Students from Tecumseh High School presented their take on Rotary’s Four-Way Test last week through speeches delivered to New Carlisle Rotarians. The winners, who will be named this week, will take home generous cash prizes after being judged by a panel of local Rotarians.
Members of Rotary Club are familiar with their organization’s “Four-Way Test,” but those of us in the outside world likely have not learned to apply the principle in our daily lives. Members of the organization are guided to apply the Four-Way Test to their actions both in the business field and their personal lives—asking a series of four questions:
1. Is it the Truth?
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
To participate in the high school Four-Way Test Speech contest, students were required to select a topic—literal or figurative—and assess its significance in the world by putting it to Rotary’s Four-Way Test.
Six Tecumseh High School students discussed a variety of topics Tuesday afternoon during New Carlisle Rotary’s weekly meeting. The items put to the Four-Way Test ranged from emotional topics such as love and forgiveness to physical things like processed foods. Christian Hunt, Abby Krakora, Alina Blunk, Corey Hunt, Stephen Kosey, and Alexis Lambert, and one other student competed for the first-place spot, which awards $200 to the winner.
Alexis Lambert delivered a compelling speech about the rampant spread of processed foods in our country—the majority of which, she said were already banned in other nations.
“Cigarettes are labeled…but cancer-causing foods are not,” Lambert said as she put the topic to the test.
She said that processed foods were most definitely not the truth, as they are comprised of artificial ingredients that most of us cannot pronounce. She explained that these foods are known to contribute to America’s obesity and diabetes epidemics, saying that processed foods were not at all fair either. Because these foods can cause disease and chronic illness when consumed in mass quantities, Lambert said that they in no way were beneficial to all involved.
In a more literal application of the Four-Way Test, Lambert explained that because 80 percent of the foods eaten and produced in America are banned in Canada and the United Kingdom, we cannot forge better friendships with our international neighbors because we can’t sell these items in their stores. She also noted that processed foods are not fair, as many of them contain dopamine, which releases a chemical in the brain that makes humans feel elated. Lambert said that everything is acceptable in moderation, but noted that because these foods are so addictive, they cannot be consumed in moderation.
Abby Krakora spoke of forgiveness as she applied it to Rotary’s test. The subject was personal for this speaker as she explained her own struggles to forgive a family member for leaving home. She said that the element of forgiveness easily passes the Four-Way Test, as it serves to benefit everyone involved. Krakora said forgiveness promotes better friendships by releasing both sides from hostility and apprehension, noting that the forgiver and the forgiven alike will gain a sense of peace. She said that up until one month ago, she never would have forgiven her beloved family member for leaving, but after much contemplation, Krakora said “It is absolutely worth it to try to forgive.”
Corey Hunt discussed creativity and art as his Four-Way Test subject. Hunt explained that incorporating creativity and art in life will promote joy and inspiration among others.
“Everything starts with a spark…which creates a creative fire—and fire spreads,” he said.
Hunt discussed the healing process of art, explaining the story of Nancy Foster, a woman with Multiple Sclerosis who used painting with watercolors to overcome her affliction. He said that because of its healing properties as well as its power of connection among people, that “creativity is one of the fairest things in the world.”
The New Carlisle News will announce the winners of Rotary’s Four-Way Test Speech Contest next week.
