2008 FFRF College Essay Competition

First Prize: Michael Hakeem Memorial Award--$2,000
Second Place--$1,000
Third Place--$500
Honorable Mention(s)--$100

"Why I am an Atheist/Agnostic/Unbeliever"
"Growing Up A Freethinker" or "Rejecting Religion"

Eligibility: Currently-enrolled college students. (High school seniors enrolling in college this fall should enter the High School Essay Competition.)

Topic choices: Write about growing up a freethinker (atheist or agnostic), or why you reject religion, using a personal (biographical) or philosophical approach, or describing why you choose reason over faith. Experiences in rejecting religion in a religious society may be included.

Requirements: College students should submit a 4-5 page essay (typed, standard margins, double-spaced, stapled), choosing their own title, and including a one-paragraph biography. Do not include a resume.

Deadline: July 1, 2008. College essays should be postmarked no later than July 1, 2008. College winners will be announced in September 2008. No e-mails or faxes accepted. The competition is limited to North American students or students enrolled in North American colleges or universities at least through December 2008.

Winners will be asked to provide a photograph suitable for publication. By entering our contest, winning students agree to have their essays printed in full or in part in Freethought Today, the Foundation's newspaper, and later posted online at our web site. Winners will receive a school-year subscription to Freethought Today. All eligible non-winning entrants will be offered the choice of a freethought book, or a school-year subscription to Freethought Today.

Who was Michael Hakeem? Michael Hakeem was a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who died at age 90 in 2006. Mike, the son of first-generation immigrants, was the first in his family to go to college and went on to earn a Ph.D. He influenced generations with his classes in critical thinking. A stalwart atheist, he was chair of the Foundation's governing board for many years. The college competition, which has been offered as a memorial for several activist Foundation members over the last 30 years, is now being offered as a memorial to this Foundation activist, volunteer and benefactor.

Mail (do not email) essay, postmarked no later than July 1, 2008, to:

College Essay Competition
FFRF, Inc.
PO Box 750
Madison WI 53701