The Committee on Student Life issued a press release Saturday naming the four finalists for the Wendell Phillips Scholarship Award, given to the student "who has best demonstrated both marked ability as a speaker and a high sense of public responsibility."
Only juniors and seniors are eligible for the award, annually granted to two students-one from Tufts and the other from Harvard University. This year's finalists from Tufts are all seniors: Mauricio Artinano, David Baumwoll, Jeffrey Katzin and Jeremy Sueker.
The winner of the Tufts finalists will be decided after each gives a three-to-five minute oral presentation. In their presentations, finalists must describe a historical or societal situation or event in which they think defeat was or could be the 'first step to something better.'
The presentations are open to the public and will be given in the Coolidge Room of Ballou Hall on Mar. 6.
Katzin, who said he is friends with Sueker and Baumwoll, said he was pleased to be named a finalist along with the other three. "I consider it an honor to be put in the company of the other finalists," he said.
Sueker said he did not feel as if this award engendered any animosity among the finalists, especially since he respects them. "They're all good guys," he said. "I think it's more of a collegial competition than I'm used to."
Last year, there were six Wendell Phillips finalists from Tufts. The winner was Eitan Hersh (LA '05), who went on to speak at the 2005 Commencement exercises.
The Wendell Phillips Memorial Scholarship was created in 1896 by the Wendell Phillips Memorial Fund Association to honor Phillips, a 19th-century abolitionist and orator from Boston.
