John Jay Literature and Law Contest

Undergraduates at John Jay College can now submit their writings about justice and art at the Rubin Museum to another forum. For the first time, John Jay’s Biennial Literature and Law Conference is going to include an undergraduate student panel. The Conference will take place at John Jay on Friday March 30, 2012. The four students on this panel will be selected through an essay competition, the details for which and the submission requirements are set forth below.  These four students will do a presentation based on their essays at the Conference.

The O.U.R Student Panel Competition is being conducted in parallel with the Rubin Essay Award context, though the judging for each of these contests will be independent of the other.

Students are strongly encouraged to participate in both the O.U.R Student Panel Competition and the Rubin Museum Essay Contest—the benefits of submitting to
both are considerable:

  • The same essay can be used for consideration in both contests.
  • The Rubin Museum Essay Contest will award cash prizes to the top three essays ($3,000, $2,000, and $1,000 respectively)
  • The O.U.R Student Panel Competition will provide a stipend of $750 to each of the four winning students in the Competition—these funds will be for the students to work with a faculty member to develop their Panel presentations.
  • The winners of the O.U.R Student Panel Competition will have their essays published in a special section of 2012’s edition of John Jay’s Finest.

The winners of the O.U.R Student Panel Competition and the Rubin Museum Essay Contest may well be different students since the judging will be independent—so there are increased chances to win one of these awards.

The students, of course, must submit separate copies of their essays to both contests in accordance with the rules.  The Competition is open to all John Jay undergraduates who are in good academic standing.

The rules for the Rubin Museum Essay Contest can be found at the John Jay Office of Honors, Awards & Special Opportunities website.  Other useful information will also be available at this site including about tours of the Rubin Museum, and workshops and handouts about how to go about writing an essay about works of art from the Rubin Museum and their relation to the idea of justice.

To submit to the O.U.R Student Panel Competition, complete an essay that complies with the specifications for the Rubin Museum Essay Contest, and submit three (3) copies to the John Jay College English Department (there will be a special submission box in the Department Office). Your essay must be received by February 15, 2012 on or before       5:00 p.m. Be sure to include your name on the front page of your essay.

For more information about the Third Biennial Literature and Law Conference, click here.

The primary sponsor of the O.U.R Student Panel Competition is The Office of Undergraduate Research. Additional sponsors include the John Jay English Department, the Humanities and Justice Major, and the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics.

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