2009 Essay & Video Contest
New Jersey students in grades 7 through 12 are invited to participate in our efforts to keep Dr. King’s legacy alive by entering the 2009 essay and video contest. The deadline for submission is Friday, Nov. 7, 2008. Contest winners and their families are encouraged to attend the King Day celebration, where winners will be recognized for their achievements. They are awarded significant prizes, and their work helps contribute greatly to our community’s understanding of Dr. King.
"...in order to answer the question, 'Where do we go from here?' ...we must first honestly recognize where we are now."
—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go From Here?, 1967
This year’s contests focus on the American presidential transition and ask students to consider the question: “If he were alive today, what would Dr. King most want our newly elected president to be concerned about?”
Consider today's national debates about changing many of America 's existing policies and about the challenges the next president will face on a range of issues. It is reasonable to believe that, if he were alive, Dr. King would be an active participant in these debates. Thinking about Dr. King's general concern for humanity and his specific concerns for the poor and oppressed , we are asking students to advise the new president of the United States regarding what should be done in the new administration to actively advance Dr. King's goals.
Sample Resources:
- www.thekingcenter.org/
- www.stanford.edu/group/King/
- www.ontheissues.org
- www.publicagenda.org
- www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/index.html
- www.lwv.org (and then click on issues at bottom of page)
Contest instructions
Contests are only open to New Jersey students. As always, winning entries will be judged on a variety of factors including message, creativity, originality, accuracy and inclusion of Dr. King and/or the messages for which he stood. Students may not use copyrighted material without proper permission. Submissions may not be returned unless self-addressed envelopes are included with requests for returned materials. Submissions also may be picked up immediately following the MLK Day Celebration on Jan. 19, 2009. Where applicable, entries may be submitted by the deadline to: MLKentry@princeton.edu. However, it is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the entry has been received.
Students must attach (staple preferred) the 2009 MLK contest submission form (which may be photocopied or downloaded from www.princeton.edu/mlk/) to each entry and may enter only one contest per individual. The form must be typed or neatly handwritten as illegible forms will result in disqualification. In the poster and essay contests, we expect to award, per grade grouping, one prize of: $100 as first place; $75 as second place; and $50 as third place, as well as honorable mentions. We expect to award only first-place winners in the video category, per grade grouping. Award winners will need to provide their Social Security numbers for prize payment. In keeping with Dr. King’s messages of inclusiveness, social and racial justice and respect for the dignity of others, submissions that include profanity and/or language inconsistent with Dr. King’s philosophy will be disqualified.
In addition to these instructions the specific rules below also must be followed, depending on entry category:
Assume the role of a Cabinet member asked by the president to summarize the key issues regarding a subject that would matter to Dr. King. One of the principal purposes of the Cabinet (drawn from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution) is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of their respective offices. The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive departments - the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General. Under President George W. Bush, Cabinet-level rank also has been accorded to the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; the Director, Office of Management and Budget; the Director, National Drug Control Policy; and the U.S. Trade Representative.
Essay Contest
Each entrant (grades 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12) must select a Cabinet role (see above) and write one original essay on an issue raised during the 2008 presidential race. Incorporating Dr. King’s philosophy and principles of equity, justice, and/or peace, the essays should include both a summary of an issue and a recommendation for what the newly elected president’s position should be on the issue. Each submission must be double-spaced and typed or handwritten containing between 600 and 1,000 words. Essays that are illegible and/or unduly long will be disqualified. Pages must be single-sided and numbered, with the student’s name written on the back of each page and not the front. Entries that the judges deem as plagiarizing or otherwise infringing upon copyright protected material will be disqualified.
Video Contest
Each entrant (in grades 7 and 8, 9 and 10, and 11 and 12) must select a Cabinet role (see above) and submit one original VHS, DVD or PowerPoint presentation that captures an advisory meeting with, or presentation to, the newly elected president on an issue raised during the election. The Cabinet member should provide the president with a summary of the issue and a recommendation for what the president’s position should be on the issue. Video submissions must last between two and seven minutes. Entrants’ names and contact information must be attached to the actual submission. If the submission is created using non-standard software, a means of loading the software, so that the entry can be viewed, must also be submitted. Submissions that malfunction or are too long will be disqualified. If you have questions about equipment or playback, please email MLKentry@princeton.edu. Entries that the judges deem as plagiarizing or otherwise infringing upon copyright protected material will be disqualified.
Entries must be delivered to the Office of Human Resources, 1 New South, with entry form, by 4 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2008. For more information or clarification, please call Felicia Edwards, (609) 258-7801 or Zia Bartley, (609) 258-9149. Thank you for your help and for ensuring that guidelines are followed. We look forward to reviewing the submissions.
2008 Essay & Video Contest
The 2008 winners of the essay and video contests were announced in early January, and were honored at the Jan. 19 celebration. A full list of winners is available online.