New essay contest for ‘Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression’ announced

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Organizers of the “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” series are adding a new student-oriented essay program to the semester-long series of events and discussions.

The Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression Student Essay Prize is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled and in good standing at Purdue University’s West Lafayette campus. Winners will be recognized on stage, where they will receive a certificate and one of 10 $1,000 awards. Full information, as well as details on how to submit an essay, can be found at bit.ly/DCFOE-Prize.

 “This essay contest is an avenue for students to reflect and engage on what they have heard from leaders in various areas and backgrounds,” said John Gates, vice provost for diversity and inclusion. “Our continued goal this semester is to encourage students to engage in discussions with others to grapple with the complex issues that our society is facing. That’s how we find out that we all have more in common than what we often think we do.”

In addition to enrollment as a student, additional rules for the essay contest are the following:

• Essay submissions must be an original work, between 1,000-1,500 words with proper citations where necessary, and in response to and/or reflection upon attending a “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” event.
• Only one entry per student per prize. If students participate in more than one “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” event, they must submit a new original essay for each program to be considered for the award.
• Essays must be submitted via the provided Qualtrics link.
• Essays must be submitted within a seven-day period after each “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” event in order to be considered by the review committee. Winners will be contacted and provided VIP seating at a future “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” event, where they will be acknowledged on stage and receive their award.
• All essays will be peer-reviewed by a committee of undergraduate and graduate students on a biweekly basis, or as determined by need. Reviewers will not have access to author’s identifying information and will use a rubric to assist in determining recommendations to the vice provost for diversity and inclusion for awards.
• By submitting an essay for consideration, students acknowledge that the Division of Diversity and Inclusion may reproduce and share in part or whole learning outcomes related to “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” events.

Students may write about how attending the “Democracy, Civility, and Freedom of Expression” events helped them recognize new understandings from dialogue with others, how it facilitated connections between classroom and out-of-classroom settings, consider alternative perspectives, or how to cooperate with others who have different backgrounds or points of view.

A complete listing of events can be found online.

Writer: Matthew Oates, 765-496-2571, oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates

Sources: John Gates, jfgates@purdue.edu

Lowell Kane, lowell@purdue.edu