WASHINGTON — High school and college students nationwide can win one of five $5,000 scholarships through the “Free to Tweet” competition being billed as a 15-day online celebration of First Amendment rights.
#Beginning at midnight Dec. 1, students ages 14 and up attending a high school, a community college or a university can tweet their support for the First Amendment with the hash tag #FreeToTweet.
#The tweet will automatically enter them in the competition. A panel of educators and First Amendment experts will review the entries and award five $5,000 scholarships. Judging criteria and complete rules can be found at FreeToTweet.org. Updates on the event can be followed on Twitter at @FreeToTweet2012.
#The competition will end at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 15, which was declared national Bill of Rights Day by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941.
#Ken Paulson is president of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. He is also founder of the 1 for All campaign, which organizes the contest. The campaign is an educational and public service endeavor that seeks to build understanding of the First Amendment and its five freedoms — speech, press, religion, assembly and petition.
#“Our ‘Free to Tweet’ competition in 2011 was an unprecedented celebration of the First Amendment, marrying emerging media to traditional American values,” said Paulson. “This year, we’re encouraging students nationwide to think about our most fundamental liberties and tweet about the First Amendment freedom that means the most to them.”
#Paulson said last year’s contest was a one-day event that drew more than 17,000 submissions including a tweet of support from the White House.
#He said he hopes this year’s expanded competition will help reinvigorate Bill of Rights Day and inspire more discussion in the classroom.
#“We’re doing it 15 days so that schools can begin to incorporate it in their class curriculum,” said Paulson.
#The competition is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation which has teamed up with 1 for All. Founding partners in 1 for All include the First Amendment Center, Newseum, American Society of News Editors and the McCormick Foundation.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Wednesday, November 28th 2012 at 11:22AM
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