UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Any Penn State undergraduate student interested in exploring and writing about ethical values and intercultural issues can enter the sixth annual Collegiate Laws of Life Essay Contest, sponsored by the Paterno Fellows Program and the College of the Liberal Arts.
The contest is open to all full-time baccalaureate students who are enrolled at any Penn State campus for the fall 2018 or spring 2019 semester. Essays should be no longer than 800 words and will be judged on originality, relevance and creativity.
Participating students must submit their essays on one of the following prompts by Jan. 11, 2019.
1. A day before the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act celebrated its ninth anniversary, an anti-Semite attacked and killed 11 congregants at the Tree of Life Synagogue. Why is hate so potent, and what can we do about it?
2. Does art matter?
3. David Foster Wallace said, “Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else.” What makes us the same?
Winners will receive $500 for first place, $400 for second place, and $300 for third place. All winners will be acknowledged at the annual Paterno Fellows Recognition Ceremony on Feb. 6, 2019. Winning essays will be published on the College of the Liberal Arts blog.
Submissions can be uploaded at https://sites.psu.edu/paternofellows/essay-contest/.