The Chattanooga division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee and the Chattanooga chapter of the Federal Bar Association are inviting high school and middle school students in 17 area counties to participate in their annual civics essay contest.
The prompt for this year’s contest is a question the Supreme Court might soon address: Should social media platforms have the right to restrict political speech? Students are invited to share their views on whether social media platforms have the right to engage in content moderation under the First Amendment, or if this content moderation is actually censorship.
The contest is open to public, private and home school students in 6th to 12th grade in Bedford, Bledsoe, Bradley, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Lincoln, McMinn, Marion, Meigs, Moore, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, Warren and Van Buren counties.
Entries must be postmarked or emailed by March 29. Email submissions to chattcivicsessay@gmail.com. Entries may also be mailed to:
Civics Essay Contest
Attn: Kelly L. Walsh
U.S. Courthouse
900 Georgia Avenue
Chattanooga, TN 37402
All entries must include a physically or electronically signed submission form.
The court and bar will announce three high school and three middle school winners in mid-April. The prizes will be $500 for first place, $250 for second place and $100 for third place. Along with their parents and teachers, winning students will be invited to a reception at the courthouse with members of the selection committee.
The full essay prompt, the complete list of requirements and additional materials are available at connections.tned.uscourts.gov/participate.html.
Contact Walsh at 423 386-3523 or chattcivicsessay@gmail.com for more information.