NYPA First Amendment essay contest

The New York Press Association (NYPA) Foundation is now accepting entries for its second annual First Amendment essay contest, which will award the first place winner a $10,000 scholarship.
The contest is open to New York State high school students in the 11th and 12th grade. It is “designed to foster knowledge and understanding of the First Amendment.”
According to the foundation’s details for the contest, students must “interpret the First Amendment or one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the Amendment and discuss the role it plays in American life. For instance, you may include discussions of the First Amendment’s importance with regard to school newspapers, local communities, or state and federal government.”
Essays cannot exceed 500 words in length (this limit must be observed). Students must also type the text of the First Amendment at the top of their essay - those words will not count in the 500-word maximum length.
First prize for the statewide contest is $10,000. There will also be a second-place award of $250 and a third-place award of $100.
Entries will first be mailed to local participating newspapers, who will select a regional winner to move on to the statewide competition, which will be judged by NYPA Foundation board members and staff. Winning regional essays will be printed in the paper.
All entries must be sent to the local participating newspapers by December 4.
When sending in essays for the contest, students also need to include an entry form downloaded from the New York Press Association Foundation’s website, www.nynewspapers.com. Full contest rules and details are also available on their website.
Entries for the second annual First Amendment essay contest can be mailed to The Queens Courier, Attention: Essay Contest, 38-15 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361.
They can also be faxed to 718-224-5441 or e-mailed to editorial@queenscourier.com.