The Facts:

The College of Humanities and Social Sciences held its Wolfpack Speaks public speaking contest Thursday, awarding more than $500 in scholarships.


Our Opinion:

Such programs are good for connecting students with CHASS and should be expanded to other ideas like spoken poetry contests.

Most people see N.C. State as an engineering college; or at the least, one that is rooted in design and the physical sciences. Yet the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is the third-largest college at the University and one of its fastest growing.

CHASS has been doing quite a bit to keep students aware of this. Dean Jeffrey Braden recently switched places with a CHASS student in the “Dean for a Day” event and communications held its Wolfpack Speaks public speaking contest, awarding more than $500 to the winners.

The contest is an excellent event for CHASS and administrators should look to hold similar events and competitions for students for other areas of study. Given the existing poetry and short-story competitions students can already take part in, these areas are logical for having public readings and competition events of student works.

Moving towards contests for works like spoken poetry or short fiction is also a solid way to connect students to CHASS, which plays a vital role in ensuring students get a truly well-rounded, first-rate education from the University. While the pure humanities may seem like a waste of tuition in the increasingly competitive job market, the skills learned in writing, public speaking, history and other humanities courses can offer students an advantage when compared with other students with academic backgrounds rooted entirely in technical, degree-related education.

The college can also benefit from an increased involvement with students outside of class; getting people to compete in a friendly challenge for writing or speaking skills can get students and faculty together outside of an academic setting, enabling them to build important connections for advice on careers, academics and more.

Such public events also may draw in more students by simply giving them the chance to see what their peers are doing and appreciating their abilities; currently, writing competitions tend to consist of students submitting works for review and evaluation by faculty members. While this may prove which students are more technically or academically gifted in writing, speaking or other disciplines, it also limits opportunities for students to see what their friends and classmates can do with the spoken word or written verse. A push for public events like Wolfpack Speaks can give them a taste of the breadth and richness of the talent at the University.

CHASS has been dynamic in providing extracurricular opportunities for students to show off their talents and connecting with the college itself. Such valuable interactions should be heralded and encourage the college to expand its efforts in getting more students involved and improving their appreciation of the humanities and social sciences.