2025-2026 Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest 

Every year since 2012, the City Club has used this essay contest to invite students to consider different aspects of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, specifically, Freedom of Speech. 

All high school students in Northeast Ohio are eligible to apply for scholarship prizes. Essays should pull from personal experience, current events, history, politics, art, or anything so long as they are backed up with evidence. Essays will be judged on their clarity, content alignment, originality, and organization/flow

The Hope and Stanley Adelstein Free Speech Essay Contest was established with a generous gift to the City Club endowment from the Adelstein family. Additional annual support comes from George W. Codrington Charitable Foundation, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and Nordson.

2026 Essay Contest Prompt:

Social media has transformed how young people engage in dialogue, build community, and advocate for the issues that matter most to them. Yet as online expression expands, so do questions about free speech, responsibility, and the role of institutions in shaping that discourse. In a democratic society that values open dialogue, how should schools, communities, and digital platforms balance the right to free expression with accountability? And what responsibilities come with having a public voice in the digital age?

Submissions for the 2026 Hope and Stanley Adelstein Essay Contest are now OPEN! Deadline to submit your essay is extended to Friday, March 20th. 

Ready to apply? Click here to submit your essay for this year's contest.

Contest Eligibility and details:

• All Northeast Ohio high school students are eligible to participate
• There are two categories of judging – 9/10 grade and 11/12 grade
• Essays MUST be 500-1,000 words
• Please use 3 to 5 articles from reliable, valid sources in your essay.
• Each entry is assigned a number. Essays are blind-scored by number only; no student or school names are identified. Do not include the student name or school name within the body of your essay. Failure to comply may result in disqualification.
• All first-place winners of each category are invited to read their winning essays at the start of a City Club forum.
• IMPORTANT REMINDER - Your essay and file name can NOT include any personal identifiers (ex: your name, school, teacher, etc.) 

Click here for the full scoring rubric

Awards:

11/12 Grade

• First Place: $1,000
• Second Place: $750
• Third Place: $500
• Honorable Mention: $250

9/10 Grade

• First Place: $500
• Second Place: $250
• Third Place: $150
• Honorable Mention: $100

You can view the winning essays from 2024 here: Grade 11/12 | Grade 9/10

For any questions regarding the Essay Contest, please contact Ariana Smith at arianasmith@cityclub.org