Constitution Day, created in 2004 by an act of Congress, mandates that all publicly funded schools provide educational programming on the history of the U.S. Constitution, which was adopted by delegates to the Constitutional Convention on Sept. 17, 1787.
An essay contest for undergraduates is sponsored by the UK Scripps Howard First Amendment Center, the Office of the President and the Provost’s Division of Student and Academic Life. The essays are blind‐judged by former UK journalism students who are lawyers, UK professors and media law professors at other universities. The entries are scored on the following criteria: historical and legal accuracy of the content, the strength and logic of the argument, the original ideas presented, the organization of the argument, including the thesis, and the quality of the writing.
Winners from 2018
2018 Constitution Day Essay Contest 1st Place--Social Media: Unifier or Divider, Claire Hilbrecht
2018 Constitution Day Essay Contest 2nd Place, Courtney Vice
Winners from 2017
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest 1st Place--Donald Trump: The Modern Day Killer of the First Amendment, RyAnn Schoenbaechler
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest 2nd Place, Kelsey Mattingly
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest 3rd Place--The Fine Line Between Criticism and Control: How the Trump Administration is Weakening Freedom of the Press, Michael Di Girolamo
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--Liberty and Responsibility, Callum Case
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--On Freedom of Expression, Emily Baehner
2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest Honorable Mention--On the Consequences of “Free Speech”, Duncan Barron
Winners from 2016
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 1st Place, Collin J. Laaker
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 2nd Place, Zoe Gabrielson
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 3rd Place, James A. Burke
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: Honorable Mention, Drew Brinkman
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: Honorable Mention, Michael Morris
2016 Constitution Day Essay Contest: Honorable Mention, Shawn Murphy
Winners from 2015
2015 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 1st Place, Thomas Phillips III
2015 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 2nd Place, Diana Burden
2015 Constitution Day Essay Contest: 3rd Place, Shawn Murphy