Contest Rules
1. All 9th to 12th grade students enrolled in North Carolina public, private, charter or home schools are eligible to enter the Civitas Civic Literacy Essay Contest. Employees of the John William Pope Civitas Institute (hereafter: “The Civitas Institute”) and members of their immediate families or households are ineligible. Undocumented students are also ineligible for participation.
2. All contestants must preregister no later than March 3, 2008. Contestants can preregister by sending an email to Dion Terry (diont@nccivitas.org) with the following information:name, address, telephone number, email address, age, name of teacher (if applicable) and school.
3. Contestants must submit an essay of between 1,000 and 1,200 words on the following subject:
“Rights talk” is a central component of contemporary political debate. Thus, we often hear of a “right to healthcare” or a “right to education” or a “right to life.” But are all rights the same? Just what is a fundamental right and what is the role of government in securing such rights? In answering the question above, please articulate the distinction between what the Declaration of Independence means when it refers to “certain unalienable rights” and how such rights differ from what some modern political thinkers call “economic rights.” The following readings should be used as a guide in crafting your answer: 1) James Madison’s March 29, 1792, essay on property; and 2) Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 11, 1944, State of the Union Message to Congress. Both of these readings are available from the essay contest Web page (www.nccivitas.org/essay).
4. Essays must be typed and include a word count at the end of the essay. Essays that fall outside the designated length will be disqualified.
5. Essays may be submitted electronically (Microsoft Word is the preferred format), via U.S. mail or faxed to the Civitas Institute (Fax: 919-834-2350). Emailed or faxed entries must be received NO LATER than Monday, March 24, 2008. Mailed essays must be postmarked NO LATER than March 24, 2008.
6. Winners will be determined by a panel of three judges. Essays will be judged on the following criteria: a) strength of argument and clarity of expression; b) grammar, spelling and punctuation; and c) integration of selected readings.
7. The Civitas Institute will award a $50.00 prize to the civics or history teacher (or homeschool parent) of each of the winning students. If prize winners are not currently enrolled in a civics or history-related course, the Civitas Institute reserves the right not to award the teacher prize. Only one $50.00 teacher’s prize will be awarded per winning student.
8. Eligibility of contestants will be confirmed by the Civitas Institute prior to the awarding of prizes. Prizes will be awarded at the Civitas Institute Conservative Leadership Conference in Greensboro, North Carolina on April 18th and 19th. All winners will be notified the second week of April. The decision of the judges is final. The names of the prize winners will be posted on the scholarship Web page.
9. If a prize winner cannot be contacted by April 17, 2008, the Civitas Institute will assume that the prize has been declined. In such cases, the Civitas Institute reserves the right to select a new winner.
10. Essays become the property of the Civitas Institute. By submitting an essay, entrants acknowledge that they are the sole author and copyright owner of the submission. A finding of plagiarism will result in disqualification.
11. By submitting an essay, entrants agree to grant the Civitas Institute an irrevocable, royalty free license to publish, republish, distribute and copy the edited submission an unlimited number of times in any form: print, electronic or other medium.
12. The contestant, as copyright owner, retains the right to use his or her material or offer it for publication elsewhere after it has appeared in the Civitas Institute magazine Conservative Citizen or appeared on the Civitas Institute Web site.
13. All taxes are prize winner’s responsibility. The value of prizes will be treated as ordinary income to prize recipient for income tax purposes and an IRS form 1099 for the year 2008 will be sent to prize winners.
14. Each winner must furnish proof that he/she is a legal resident of North Carolina, as well as a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant.
15. Acceptance of awards absolves the Civitas Institute of any responsibility with regard to how funds are spent.