More than two dozen students will compete to convince a panel of judges with speeches on "Current Issues of Equality in the U.S.A." in the fourth annual Bernard C. Kissel Outstanding Student Speaker Competition on Friday, Nov. 7, in the UCF Communication Building.

Undergraduate students will give six- to eight-minute persuasive speeches encompassing this year's common curriculum theme that focuses on Brown vs. the Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision that ended segregation in American public schools and ushered in "equal protection of our laws."

"The Outstanding Student Speaker Competition integrates student creativity with UCF's common theme, 'Social Awareness and Cultural Change: Brown vs. Board of Education,'" said Matt Thompson, a speech instructor in the Nicholson School of Communication. "This speech contest will give faculty members and students a chance to see what issues of inequality matter most to the UCF community."

UCF is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board by giving all 6,000 freshmen a living history lesson on the court's landmark decision. Each incoming student was given a two-page summary of Chief Justice Earl Warren's decision and 20 pages of related newspaper stories and editorials.

The across-the-curriculum, two-year project will include speakers, debates, a documentary and film series, teach-ins, personal testimonials and other events, along with lessons in psychology, education, composition, speech, social work, history and political science.

The Outstanding Student Speaker Competition is named for "Bernie" Kissel (1929-1986), the first chairman of the Communication Department at UCF.

Preliminary rounds for the competition will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by a final round at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.