Essay Contest Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Area sixth- and seventh-graders are eligible to participate in an essay contest to
honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The contest is sponsored by the Fairmont State Office of Student Affairs and the
Fairmont State GEAR-UP Partnership.
"I think this is a great opportunity for all students to learn about the great, late
Dr. King," said Persis Bates, Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs. "This contest
allows students to go beyond the classroom and apply their knowledge about Dr. King
into an essay. Hopefully, as part of our goal, the participants will get a chance
to express their opinion about his dream and its effect on our society."
Cash prizes will be awarded for first place ($300), second place ($200) and third
place ($100). The award winners will be announced at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006,
at a banquet in the Colebank Hall gym. All contest participants will be invited to
the banquet.
The essay topic is "Who was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and how does his dream affect
our society?" Essays should be 150-200 words and should be double-spaced and typed
(font size 12) or neatly hand-written in ink. Each essay should have a cover sheet
with the following information: student's full name, school name, address of school,
student's home address and teacher's name. Judging will include grammar, punctuation
and spelling. Essays should be submitted by Dec. 8 to the following address: Persis
Bates, Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs, Fairmont State, 1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont,
WV 26554.
The essays will be judged by faculty members of the FSU Department of Language &
Literature.
For more information, call Persis Bates at (304) 367-4215.
