Political Awareness Essay Competition

In his essay, “The Decision Everyone Won, But Satisfied No One: Regents of the University of California v. Bakke,” Liam addresses the the seemingly indecisive ruling handed down by the court in 1978 that remains intact today, as do the affirmative action programs they upheld. 

The second place winner was Adam Berger ’16, whose essay was entitled,  "Obama’s Guantanamo: The Myth of the Unilateral Executive.” The third place prize was awarded to Dunadel Daryoush ’16 for his essay, “The Rise and Significance of the Black Panthers and the FBI’s Assault on Political Liberty.”Honorable mentions went to Nick Kosir ’18 for “Fantasy Sports Gaming and Casinos: More Than Harmless Fun”; Geoff Schoonmaker ’16 for “Citizens Disunited: Money, Marketing, and a Miscarriage of Democracy”; and Henry Shapard ’16 for  “Preferential Partisanship: Bush v. Gore and the Story of an American Paradox.”The Political Awareness Essay Competition, now in its 31st year, is open to all Upper School students, and is aimed at stimulating political awareness and encouraging students to think and write clearly about issues in politics. The essays, from 1,000 to 2,000 words in length, must demonstrate original research and are judged on the basis of logical and imaginative thinking and the expression of thoughts in a clear, provocative style. 

University School's Class of 1935 established the competition in 1985. At its 50th reunion, the class wanted to give a lasting gift to the school that would academically inspire students. They decided to endow a political essay prize, which would create interest in political matters and encourage boys to think and write about them logically and passionately.