Woodhull Duo Wins Freedom of Speech Awards
Freedom of speech is one of America’s most cherished rights and it took on a deeper meaning for two Woodhull Intermediate School students who won top prizes in an essay contest co-sponsored by the Suffolk County Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Suffolk Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Woodhull’s Olivia Morgenstern captured second place and Timothy Mattiace was third in their division. “It is quite achievement for one school to have two prize winners,” said Kevin McCoy, a professor of library technical services at Suffolk Community College in Selden. The youngsters earned gift certificates and prizes as part of their award packages.
Mr. McCoy said the contest drew 167 entries in the fourth through sixth grade division and more than 500 essays overall. The top essays can be found at http://www.scla.net/IF/essay.html.
Participants were asked to address the question, “What Does the Freedom of Speech Mean to Me?” Contest divisions covered kindergarten through adult entries.
“Freedom of Speech is very important,” Miss Morgenstern wrote in her opening sentence. “Martin Luther King Jr. used his freedom of speech to let my friend Jieze to be in my kindergarten class with me. She is black. I am white. And it means that you can argue or give comments. That means everyone can speak.” The essay continued to touch on many personal points along the way.
“Olivia has a very unique perspective on freedom of speech,” observed Mr. McCoy.
Mr. Mattiace also has a very clear understanding of this freedom. “Freedom of speech is a gift from our forefathers,” he wrote in his essay’s concluding paragraph. “All citizens of this country should use this freedom whenever they need to be heard.”
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