Friday, April 24, 2020
2020 Free Speech Essay Contest Winners
Thank you to all the students who entered the 2020 Hope and Stanley Adelstein Essay Contest! We are excited to announce this year’s winners for the following prompt:
The more we use technology, the more information we provide to the people and organizations that own that technology. Some of that information may be willingly provided, while some of that information is a by-product of interacting with that technology – such as GPS tracking while using Google Maps or clicking on an advertisement on instagram.
As technology rapidly grows and becomes more integrated with our lives, data that may have been considered private or personal in the past, is now bought, sold, or traded by marketers, political campaigns, and other stakeholders. Many of them use algorithms and artificial intelligence to target and craft the messages they send—messages which may be legitimate and helpful, or false and harmful, or anywhere in between.
What effect does this tradeoff have on freedom of speech and democracy? And what, if anything, should be done about it?
9/10th Grade
1st place: Lauren Reding, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
2nd place: Brooklyn Macklin, John Hay Early College
3rd place: Aiden Ownes, University School and Jordyn Hadden, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
11/12th Grade
1st Place: Elise Pakiela, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
2nd Place: Grace Zhang, Hathaway Brown School
Tovi Vega, Lakewood High School
Adeleine Hyatt, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Acadamey
Natalie Majcher, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
View the First Place essays here: 9/10th Grade | 11/12th Grade