Opportunities

I’ve recently been notified of three different essay contests that some readers may find worth entering.

First, Pacific Legal Foundation is sponsoring an essay contest for law students and grad students. First place gets $5000, second $3000, and third $1500. The deadline for submissions is May 31, 2005. More information is available here. Some details:

Pacific Legal Foundation is awarding $9,500 in its Sixth Annual Program for Judicial Awareness Writing Competition. This year's competition includes three essay questions, regarding the applicability of the Supreme Court's "rough proportionality" takings standard; whether the GDF Realty Investments v. Norton decision can be reconciled with the Court's modern Commerce Clause jurisprudence; and whether the concept of "regulatory givings" is consistent with the purpose and function of the Takings Clause.

Second, the Institute for Humane Studies is sponsoring an essay contest for full-time students and anyone under the age of 25. First place gets $2000, second $1500, and third $750. The deadline is March 1, 2005. More information here. Some details:

In "The Creative Powers of a Free Civilization," Nobel Prize winner F.A. Hayek posits that only in a truly free society can the creative powers of individuals be maximized. In an essay of 2,500 words or less, please answer the following question: To what degree are the creative powers of individuals influenced by the structure of the society in which they live? What legal, social, cultural, or educational conditions would be needed to fully realize their creative powers?

Third, the Independent Institute is sponsoring its annual Olive Garvey Fellowship essay contest for college students (both undergraduate and graduate). First place gets $2500, second $1500, and third $1000. The deadline is May 1, 2005. More information here. Some details:

Garvey Fellowships will be awarded for the best essay on the topic: “The great aim of the struggle for liberty has been equality before the law.”
—F.A. Hayek, Nobel Laureate in Economics

Also, the Garvey Fellowship has a faculty category, for untenured professors, with the same essay topic. The awards are $10,000, $5,000, and $1,500. Since I’m thinking of entering this one myself, it’s probably not in my best interest to publicize it – but I’m doing so anyway, because it’s the right thing to do.