Khrisma McMurray, BS’21, took home first place in this spring semester’s Speech Night at IUPUI with her speech, Disney: The Monopoly Edition.

Speech Night is a one-of-kind bi-annual campus tradition established in 1971, making it the longest running event of its kind in the country.  Each fall and spring semester the Communication R-110 Program hosts this three round, student-centered public speaking competition.  Each R110 section participates in Speech Night by providing contestants and judges.

McMurray is a freshman, majoring in HR and Management, while minoring in Writing and Literacy.

In her speech, McMurray analyzed how Disney is morphing into a monopoly. The businesses Disney is acquiring and utilizing, such as 21^st Century Fox, Marvel, Lucas Film, and Pixar, are huge, and the United States’ regulations on businesses simply are not regulating it strong enough. 

McMurray concluded her speech with a solution: the acronym W.I.S.H.

“W” – We’re all in this together, meaning we’re all in this together to work together to stop the monopoly.

“I” – Inform.  People know about Disney, but they don’t realize the number of companies owned by Disney.

“S” – Send a letter to the Anti-Trust Division to update their guidelines to be stricter toward large businesses, such as Disney.

“H” – Help smaller businesses in the entertainment industry, so Disney has some competition.

McMurray was not exposed to Disney as a child, but she fell in love with it.  She wanted to not only watch Disney movies and shows, but also research the company’s involvements.  Her interest in Disney was why she decided to speak about the company for her class.

When McMurray’s name was announced as the winner, she couldn’t believe it. 

“I was freaking out,” said McMurray.  “It felt great.  They announced my name as number one, and it was just an amazing feeling.”

While McMurray has been speaking publicly since high school, her recommendation to students, especially her business classmates, is to utilize the IUPUI Speaker’s Lab.

“Students should also not get in their own heads,” McMurray said.  “We’re our own worst enemies, so knowing why you’re afraid and slowly working to overcome that is a great way to overcome your fears.”