Ohio Teen Wins $2,000!

Ohio Teen Wins $2,000!

IRVINE, Calif, August 11, 2009–High school sophomore Hillary Purcell, from Terrace Park, Ohio, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute’s annual Anthem essay contest, for which she received a prize of $2,000. Ms. Purcell is a student at Mariemont High School in Cincinnati.

First published in 1938, Anthem depicts a collectivist dictatorship in a future in which the word “I” has vanished, and how a lone dissident discovers the lost word’s true meaning.

ARI also awarded 5 second prizes ($500), 10 third prizes ($200), 45 finalist ($50) and 175 semifinalist ($30) prizes. A complete list of winners and information about next year’s competition can be found here.

Open to 8th, 9th and 10th graders, the Anthem essay contest requires contestants to write on one of several topics dealing with the characters and themes in the novel. The contest is designed to promote critical thinking and writing skills. Essays are judged on both style and content.

Since 1985 more than 226,000 students from around the world have entered ARI’s essay contests. This year, more than 16,000 students submitted their essays to the Anthem contest, an all-time record.

Each year ARI offers three separate contests (Anthem, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged) and awards more than $81,250 in prizes. ARI has given away more than $838,000 to contest winners during the past 20 years.

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Over a Million Ayn Rand Novels in Classrooms This Year

IRVINE, CA, May 18, 2009–As part of its mission to promote Ayn Rand’s ideas in today’s culture, during this school year the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) shipped 350,000 free copies of Anthem, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged to high school teachers across North America. Adding these books to those sent in recent years, and which remain in classrooms today, ARI estimates that more than 1 million students studied Ayn Rand’s novels in 25,000 classrooms this year. More than 32,000 teachers and 1.4 million students have participated in this program since it began in 2002. The program is funded through the generosity of ARI’s contributors.

Each school year ARI distributes promotional flyers that offer free classroom sets of Ayn Rand’s novels to English and language arts teachers, department heads and principals, as well as selected counselors and high school administrators. “This offer,” said Marilee Dahl, ARI’s Education department manager, “is available to both public and private high schools throughout the United States and Canada.”

“Each teacher who requests these books,” explained Ms. Dahl, “receives a classroom set of the novels, along with a teacher’s guide, lesson plans and information about ARI’s annual Anthem, Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged essay contests. We also offer phone and e-mail support to teachers, as needed, to facilitate their teaching of the books in their classes. The response has been fantastic and a very positive sign for America’s future.”

More information on the Free Books to Teachers program is available at the Ayn Rand Institute’s Web site.

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To interview Ms. Marilee Dahl or for more information on ARI’s educational programs, please contact: media@aynrand.org

Ethics complaint filed against Sansom

Pressure continues to mount on House Speaker Ray Sansom, who now faces an ethics complaint filed by a Clearwater man.

“Somebody’s got to say something,” David Plyer, a retired electrical engineer, said Monday. “Those elected officials all seem to be quiet, and they seem to be part of the same club.”

Plyer alleges in his complaint that the powerful Destin Republican improperly steered $24.5 million in taxpayer dollars to Northwest Florida State College before accepting a $110,000 job as a school vice president. The complaint cites an ethics law that prohibits a public official from “corruptly” using his or her authority to, “secure a special privilege, benefit, or exemption for himself, herself or others.”
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$6,500 to Winners of "Anthem" Essay Contest

IRVINE, CA–High school freshman, Adam Perelman, from Sunnyvale, CA, is the winner of the Ayn Rand Institute’s annual “Anthem” essay contest, for which he received a prize of $2,000. Open to 9th and 10th graders, and, beginning in 2009, to 8th graders as well, the “Anthem” essay contest requires contestants to write on one of several topics dealing with the characters and themes in the novel.

The contest is designed to promote critical thinking and writing skills. Essays are judged on both style and content. The following students have won this year’s second and third prizes:

Second-Prize Winners ($500): Tristan Aumentado Armstrong, Foundations for the Future Charter Academy, Calgary, AB, Canada Dinah DeWald, Arizona School for the Arts, Phoenix, AZ Emilie Finke, Lutheran South Academy, Houston, TX Will Heberlein, Pomona High School, Arvada, CO Margaret Johnson, Glynn Academy, Brunswick, GA

Third-Prize Winners ($200):   Jennifer Chan, Harvard-Westlake High School, North Hollywood, CA Jennifer Choi, Sunny Hills High School, Fullerton, CA Sarah Crestol, Irvine High School, Irvine, CA Richard Fang, I.H. Kempner High School, Sugar Land, TX Branden Lewiston, Indianola High School, Indianola, IN Angela Li, Cypress Falls High School, Houston, TX Jared Peterson, Westlake High School, Austin, TX Nancy Roane, Paul W. Bryant High School, Cottondale, AL Michael Saulle, Harborfields High School, Greenlawn, NY Marija Zaruba, Sahuaro High School, Tuscon, AZ

First published in 1938, “Anthem” depicts a collectivist dictatorship in a future in which the word “I” has vanished, and how a lone dissident discovers the lost word’s spiritual meaning. Since 1985 a total of more than 190,000 high school students from around the world have entered ARI essay contests.

This year, more than 13,000 students submitted their essays to the “Anthem” contest. Each year ARI awards more than $57,000 in prizes to high school students and has given away more than a half a million dollars to contest winners during the past 23 years. Information about next year’s competition can be found at http://aynrand.org/contests Media inquiries: media@aynrand.org 949-222-6550, ext. 213.