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Student's essay wins scholarship
Danielle Wogulis, DSHS Senior
By Jeff Hudson Enterprise staff writer
Danielle Wogulis, a senior at Davis High School, is still figuring out where she'll go to college next year. “I've applied at several colleges, and I'm still waiting to hear back from some of them,” she said.
But wherever she ultimately studies in the fall, she'll be taking a $1,000 scholarship, which she won by writing an essay on the topic of “Freedom in Academia” for a contest sponsored by FIRE — the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, based in Philadelphia.
The project involved watching two-minute videos about protests that took place on college campuses, and then writing an essay. “Writing generally comes easy for me. I kind of enjoy it,” she said.
A sample from her scholarship-winning essay:
“The last place where free speech should be silenced is on college campuses, where young adults enroll in an institution allegedly designed to encourage the development of critical and independent thought. College campuses are ideal for articulating new ideas to the public, as the educational environment allows for constructive debate and discussion over the ideas and opinions that have been introduced ... Colleges and universities are, by nature, ideal for free speech, as they provide an environment where the ideas expressed can be tested and developed before they are introduces to society at large; therefore, the protection of free speech rights on college campuses is imperative to the advancement of American society.”
Wogulis attended César Chávez Elementary and Emerson Junior High before entering Davis High. “I'm planning on going away for college,” she said.
This article originally appeared in the Davis Enterprise February 3, 2010. The complete story is available to subscribers at http://www.davisenterprise.com.