On Saturday, March 7, the New York Mills speech team competed in Battle Lake. Elijah Geiser advanced to the final round in both of his events. He was the champion in Poetry Interpretation with excerpts from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” Though Whitman wrote the poem in the 1850s, Geiser’s performance reclaims it for today, challenging the way people glorify “Merica!” while overlooking the Americans who make it great. 

Geiser also placed third in Humorous Interpretation with a cutting from the movie. Barbie (2023), directed by Greta Gerwig. His performance follows Ken’s journey as he realizes that men in “the real world” are treated with more respect than in “Barbie land.” He returns to Barbie land with the hope of establishing a patriarcy, but realizes that men and women both do better when they are treated equally.

Payton Lausten advanced to the final round and placed second in Prose Interpretation. Lausten’s script comes from Courtney Summer’s young adult novel, All the Rage. It tells the story of a high school student’s healing after an assault the previous year. 

Owen Johnson narrowly missed advancing to the final round in Informative Speaking, earning a Superior rating. In his self-researched and self-written speech, Johnson explores the world of Victorian fashion and how the expectations placed on clothing during that era still influence beauty standards and fashion today. To help his audience visualize the clothing of the time, he brings a dress form to each of his speaking rounds and dresses it piece by piece in a corset, dress and collar.