Arcadia hosted the 12th Annual Black History Month Oratorical Competition on Feb. 23, which culminated the Office of Institutional Diversity’s events for Black History Month.

Each year, the oratorical competition encourages local high school students from Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks counties to take part in a discussion of black history by debating a relevant or provocative topic. This year, students defended or refuted whether “in a country as diverse as the United States of America, Black History Month continues to be needed.”

The event was co-sponsored by Institutional Diversity and the National Association of University Women Suburban Philadelphia Branch. It was organized by Dr. Natasha Patterson, an adjunct professor of Public Health and branch president of the National Association of University Women Suburban Philadelphia Branch.