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Two weeks left to enter FIRE’s Free Speech Essay Contest!

There’s still time to enter FIRE’s Free Speech Essay Contest … but not much!

Let’s cut right to the chase. We’re prepared to award $10,000 in prize scholarship money to the best essay on this topic: Explain in 800-1000 words why free speech is so important to higher education, and why censorship undermines the ideals of liberal education and a free society.

At FIRE, we defend 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. In addition to defending the rights of students and faculty, FIRE works to educate students and the general public on the necessity of free speech and its importance to a thriving democratic society.

If you are a high schooler who also believes that these basic constitutional rights are important — especially in academia — then we encourage you to gather your thoughts together in a well-constructed essay and submit it to our contest before time runs out. This year’s contest concludes at midnight on December 31, 2017, and we’ll be announcing the winners (5 top winners and 4 runners-up) by January 31, 2018. (You can check out some past winners here.)

Free speech is currently under tremendous pressure in academia, but there’s something you can do about it: speak up! Submit your free speech essay to FIRE and take part in defending First Amendment rights on college campuses. We’re looking forward to reading your entry.

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