Wheatley partnered with BYU's College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences to hold a Constitution Day essay contest for BYU students.
Contest Details
Most people do not spend much time thinking about the United States Constitution. Nor do they have much knowledge about its contents.
Wheatley Institute and BYU's College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences teamed up to help encourage BYU students to consider the value of the Constitution through an essay contest.
Contest Winners and Their Essays
Three student winners were announced on September 26 at the Constitution Day Lecture/University Forum with Akhil Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale. The winners are listed below:
1st Place: Joshua Topham
"At the Philadelphia Convention in the fateful summer of 1787, delegates met to discuss an entirely new national system of government. Their aim was not, as citizens and state legislatures believed, to amend the Article of Confederation; their vision was much more radical than that. The delegates intended to upend the Articles completely. What emerged from the muggy heat of Philadelphia in 1787 profoundly shapes our lives today." Read more.
2nd Place: Jessica Dofelmire
"I grasped the importance of constitutional rights while standing knee-deep in a sewage ditch. That term—constitutional rights—is thrown around a lot in American parlance. You take them for granted when they are so woven into your culture. It isn’t until you see a world without them that you truly recognize their impact." Read more.
3rd Place: Paige Matthews
"I was 19 when I encountered the biggest Constitution fanatic I had ever met. She served as president of a volunteer foundation for increasing patriotism and community awareness in teenagers. She carried a pocket Constitution around in her purse daily, and she was even enrolled in an online course learning the precepts of that foundational document. She was also my mother." Read more.
To learn more about the contest's requirements, visit the BYU College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences' Essay Contest website.