The series of four different essay contests, spread over the course of the academic year, is open to the entire undergraduate campus community* and designed to engage students and inspire rich intellectual dialogue.

NO APATHY

This contest is now closed. Winners will be notified and prizes publicly awarded during the University’s "National Agenda" program on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 7:30pm in Mitchell Hall.

The UD Center for Political Communication, in association with the office of the Provost, announces a campus-wide writing competition for Fall 2011, as the 2012 U.S. Presidential election campaign moves into high gear. The competition’s goals are to honor excellent, accessible writing, to encourage students to consider national and international issues, and to build political literacy on the UD campus.

The theme for the inaugural campus-wide competition is “No Apathy.” Entrants will write brief essays in the form of pointed “op-ed” articles suitable for national publication. All UD students are eligible, and are encouraged to enter.

Entries will be judged by UD faculty, and the award recipients will win cash prizes as well as an invitation to dinner with the University's National Agenda guest speaker, Professor and former CNN correspondent Ralph Begleiter, and other prominent experts in political science and communications.

There will be two winners chosen from among the entries. Their essays will be published on the “No Apathy” web site and made available to news organizations for consideration. Students may record their own essays for web posting as video commentaries, but will be judged on the basis of their writing.

Competition Rules:

• Essays must be between 500 and 800 words.
• Essays must focus on any national or international political issues likely to be faced by candidates for President of the United States, including, but not limited to those related to political communication. They need not be politically partisan, but there is no restriction on partisanship in these opinion commentaries. Students may propose specific policy recommendations, and may evaluate or critique current U.S. government activity or proposals.
• Essays should address domestic issues or U.S. foreign policy.
• Essays must be written to appeal to audiences of national or international interest web sites, newspapers video outlets or blogs.
• Essays must be the original work of UD students enrolled during the Fall semester, 2011.

Entries and Deadlines

• All entries must be submitted electronically through the "Excellence in Writing" web site.
• One entry per student
• This contest is now closed.. All entries must be submitted by Friday, October 7, 2011 at 6pm.
• Winners will be notified and prizes publicly awarded during the University’s "National Agenda" program on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 7:30pm in Mitchell Hall. Winners must receive their prizes in person.