FIRE's Freedom in Academia Essay Contest

2009 Awards

One first place winner will be awarded a $5,000 college scholarship.

Two second place winners will each receive a $2,500 college scholarship.

Five runners-up will each receive a $1000 college scholarship.

Deadlines

The deadline has passed, and the winners will be announced by December 11, 2009.

FIRE's Mission

FIRE's mission is to defend and sustain individual rights at America's colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience—the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity. FIRE's core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.

Instructions

  1. Go to FIRE's website at www.thefire.org and familiarize yourself with FIRE and FIRE's issues.
  2. Go to the “multimedia” tab at the top of the page and click on "videos." Watch two short videos about real students who were censored and punished for speech that is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
    • Video #1: FIRE in Action: Valdosta State University This short film highlights FIRE's fight against Valdosta State University's (VSU's) unconstitutional free speech zone policy and chronicles FIRE's victory on behalf of VSU student T. Hayden Barnes, who was expelled for engaging in a peaceful protest.
    • Video #2: Think What We Think?Or Else: Thought Control on the American Campus In the fall of 2007, the University of Delaware's Office of Residence Life employed mandatory dormitory activities to coerce students to change their thoughts, habits, and values to conform to a highly specified ideological agenda. Following FIRE's campaign, which called the attention of the national media to the Orwellian program and outraged people from all over the political spectrum, UD President Patrick Harker terminated the program.
    You should also view some of FIRE's other videos and read through posts on FIRE's blog The Torch to gain a deeper understanding of FIRE's mission and activities.
  3. Answer the Essay Question: In 700-1200 words, please discuss the videos you have seen and explain how these universities betrayed the purpose of a university and violated the constitutional guarantees of free expression. Focus on why such codes and practices are incompatible with higher education and why free speech is important in our nation's colleges and universities.
  4. Submit your essay through the online form below. Only high school seniors graduating in 2010 may apply.