' Past District Governor Frank Wayland spoke about the Student Speaker Foundation and recognized Gordon Wellman of Lancaster, president of the Multiple District Four Student Speaker Foundation. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Winner Marilyn Rajaratnam, center, is shown with runners-ups Theresa Frassrand and Jonathan Deguzman. |
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