Thousands of scholarship programs reward students for blind faith and orthodoxy, but hardly any reward students for using reason. Therefore, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is proud to announce its 2016 high school, college and graduate/mature student essay scholarship competitions, which offer more than $30,000 in total cash prizes.
FFRF offered its first student competition in 1979, added a separate contest for college-bound high school seniors in 1994, and then in 2010 launched a contest for graduate/”older” students (ages 25-30). This year, FFRF will be sponsoring two parallel contests for college students — one to engage freethinking students of color, the other with a general topic open to all.
Awards are: $3,000 first place, $2,000 second place, $1,000 third place, $750 fourth place, $500 fifth place and $400 for sixth place. Several $200 “honorable mentions” may be awarded at judges’ discretion.
A bonus of $100 from FFRF members Dean and Dorea Schramm will be given to any winner who is also a student member of FFRF, a secular student club (or who joins Secular Student Alliance online, which is free).
Please publicize FFRF’s important outreach to the next generation at your local high schools, colleges and universities, and to the students in your life. See handy ads in the back wrap or visit: ffrf.org/outreach/student-essay-contests/.
William J. Schulz High School Senior Essay Competition
Choose one of the two topics below:
“The challenges of growing up a freethinker”
Write a personal (first-person) essay about challenges or problems you have faced as a young freethinker. Did you grow up in a home with devout parents? Were you forced to attend a private religious school or church? Were you ever bullied or put down for your freethinking? Did you have to hide your true thoughts from others for fear of repercussions? Explain how you overcame the prejudices of others, and why you are free from religion, including at least a sentence or two about why you reject religion.
“Why Boy Scouts of America should welcome atheists and nonbelievers”
Write a persuasive open letter to Boy Scouts of America from a personal (first person) point of view about why the Boy Scouts should revoke its bigoted policy officially barring nonreligious boys and their families from membership. The organization recently lifted its homophobic membership ban, but continues to “maintain that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing his obligation to God.” Explain why believing in a god is not synonymous with being moral, and why you as a nonbeliever consider yourself a good person and citizen. You may wish to cite the examples of nonbelievers who have contributed to society. Include at least a short paragraph explaining why you are a nonbeliever. (If you were a member of the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, you may wish recount your experiences.)
Word length: 350-500 words.
Eligibility: North American high school senior who graduates in spring 2016, going on to college in fall 2016.
Deadline: Postmarked no later than June 1, 2016. Winners announced by August.
Submission rules: Essays must be both mailed and emailed. Email your essay to [email protected] with subject heading “Essay [Your Full Name].” Follow other requirements listed below: “Rules applying to all submissions.”
This competition is endowed by a bequest from William J. Schultz, a member of FFRF who died at 57 and cared deeply about FFRF’s purposes. He was a farm boy who became a chemical engineer and built paper-producing mills around the world.
Michael Hakeem Memorial College Essay Competition
Choose one of the two topics below:
“Why I am a freethinker”
Write a personal (first-person) persuasive essay about why you are a nonbeliever (freethinker, atheist, agnostic, skeptic) and your experiences as a young nonbeliever. Please write about what was the most compelling or instrumental catalyst for you in becoming an atheist, or what confirmed your nonbelief, such as a philosophical argument, book or experience. Include some intellectual reasons for your rejection of religion, and the best arguments you would enlist to win over or respond to those who frown on atheism.
“Why I am a freethinker of color”
Write a personal (first-person) persuasive essay about why you are a nonbeliever (freethinker, atheist, agnostic, skeptic), and your experiences as a young nonbeliever of color. Please include some intellectual reasons for your rejection of religion, and the best arguments you would enlist to win over or respond to those who frown on atheism. You may wish to include advice on how the secular movement can become a more welcoming and inclusive place for young freethinkers of color.
Word length: 550 to 700 words
Eligibility: Ongoing undergraduate college student through age 24, including, but not limited to, college seniors graduating in spring/summer 2016, attending a North American college or university. Note: If you have graduated from high school but have not yet started college, you must enter the high school senior contest.
Deadline: Postmarked no later than June 15, 2016. Winners announced by September.
Submission rules: Essays must be both mailed and emailed. Email your essay to [email protected] with subject heading “Essay [Your Full Name].” Follow other requirements listed below: “Rules applying to all submissions.”
The late Michael Hakeem, a sociology professor, was an FFRF officer and active atheist known by generations of University of Wisconsin-Madison students for fine-tuning their reasoning abilities.
Brian Bolton Graduate/”Older” Student Essay Competition
“Why God and Politics/Government Are a Dangerous Mix — Especially in an Election Year.”
Write a persuasive essay about the dangers of religion and politics/government mixing in this election year. Analyze current examples of religious pandering, church politicking or political religious litmus tests that concern you and threaten the Establishment Clause. You may wish to use examples of the harm created by religion in politics and government from a legal, topical or historic perspective, or discuss how it makes you feel excluded as a young secular voter.
Word length: 600 to 800 words.
Eligibility: Currently enrolled graduate student including up to age 30, or undergrads ages 25-30, attending a North American college or university, including, but not limited to, someone graduating or earning degree in spring/summer 2016.
Deadline: Postmarked no later than July 15, 2016. Winners announced by October.
Submission rules: Essays must be both mailed and emailed. Email your essay to [email protected] with subject heading “Essay [Your Full Name].” Follow other requirements listed below: “Rules applying to all submissions.”
The competition is endowed by Brian Bolton, an FFRF Lifetime Member who is a retired psychologist, humanist minister and university professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas.
Rules applying to all competitions
Submit essay both by mail and email by postmark deadline. No faxes. Essay must be typed, double-spaced, standard margins and stapled. Include word count. Place name and essay title on each page. Choose own title. Attach a one-paragraph biography on separate page at end of essay including name, age and birth date, hometown, university or college, year in school, major or intended major, degree being earned and interests. (High school students should include high school’s name, city, state and date of graduation as well as intended college.) Do not include a résumé.
For a chance at an additional $100 bonus, indicate the name of the secular school or college club you belong to (including a student membership in FFRF) or Secular Student Alliance (free at www.secularstudents.org/studentmember and mention it in your bio). Provide both summer and fall 2016 addresses (campus and home), phone numbers and email addresses for notification. Winners may be asked to send verification of student enrollment.
Students will be disqualified if they do not follow instructions. FFRF monitors for plagiarism. You may not re-enter the same contest for your student group if FFRF has previously awarded you for an essay.
By entering, students agree to permit winning essays to be printed in full or in part in Freethought Today, FFRF’s newspaper, and posted online at FFRF’s website. Winners agree to promptly provide a photograph suitable for reproduction with their essay and will not receive their prize until they do so. Winners will receive a school-year membership to FFRF, which includes a school-year subscription to Freethought Today. All eligible entrants will be offered a school-year membership or a freethought book or product.
Email essay as indicated above; also mail by required deadline to:
FFRF
______ (fill in) Essay Contest
PO Box 750
Madison WI 53701
