Submissions sought for OU’s second Student Freedom of Speech Contest

Oakland University’s Center for Civic Engagement has announced the second Student Freedom of Speech Contest, which invites students to submit responses that address a question about this First Amendment right.   

The winning submission will receive a $2,000 prize that is supported by the Walsh/Pescovitz Annual Student Free Speech Competition endowment made possible by a generous gift from Oakland University President Ora Hirsch Pescovitz and Dr. Dan Walsh.

“We are incredibly grateful to President Pescovitz and Dr. Walsh for their generous gift that ensures this opportunity for students continues indefinitely. This is a great opportunity for students to convey their opinions about the First Amendment and to show off their creativity,” said Dave Dulio, distinguished professor and director of the Center for Civic Engagement. “We appreciate State Representative Donni Steele for bringing this idea to OU and are very excited that we will be able to continue to have this contest be a part of what the Center for Civic Engagement offers. There is no better time than Constitution Day to launch this student competition. Our hope is that it raises some additional awareness about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and how topics from 200-plus years ago remain central to American democracy today.”

The prompt for this contest is: Should freedom of speech in the United States be absolute, or should there be limits on what is protected speech? If freedom of speech is not absolute, where are the boundaries? 

Because freedom of expression can take many forms, the contest welcomes submissions in various formats. These include, but are not limited to:

• Essay (1,000 word maximum)
• Video (5 minute maximum)
• Poem
• Drawing, painting, or some other form of artistic expression

Any full-time Oakland University student is eligible to participate.

Submissions are due by November 1 and must be submitted via this Google Form. They will be evaluated using this rubric.

Entries will be evaluated by three judges:

• Professor Roger Larocca, Department of Political Science
• Professor Nicole Asmussen Mathew, Department of Political Science
• Bill Horton, OU alum, attorney and member of the Board of Directors at Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C.

For information about the Student Freedom of Speech Contest, visit oakland.edu/cce/contest or email Professor Dulio at [email protected].