The Baptist Joint Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 2014 Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest, sponsored by the Religious Liberty Council. The topic asked students to discuss whether or not religious messages, such as Bible verses on “run-through” banners at football games, should be permitted at public school-sponsored events.
This year, the BJC received 637 submissions from 48 states and the District of Columbia, as well as China and Albania.
The winner of the $2,000 grand prize is Daniel Ingham of Ellicott City, Maryland, for his essay “Run-Through Banners and Religious References: Exploring the Rights and Responsibilities Afforded in the First Amendment.” In his essay, Ingham argues that cheerleaders at a Texas high school cannot display Christian run-through banners at football games because doing so constitutes “public speech being made by the school that is in direct conflict with the Establishment Clause.” He wrote that the cheerleaders have other options available to them for private expressions of faith, but once that religious speech enters the sphere of a public school-sponsored forum, it threatens to conflict with the Establishment Clause.
The son of John and Hillary Ingham, he will also receive a trip to Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the BJC board meeting in October. Ingham attends Church of the Resurrection in Ellicot City and plans to start classes at Providence College this fall.
The second place winner is Sienna Li of Portland, Oregon. She will receive $1,000 for her essay, “A Tightrope Walk.” She argued that religious messages on “run-through” banners should be prohibited in a public school setting because the cheerleaders holding the banners enjoy a platform to which other students do not have access. The daughter of Charles and Lisa Li, Sienna will attend Yale University this fall.
The winner of the $250 third place prize is Cathy Hsu of Monterey, California, for her essay, “Christianity in Cheerleading: The Role of the First Amendment in Public Schools.” A rising senior at Monterey High School, Hsu plans to study political science in college. She is the daughter of Tienhui and Huichu Hsu.
Now entering its ninth year, the Religious Liberty Essay Scholarship Contest is open to all high school juniors and seniors. The topic for the 2015 contest is scheduled to be announced later this year. For more information, please visit our essay contest page.
From the July/August 2014 Report From the Capital. Click here to read the next article.
