Zaina Naffa Wins American Legion Oratory Contest

Ms. Naffa, a junior at the King Abdullah Academy, won $300 and will now represent McLean at the 17th District Oratorical Contest in Fairfax against winners of contests in other communities on January 19th.

Under the direction of Master of Ceremonies Tony Sarver, each contestant delivered a prepared oration on the U.S. Constitution, with emphasis on the duties and responsibilities of American Citizenship, as well as an oration on a randomly assigned constitutional topic. This year’s randomly assigned topic was on the 7th Amendment, which grants trial by jury to American citizens.  

Ms. Naffa impressed the judges with a speech titled “Our National Anthem.” She adeptly linked protections guaranteed to American Citizens by the Constitution to the Alien and Sedition Acts from 1798, the 1962 Supreme Court Case Engel vs. Vitale (which banned organized prayer in schools), the 1988 Supreme Court Case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (which allowed school officials to prevent publication of certain articles in school newspapers), the War of 1812, and Francis Scott Key’s writing of the Star-Spangled Banner. She explained that our 1st Amendment is powerful, but it does have some limitations. With her discussion of the War of 1812 and the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, Ms. Naffa discussed how the words of the Star-Spangled Banner demonstrate how we have fought for our rights, and we continue to do so. During her short speech on the 7th Amendment, Ms. Naffa questioned whether juries can truly be impartial and unbiased. She spoke about the legal concept of jury nullification, applying it to the O.J. Simpson murder trial and wondering if jury nullification might be a factor in the upcoming trial of Luigi Mangione. Zaina obviously conducted a great deal of research in preparation for this contest. Her performances looked like a courtroom drama: lively, informative, and interesting.

The 2nd Place winner was Caden Joe, a senior at Langley High School. In his speech titled “Why I stay thankful,” he spoke about how the American Founding Fathers produced a document (the Constitution) which gave to us the fairest judicial system in the world. He said that he was thankful for taxes (which produced some laughs). Knowing that this was an unusual view, he made the case for why we should all be thankful for receiving the benefits provided to us through our taxes. He also said that he was thankful for our jury system, because it makes the decision of guilt or innocence the decision of our peers rather than a lone judge. Of note, this past summer, Mr. Joe served as the Chief Justice of the American Legion Boys State Supreme Court.

Coming in 3rd Place was Jenna Said, a junior at the King Abdullah Academy. In her speech titled “A Father; A Dream; A Promise,” she focused on the lessons she learned from her father’s experiences in Kuwait and Philadelphia. She spoke about how her father came to this country with only $5 dollars in his pocket and later kept his money under his pillow, because the crime rate in Philadelphia was so high. She explained how the Constitution’s guarantee of individual rights inspired and provided the framework for her father to become a successful doctor. In her argument, Ms. Said spoke strongly about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and the 1st Amendment’s freedoms of speech and religion. She emphasized that our Constitution does not guarantee anyone success; just the opportunity for success. In her talk about the 7th Amendment, Ms. Said described the 1994 Supreme Court Case Liebeck vs McDonald’s (the hot coffee lawsuit). Whereas most people remember this case as one of a greedy person suing McDonald’s because its coffee was too hot, Ms. Said argued that this case showed that ordinary people have extraordinary power in the U.S. Criminal Justice system, and that even a regular citizen can successfully challenge the most powerful corporations.

The 4th Place winner was Sarah Selim, a high school junior. She chose a controversial topic to discuss in her speech, which she titled “Feeling American.” She argued that she is an American and that she wants to feel like an American, but she feels disadvantaged because she is a Muslim. She said that Muslims have been unfairly targeted and judged for things that happened before many of them were born (9/11). Ms. Salim  argued that people like her fear speaking out, and it should not be that way.  Ms. Selim challenged the members of the audience to speak up, join civic organizations, and strive to make our government truly protect our rights.

Coming in 5th Place was Sami Alzahrani, a freshman from the King Abdullah Academy. His speech, titled “A Greater Constitution,” focused on some of the outdated portions of the Constitution that should be updated. For example, the 7th Amendment grants a trial by jury for offenses involving $20 dollars or more. He argued that $20 when the Constitution was written would be worth over $700 dollars today, and that this should be changed.

All of the contestants were exceptional. Selecting the winners was extremely difficult.

Toastmasters International provided judges for the contest: Bob Wilson, Celeste Gregory, and Henry Grossman.

Thanks to the visiting delegation of Legionnaires from Post 259 in Clinton, Maryland, we had what longtime Legionnaire Glenn Yarborough said was “the biggest crowd I have seen at any oratorical contest throughout the state.”

Since 1938, The American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program has encouraged the nation’s high school students to study the U.S. Constitution and to hone their public speaking skills.