FFRF congratulates the seven currently enrolled student winners in its annual essay contest for graduate students to age 30 and undergrads ages 25-30. They were asked to write about “Why ‘Religious Liberty’ does not mean the right to impose your religion on others.”
The competition is generously endowed by Brian Bolton, a Lifetime Member who is a retired psychologist, humanist minister and professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas. Scholarships totaled $8,550.
- First place ($3,000): Alex Flitter, Rutgers University.
- Second place ($2,000): Kat Heiden, Gonzaga University.
- Third place ($1,000): Justin Clark, Purdue University.
- Fourth place ($750): Zachary Tuck, California College of the Arts.
- Fifth place: ($500): Benjamin van Loon, Northeastern Illinois University.
- Sixth place (tie, $400 each): Jared Plotkin, California State University-Los Angeles, Ashley Reynolds, Oklahoma State University-Stillwater.
“We congratulate these students for analyzing what is wrong with the theocrats’ newest strategy to undermine true religious liberty in the United States,” said FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor.
FFRF has three annual essay competitions. Earlier this year, FFRF awarded $10,250 to a total of 16 college-bound high school graduates and $12,550 to a total of 21 college students. FFRF would also like to extend a special thanks to Dorea and Dean Schramm in Florida for providing each student who is a member of a secular campus group a $100 bonus. The total of $8,550 reflects bonuses.
