Freedom of Expression Essay Contest Award

The Freedom of Expression Essay Contest was created to encourage student reflection about free speech and civil dialogue. Participants of the contest must submit an essay answering the prompt provided at the “Building a Resilient Brain in College” event on March 11, 2026. More information on the event can be found here: uwosh.edu/community-engagement. A recording of the event will be posted following the event on the website above.

Awards will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the amounts of: 1st: $3,000, 2nd: $2,000, 3rd: $1,000. The awards will be paid out in Fall 2026.

This award is funded through the Kleinschmidt Family Foundation Freedom of Expression Fund, which was established to prioritize and foster freedom of speech programming on the UW-Oshkosh campus. Applicants must be enrolled full- or part-time at UW-Oshkosh during the Spring 2026 and Fall 2026 semesters to be eligible to receive the award.

Award
Varies
Categories
Center for Civic & Community Engagement, Graduate Award, Undergraduate Award
Deadline
04/03/2026
Supplemental Questions
  1. Tonight's event was designed to model civil discourse and the free exchange of competing ideas.

    Your job is to evaluate how well it succeeded. In an essay of no more than 1,000 words, argue a specific claim about what tonight's conversation demonstrated about civil dialogue. What are its possibilities, its limits, or both? In your essay, identify at least one moment from the event that you found genuinely compelling or surprising, and explain what it reveals about how civil discourse works — or doesn't. Use direct quotes and specific moments from the event to support your claim. You may supplement with outside sources if you wish, but the event itself should be the heart of your argument.

    The strongest essays will move beyond description to make a genuine argument. Remember, an argument is something that could be disagreed with and must be defended.

    If any AI tool was used at any stage of drafting or research, describe specifically how it was used at the end of your essay (not included in the final word count). Undisclosed AI use is grounds for disqualification.