On The Front Lines
Institute Announces First Amendment Essay Contest Winners!
The Rutherford Institute and AXA Liberty Bowl Announce Winners of 2003 First Amendment Essay Contest for High School Juniors, SeniorsWinners to be Recognized at 2003 Liberty Bowl Football Classic Game
As part of a larger effort to raise student awareness about the freedoms that have made America great, The Rutherford Institute and AXA Liberty Bowl invited high school juniors and seniors in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee to participate in the 2003 First Amendment Essay Contest. More than 700 students rose to the challenge of explaining the significance of one of the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and describing how the United States would be different today if that freedom had not been guaranteed. Each student who submitted a completed application and essay before the October deadline is eligible to receive one ticket to the 2003 AXA Liberty Bowl Football Classic, courtesy of the AXA Liberty Bowl, and a pocket-sized Constitution of the United States of America, courtesy of The Rutherford Institute.
Eight students were selected as state finalists, and a blue-ribbon committee of judges chose a grand prize winner from among them. Elizabeth Battise of D'Iberville High School in Mississippi was chosen as the grand prize winner of the 2003 First Amendment Essay Contest. As the grand prize winner, Ms. Battise will receive a $500 College Scholarship, four VIP ticket packages to the AXA Liberty Bowl Football Classic Game and events during the bowl week, publication of her essay and national recognition during the game. To read Ms. Battise's essay, "Right to Assemble," click here. The state finalists are as follows: Jeremy Tullis (Alabama); Bryant Howell (Arkansas); Katherine Kay (Georgia); Joshua Daniel (Kentucky); James Woltmann (Louisiana); Elizabeth Battise (Mississippi); Tyler Anderson (Missouri); Laura Encalade (Tennessee).
Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides legal services at no charge to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, the AXA Liberty Bowl is college football's seventh oldest bowl game. Founded on the principles of liberty, patriotism and freedom, the annual game strives to celebrate those American ideals each year. The bowl game, which will feature the championship teams from Conference USA and the Mountain West Conference, will be televised nationally on December 31, 2003, at 2:30 p.m., CST, on ESPN.
"We were glad to see high school students take advantage of this opportunity to exercise their First Amendment rights and participate in this national dialogue about what the First Amendment means to them," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the AXA Liberty Bowl, added, "We look forward to hosting and honoring some of the best and brightest students America has to offer at the AXA Liberty Bowl, one of our country's great symbols of freedom."
For more information regarding the 2003 First Amendment Essay Contest, visit The Rutherford Institute's website or the official site of the 2003 AXA Liberty Bowl Football Classic.
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