The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) hosts an annual FIRE scholarship essay contest for high school juniors and seniors.

The mission of FIRE is to defend and sustain individual rights at America’s colleges and universities. These rights include freedom of speech, legal equality, due process, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience—the essential qualities of individual liberty and dignity.

FIRE’s core mission is to protect the unprotected and to educate the public and communities of concerned Americans about the threats to these rights on our campuses and about the means to preserve them.

Also check out FIRE’s Guide to Free Speech on Campus and explore thefire.org to learn more before you begin the scholarship essay process.

Who Can Enter

High school juniors and seniors for the 2014–2015 school year who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible to participate.

Essay prompt

Why is free speech important at our nation’s colleges and universities? Using examples from both videos, discuss how censorship of student speech is incompatible with higher education

Word Length

Students must submit an essay between 800 and 1,000 words on the provided topic below.

Deadline

FIRE must receive all entries by January 1, 2015. Winners will be announced January 31, 2015.

Prizes

One $10,000 first prize, one $5,000 second prize, and three $1,000 runner-up prizes will be awarded for the best essays.

Four $500 winners will be chosen from the remaining entrants in a drawing.

Enter here:  http://www.thefire.org/student-network/essay-contest/#prompt