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Laws of Life Essay Contest

Laws of life essay.

Laws of Life Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest Announces School Winners

The Georgia Rotary Clubs Laws of Life Essay Contest today announced State and  local school winners for the 2020-2021 contest. At the State level:

• Corbin Austin of Bainbridge High School is the State winner
• 1st Runner-Up is Eriyel Fisher of Loejoy High School
• 2nd Runner-Up is Ian Kligora of Rome High School
• 3rd Runner-Up is Adrian Whitlock of Heritage High School
• 4th Runner-Up is Lily Griner of Colquitt County High School
• 5th Runner-Up is Christopher O'Neal of Thomasville High School
• Winner of the George A. Stewart Jr. Character in Action Award (sponsored by RC Dunwoody ) is Jamea Harris of the ME Stillwell School of the Arts.

In addition to the State Awards, local awards go to 135 school winners and grade winners from 48 high schools throughout Georgia. Additional students receive honorable mention recognition. More than 25,000 high school students across Georgia shared their personal values in their Law of Life essay for this year’s contest. 

Rotary clubs across Georgia conduct the Laws of Life Essay Contest in partnership with local high schools through the nonprofit Georgia Rotary Districts Character Education Program, Inc (GRDCEP). Rotarians volunteer to read and judge essays, serve on the contest’s Board of Directors, and volunteer their professional expertise to help build positive character traits and strong (?) ethical literacy among students. The essay contest aligns with Rotary’s emphasis on education, high ethical standards and service above self.

Educators with partnering high schools value the experience for their students. “I really think the Law of Life Essay ends up being the most meaningful piece of writing that most of my students produce -- probably out of all writings done while in high school. It's exciting to see students put so much care into their writing!” expressed Diana Powers of Brunswick High School. (or another teacher comment? In 6900 or 6910?)

For the 2020-21 contest, a total of 25,112 students wrote essays, and 54 participating Rotary clubs in Georgia will award over $17,000 in cash prizes. Throughout the spring, winning students will share their essays with enthusiastic audiences at local and district-wide Rotary Club meetings and at regional Rotary conferences.

Since 1999, the Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest has impacted over 750,000 students. Inspired by the power of simple, pithy quotes, or Laws of Life, Sir John Templeton established the writing competition in the 1980s to encourage young people to embrace the wisdom of these sayings and live their best lives. In their essays, students use a law to reflect on values that mean the most to them – values such as generosity, courage, perseverance, honesty, integrity, and compassion.

This Year’s Posts:

• Jun 4: Remembering Past District Governor Bill Mulkey 1
• Jun 4: Midtown Atlanta Rotary Takes Diversity, Equity & Inclusion to Heart
• Jun 4: Commemorating 100 Years of Service Above Self in Thomasville 1
• Jun 3: Networking Ahead for Career Success
• Jun 3: Americus Honors 2019-20 Sheffield Award Winners
• Jun 3: Enjoying the Fellowship of Rotary
• May 19: Give Us 15 Minutes; We'll Give You an Awesome Rotary Service Opportunity
• May 10: Moultrie Hosts First Annual "Salute to Service"
• May 10: Rotary Opens Opportunities - Still Time to Register for 2021 Virtual Convention
• May 10: Get Onboard the Peace Train ... Sign Up for May 11-13 YPA Informational Sessions
• May 10: Celebrating April ... and Looking Forward to August
• May 10: Calling All Former Host Families, Trustees
• May 10: Join Roswell Remembers Memorial Day on YouTube
• May 10: May 15 Deadline for District Grant Applications Fast Approaching
• May 4: Learn More About Rotary ... Online or in Person
• May 4: Attention: District 6900 Global Grants Meeting 1
• Apr 5: Americus Honors Georgia Southern Technical College GOAL Winner
• Apr 5: Newnan Needs Assistance after Catastrophic Tornado 1
• Apr 5: Douglas County Gathers Spring Break Supplies
• Apr 5: Americus Sends Message About Ending Human Trafficking
• Apr 3: North Fulton Invites You to Virtual National Day of Prayer ... May 6, 2021
• Mar 10: What is Your Why?
• Mar 3: Roswell Packs Blessings in a Backpack
• Mar 3: RYLA 2021 is Off
• Mar 3: Continuing to Adapt – District Training Assembly is Virtual and Free!
• Feb 5: Our Own PDG Margie Kersey Named to New RLI Board
• Feb 1: 2020-2021 District Grants Upcoming Deadline
• Jan 31: Making a Difference in Our Communities
• Jan 13: Katheryne Fields Named GRSP Marketing and Development Director
• Jan 11: District Conference Registration Open 2
• Jan 11: Join Atlanta Rotary Online for "2021: Economic Outlook" - January 11 from 12-1pm
• Jan 10: Here's to All the Opportunities!
• Jan 10: It's Time to Start Planning!
• Jan 10: Thomasville Celebrates District 6900's Newest Future District Governor Selection
• Jan 10: Sandy Springs Supports Distance Learning
• Jan 6: Atlanta Southern Crescent Spreads Holiday Cheer
• Dec 9: Join The Fight Against Human Trafficking 1
• Dec 6: Greetings from
• Dec 6: Check Out Your RLI Learning Opportunities for December
• Dec 4: Join Us for District Conference ... April 29 - May 2, 2021
• Nov 10: You are Invited to the Rotary Club of Atlanta ...
• Nov 10: Giving Thanks ... for Our Families, Our Foundation and the Difference We Make
• Nov 8: Introducing a New Monthly Feature ... "Through Rotary's International Window"
• Nov 8: Dr. Palamalai Mahizhnan, Rotary Club of Lake Spivey/Clayton County
• Nov 8: RLI Sunshine Training Sessions Are Now Live Online!
• Nov 8: RI Membership Minute - Engage Alumni to Strengthen Rotary
• Nov 1: Rotary Partners in Farmers-to-Families Food Box Program
• Oct 28: Jasmine Burton Named One of Georgia Tech's Top 40 under 40
• Oct 13: Volunteer Opportunities with DeKalb County Students
• Oct 8: Join the District on LinkedIn
• Oct 8: Practicing Positive Peace Together; Voting to Make a Difference
• Oct 8: New Global Grant Scholar Begins Journey
• Oct 8: World Polio Day - October 24
• Sep 7: Happy Labor Day!
• Sep 3: Striving to Do Better - Living the Four-Way Test
• Sep 3: District 6900 Scholarship Team Needs Your Help
• Sep 3: LAWS of Life Essay Contest Offers Valuable Tool to Schools
• Sep 3: Play Bingo with Stone Mountain and the Community Wins!
• Sep 3: Engaging Members
• Sep 3: Rotary Club of Emory-Clifton Invites You to Join the Third Annual Polio and Health Symposium
• Sep 3: A Community Partnership to Engage Employers with Job Seekers
• Sep 3: Celebrating the Work We Do
• Aug 10: Join the Check Up On Them Challenge 1
• Aug 5: Competitive District Grants Support Children and Seniors
• Aug 4: Join the Infinite Possibilities: Women in Rotary Membership Series
• Aug 4: Staying Connected 1
• Aug 3: Let's Get Social
• Aug 3: Join the Rotary Club of Atlanta in Honduras - March 6-13
• Jul 15: Congratulations to Sheffield Award Winners, Clubs of Year, Clubs of Decade
• Jul 13: Congratulations PDG Bob Hagan, RI Service Above Self Award Recipient
• Jul 7: District Targets $500,000 Contribution to Feed Hungry During Pandemic 1

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McIntosh’s Cho wins Laws of Life Essay Contest

McIntosh High’s Lex Cho is the 9th grade winner of the Georgia Rotary Clubs Laws of Life Essay Contest.

A Law of Life is a short, pithy saying or quotation that points to a core personal value or ideal. Oftentimes, a Law of Life serves as a memorable and meaningful moral compass on a person’s journey through life.

The Georgia Laws of Life Essay Contest asks students to select their own Law of Life, and to write about how it applies to their lives. In doing so, students reflect deeply and write from the heart about what they think matters most. The contest celebrates the students’ stories and their often profound reflections, and proudly presents significant cash awards to students and teachers.

Each year, more than 40,000 Georgia students write a Laws of Life essay, and Rotary presents $20,000 in cash awards to students and teachers.

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Essay Contest 

Collegiate laws of life essay contest.

The Collegiate Laws of Life Essay Contest asks Penn State students to explore ethical values and intercultural issues, and their talent for expressing their views in writing. For our eleventh annual competition, students should respond to this prompt: 

A number of recent events have thrown into crisis the notion that the rule of law is equally applicable to all U.S. citizens. These events have exposed laws that appear to operate so differently across demographic groups as to suggest that different people live under different legal systems. In your essay, reflect on at least one of the following:

• the merits of the ideal of equality under the law
• how the ideal of equality under the law is endangered
• whether there are successor concepts that might supplant the ideal of equality under the law

Essays should be no longer than 800 words and will be judged on originality, relevance, and creativity. The contest is open to all full-time undergraduate students enrolled at any Penn State campus during the fall 2023 or spring 2024 semesters.

First Place: $500 | Second Place: $400 | Third Place: $300

Submission deadline: friday, january 26 at 11:59 p.m. est, questions  email   [email protected] ., 2024 winning essays, first place —“a tale of lions and oxen”, veronika miskowiec | ’26 international politics | paterno fellow and schreyer scholar.

It is hard to talk about equality in the eyes of the United States when the country itself never agreed on what it was. At one point, it gave one group of people complete ownership over another—that was called equality. When we were past that, it still meant the complete superiority and dominance of one race over another—that was called equality. Even beyond that, it meant the prioritization of men over women, rich over poor, educated over the uneducated—somehow, that is still equality? But how can we say that one group is greater than another when this “lesser” group is not given a fair chance?

Yes, people argue that equality is present. Black people can vote. Women can join the workforce. A lower-class individual can take out a loan and go to college. Of course, that ignores the many facets of a problem that is as prevalent as ever; voter restriction laws are still being passed, women still make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, and the private loan providers that keep people who strive for higher education in debt for years are making millions.

I can keep going in circles and arguing that equality still exists. I can think about how it endangered, but was it truly ever safe? It is hard to admit that in a century that is defined by its progress, the people who were always on the perimeter remain in it. That being said, the institutions that were in place aiming to equal the playing field, like Affirmative Action, are being targeted (and, in the case of Affirmative Action, actually being called unconstitutional). If that is the precedent being set, what is stopping us from sliding down the daunting mountain of fairness for all that we have been trying to climb up?

Aristotle once said that “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal.” To me, this quote encompasses the problem the United States faces today: We are too caught up in trying to make everyone seem the same to realize that we are all different. The reality is we each grew up facing different circumstances, pressures, and obstacles.

As romantic poet William Blake wrote, “One law for the lion and for the ox is indeed oppression.” It is easy to paint a picture using a quote that critiques this universal law system that the United States has in place.  Say we are a country populated by lions and oxen. If the governing body of this country says, “Yes, we recognize that you two have different diets and have different needs, so you are free to eat what you must in order to survive.” Great. The oxen can eat the grass they need, and the lions can butcher the oxen that they need to eat in order to survive. Obviously, the oxen are being slaughtered. The government recognizes this, so they say, “Okay, from now on everyone can only eat grass.” Great. The oxen are safe to eat their grass and thrive, but now the lions eventually starve.

The truth is we do live in a society of lions and oxen.

We live in a society that says if you get arrested you can post bail to get out. For a middle- or upper-class individual with money to spare, that is not an issue. For a lower-class individual without that money, they get to stay in jail.

We live in a society that says you can take the SAT as many times as you would like. Of course, that does not account for the access to test preparation materials, tutors, and school-funded study programs that tend to be present in wealthier areas in contrast to impoverished areas that often do not even provide their students with an SAT preparation course. That is not even taking into account the fact that it costs money—that many do not have—to take the exam itself.

We live in a society that tells us that we are free to apply to any university in order to set ourselves up for the future we would like to have. Of course, how does that bear in mind the fact that wealthier areas tend to have better school districts with, again, more resources, and wealthier people have more money to spend on college applications themselves?

The truth is inequality is still prevalent, and maybe we have not climbed as far up the mountain of fairness as we thought. Maybe the laws we have in place simply conceal the inequality better than they ever have. The tale of lions and oxen should be one of caution when enacting laws that seemingly position the members of society in an unjust situation disguising it as one of equality.

Second Place —“Paradox of Then, Vigor of Now”

Creighton mitchell | ’24 economics.

The year is 1968, two years after the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. America finds itself grappling with the tumultuous currents of civil rights movements, challenges to suffrage, and anti-Vietnam War protests. The nation is on the brink, facing unprecedented levels of public discourse and diminishing morale within its borders. Scenes of African American café sit-ins and bus boycotts have become a pillar in American politics, while women are fervently seeking admission to Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. Amidst this backdrop, crosses burn in front yards, fire hoses, and K9 units are unleashed on the innocent and the esoteric ball of equality is being hit across the country. Echoing the pursuit of this enigmatic goal.

April 4th, 1968: CBS Anchor Walter Cronkite delivers a somber announcement on the evening news: “Dr. Martin Luther King, the apostle of non-violence in the civil rights movement, has been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee.” Meanwhile, Ira Mitchell Sr. just wrapped up instrument tests at the TWA airplane hangar in Tuskegee, Oklahoma. The fading sunlight filters through the expansive garage doors. Ira, two janitors, and an assistant flight controls mechanic are gathered, drawn by the noise emanating from the offices in the back of the hangar. This diverse group shared one common feature—their melanin-rich, mahogany-colored skin. As Walter Cronkite’s resonant words echoed through the air, the mechanic uttered, “Dr. King is dead.” Ira gazed down at the ground in disbelief, his leathery, worn hands fumbling a greased cloth. A long-exhausted sigh escapes his mouth. He exits the hangar, bound for the forty-minute bus ride home to his wife and seven children. At the bus stop sits a boy, pocket watch in hand, waiting for his father to arrive. The workday is over.

April 4th, 1968: Larry Braby arrives home after teaching Biology at Pocahontas High School in rural Iowa, surrounded by the vast prairies and cornfields of what some call “God’s Country.” He parks his 1960 Ford pickup in the garage, taking a moment of ominous silence between the final high school bell and the ensuing chaos of suburban Midwest life. It is in these fleeting moments, that the weight of the 1960s subtly lingers on his mind, vivid reels surge of friends and classmates entangled in the contentious Vietnam War.

As Larry sits in his pickup, plunging further into a disquieting euphoria, the distant bark of a dog fractures the state of detachment. Three toddlers excitedly rush out, and Larry is welcomed by his wife and daughters. Yet, the ethereal weight of the era persists. Entering the house, he hears the transistor radio near the pantry cabinet, broadcasting Walter Cronkite’s words that perforate throughout. Conversation softens to a whisper, as if the world had paused, leaving only the echo of silence. There are no words. Amidst this tranquil lull, one of the young girls diverts her gaze, meeting Larry’s eyes. “Who is Martin Luther King?” she asks. Breaching the stillness, he invites her, “Come sit with me, I’ll tell you all about him.”

August 22nd, 2023: I find myself in a stale, yet sweltering classroom populated by an ocean of peers. It is the first day of Labor Economics. The professor forges ahead, initiating the routine first-day introductions with the familiar prompt, “Introduce yourself, where you are from, and share your favorite food.”  The class begins to list locations spanning the entire globe: “Seoul, South Korea; New Delhi, India; Toronto, Canada.” The spotlight brings me into focus, it is my turn. Hands damp with perspiration, I declare, “Des Moines, Iowa.” The professor dispels the anxious tension of the first day, shattering the atmosphere with a statement that captures the class and kicks open the door to the first day. “I counted 12 different nationalities amongst this class, the highest I have had in a semester.” I glance at the color of my hands, flipping them over and back, discovering subtleties I had never noticed before. A seemingly flawless blend, uniting the deepest onyx hues found in Oklahoma with the radiant glow from the expanse of stars adorning rural Iowa. I peer at the seats in front and behind me, they seem to be in similar astonishment. This is the world Larry Braby and Ira Mitchell envisioned. Class begins.

Third Place —“The Garden”

Katherine joyce | ’25 english | schreyer scholar.

Picture a garden.

Not the prim, proper, prissy type: a spilling-over, four-leaf clover, blossom takeover, idle-Sunday rover kind of place where no two flowers are the same. Roses painted the palest pinks and the cleanest whites and the brightest yellows climb up trellises hand-in-hand, leaf-in-leaf, thorn-in-thorn—their own personal Everest to conquer by summer’s end. Herbs blush under too much attention and wilt if left alone. Ivy vines silhouette the white picket fence like a scalloped edge on a lacy wedding veil. The daisies and violets and primroses, darling little innocents, rustle cheerfully with the warm breeze, glad to beautify their home in their own tiny way. Bluebirds sing jazz and opera as the sunset casts its golden spotlight through the trees. Near the pond, the proud sprigs of lavender dance to the music of croaking frogs and barking dogs. The magnolias sway and the violets play and the chrysanthemums pray and the little dandelion puffs stray, and all is lovely and well as the sun sinks and the garden falls asleep.

Can you see it now?

This is the beauty of our nation. I am a tulip, and you a cherry blossom, and your friend a zinnia, and your mother a lily. The law stretches over us like the endless summer sky, bathing us all in sunlight. Under the big blue, we flourish as we please. Despite our differences, we are one garden.

But sometimes, the sky cannot protect everyone—not even in the garden.

The flowers know when the storms are gathering, but what can they do? Shake and shiver and shimmy and shuffle as they wait for the inevitable? Not everyone is hardy. The tulips just stare at the gathering clouds, tracing their beloved petals one last time. They are delicate, never meant to last … there is no hope for them in thunder. The roses cling tightly to the trellis, and to each other, as the winds begin to howl.

And then there are the bare feet that trample the innocents—the daisies, the violets, the sweet baby primroses. Perhaps the blunder becomes a regret, or perhaps that foot finds something powerful in crushing someone so small. The forget-me-nots lower their little blue heads in mourning. They will remember, and they will cry.

And when the gardener falls in love, what then? He walks down the mossy cobblestones, humming the tune that once caused his parents to sway among the daffodils at twilight, eyes peeled for the most perfect of blooms. He cuts a few fresh roses—pale as a young woman’s blush—and vows to get rid of those pesky dandelions someday. Those aren’t real flowers, he mumbles to himself, just weeds. And he goes away humming, and the dandelions cower and hate themselves.

The environment is not one-size-fits-all, and neither is the law. Nor, I would argue, should it be. The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States of America declares that “nor shall any state … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The law is there, but we as Americans have failed in carrying it out. In short, our humanity is lacking. The fault is ours.

What if the ivy wrapped itself around the tulips when the fierce winds blew? What if the bluebirds chirped until the gardener looked away from the roses and towards those that are often forgotten? What if the snapdragons hissed when predators neared the lilies? What if the gardener taught his guests to look before they step?

What if, instead of depending on the government to build walls and write legislation, we simply looked out for each other? If I am a tulip and you are a cherry blossom, you must accept that I come from the ground, and I must accept that you come from a tree. Look at the roses! The pink blossoms do not attempt to strangle the yellow ones if they reach the top of the trellis first. Their vines twist, and they become one. And someone needs to protect the innocents, for the humblest flowers are just as beautiful as the showy ones. Protect them, please.

America is a garden. Tend it.

Winning Essay Archives

“a client and his discontents”.

Michael Mitole   ’23 Finance (Schreyer Scholar)

I glance at the card in my palm—Dr. Carl Rogers, Ph.D., 1150 Silverado Street, La Jolla, California. Drawing in a breath from the cool air around me, I return even less warmth: “This better not be a waste of my time.” I arrive to his study and sit on a coarse Persian tapestry that conceals a chair well-worn and pleading to be retired. Let me put my watch on, I think to myself, because the first rule of therapy is that the first session always goes over time. Looking around, I wonder how a Milton novel, a textbook on scientific agriculture, a King James Bible, and a bust of Kierkegaard happened onto the same shelf together, but, being raised with manners, I know not to say anything.

As I begin to talk, I convince myself that Rogers will be genuinely interested in what I am going to tell him – as we often do with people in our lives, if we’re honest enough to admit it – and that my stories of figuring out who I was, loving someone for the first time, and a failed attempt at the Rhodes Scholarship will yield enough material to make the session worth our while. Michael, you’re rambling on again – maybe you should pause so he can interpret your problems back to you. And, what time is it, anyway? Have I talked for the entire session? Pausing in the middle of my soliloquy, I peer at Rogers and wait for a response. Oh no, he hasn’t even written anything down yet.

“Michael, it seems to me that you are living, subjectively, a phase of your problems, knowingly and acceptingly,” he replies. I give an empty expression. I’m sorry, but what am I supposed to do with that? Rogers lets his words hang in the air, knowing they have stirred an internal response.

Well — maybe we need to be told truths that are jarring enough to make us let go of our own conclusions. He continues: “Many people I see in my practice aren’t used to being told that. It was an idea I published in my book On Becoming a Person, after many years observing how people responded to problems.”

When we are presented with problems – personal and otherwise – do we reach too quickly for panaceas, convenient cliches, and old schematic frames? Is this what Rogers means? I decide to vocalize my thoughts: “I see, Dr. Rogers. I tend to believe that all of my problems can be solved in some systematic way. And, to be frank, I look at a lot of the world’s grander problems this way, too — the global pandemic, the devastation of war, our beleaguered planet, and economic turmoil.”

“Right, and I am sure that your experience and what you have witnessed around you reveal that problems are hardly formulaic – some are longstanding and most are too complex to fit within the lenses we impose on the world around us,” says Rogers. “So, what does it mean to you, to live?”

Searching for a response, my eyes return to Rogers’ bookshelf, where I notice Thoreau’s Walden and an anthology of poems by Keats. How apropos of the conversation… and that Keats fellow, what was that he wrote about ‘negative capability’?

How do we live meaningfully in the face of hardships and difficulties? First, we grasp that the world is a forum of problems, where things are not as they ‘ought’ to be. But, importantly, we continue doing all the things that meaningful living requires – we continue to feel, to learn, to grow, to struggle, to change, to persevere, to act, and to be courageous.

If Camus was right that “to live is not to resign ourselves,” then our living must also be done with an unwavering purpose. There are those who feel called to dream big dreams and those who feel called to be faithful with the life already set before them. No matter what destiny holds, each of us in life will face a problem of significance that makes all the ones before it into necessary preparation. When that time comes, it will be our chance to help set the world ‘righter’ than it was before. This, we might say, is the universal purpose for which we exist, our hard-wearing meaning in life—to live in service of the ‘good,’ however that duty appears.

I reply to Rogers, “I see now that to truly live, in the face of problems, is to embody a solution that is salutary in all circumstances. But to spend my life ‘fixing’ is to live enslaved by those problems, an all too narrow and futile existence.” Rogers nods his head in tacit agreement, looking away from me.

I follow his eyes: Where is he looking? Oh goodness, the time.

“An Ode to Time, a Friend”

Arushi Grover   ’23 English (Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar)

A player enters onstage. They stand, center-stage, in a spotlight. They wait.

In this moment in time, the forces of the haunting past, the tense present, and imminent future converge to the pleading question: how does one go on? We live in a time of intense political polarization, both in America and increasingly throughout the world; reaching across the aisle seems more and more like an idyllic fantasy of the past, and instead of achieving progress, it seems like our society and democracy is regressing. We live in a time of great reckoning, coming to terms with how past oppression has caused current inequalities, along lines of gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, class, nationality, and more; haunted by the past, we try to learn to play the hand we’re dealt and create equality for the future…on top of what feels like a house of cards. And the future seems imminent, as climate scientists warn that we are on a trajectory that will cause global temperatures to increase, seas to rise, a surefire climate catastrophe that will harm those most vulnerable populations who have caused the least carbon emissions. Suffering defines our past, present, and future, the current moment an endless and evolving challenge.

Dare I suggest that time may be, not our foe, but our friend, in such circumstances? Regard Time, a wingèd, angelic figure that presides and brandishes a scythe. For our experience on this Earth is defined by Time: a beginning, a birth; the middle, a duration of experience; and the end, a death. She hovers, ever-present, a metronomic gaze as we haunt this world. We, as humans, may mourn the eternality that could never be due to our mortal frames, but think, perhaps, that the ephemerality of life is what makes the lows ever-so-devastating, but also the highs ever-so-pleasant. Knowing that this will end, we can experience joy and pleasure for the euphoria that they are. Ephemerality is what gives us meaning; that end is a gift that allows us to cherish the moment. For our finite experience, should the universe envy us for our feeling the operatic breadth of human emotion—the pains and devastation, the joys and pleasure?

For the challenges and hardships we face, we can find meaning in the nature of our existence; the universe may have Time, but we have experience, too. As individuals in this world, let us consider our strength to be our individuality, our unique and discrete experiences—something to take pleasure in and something to expand our understanding. Appreciating individuality means listening to individuals, not just ourselves but our communities, and especially to previously unheard and unsung voices. We must appreciate the diversity of individual experience.

The inequalities of the past mean that we have the chance to make the future better than the past, better than the present moment—a challenge, but a gratifying problem to solve for individuals and humankind. Preparing to counter the effects of climate change can seem like a daunting and unwinnable task, but we can comfort ourselves knowing that every inch of progress right now will be a mile of progress for future generations. And in a moment when political progress seems like it’s headed backwards, let us ricochet in appreciating how far we’ve come, to where we are or were, and beyond. For all the challenges that come with Time passing and repeating, we can find a silver lining and some meaning in befriending the figure of Time—both internal, personal meaning, and external, real-world reflections of validation.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Can you hear it? Flowers bloom and trees sport verdant leaves that metamorphosize to a blaze and fall in decay. Can you see it? In water, a current pulls and pulls and pulls. Can you feel it? If Time is a friend, can we not collaborate and make a meaningful relationship for us both? Maybe life is a book, and we get to control the pace, how quickly the pages turn, how soon the conflict resolves. Maybe life is a film, and we can pause the piece, rewind, and replay when things get hard. Or maybe life is a play, and we arrive with strangers to share time and space for a moment, before dissipating.

In some ways, there is cause to be optimistic for the future. And in some ways, there is no cause—not cause for pessimism, but simply an absence of cause. In these moments of reasoning, it is choice that defines our actions and mindset—both the choice to choose what we want for ourselves and the choices that affect others in a complex world and web of interdependence.

Onstage, the player bends their head, then straightens and steps off the stage. They sit in the first row of the audience. The lights dim to a blackout.

“We Exist in a Society”

Taran Samarth ’23 Philosophy, Political Science, Sociology and Mathematics (Paterno Fellow and Schreyer Scholar)

Contemporary politics dances upon one principal question: do we live in a society? Before there were absurdist Joker memes asserting “we live in a society,” there was Margaret Thatcher saying the opposite: “there is no such thing [as society].” Thatcher and Reagan’s worldview that there are only individuals and families living under markets—leaving little place for interconnection and community—once dominated Western politics. And then came the coronavirus crisis to remind us that if there was no value in redistributing wealth and power with our neighbors through the government that constitutes our collective will, at least we could redistribute some virions.

The pandemic was a reminder that, at the core of human existence, we are interlinked—that infections spread person-to-person, that our health depends on others, and that the survival of our medical facilities required all of us to do our part. Intensifying climate disasters and oppressive violence suggest the same: we live in a society where colossal, pressing crises structure our lives, and the solutions will require individuals to act in concert with others, not alone.

The urgency of these crises and the scale of their needed solutions demand that we collectively do two things: we embrace society, and we embrace taking sides. Too often, we fear staking bold claims. To demand police abolition in a world that enforces racist violence through the state is “too radical.” To seek an economic reconstruction that centers sustainability and collective, not individual, wealth is “too polarizing.” Our allergy to supporting transformative, large-scale solutions leave us emphasizing “nuance” without substance or trying to confine ourselves to “gray areas” where bold ideas are watered down into mere Band-Aids. Or, worse, we tell ourselves that crises—like some former Penn State officials said about sexual and gender-based violence—are just “vexing” and “intractable,” as if they are too complicated to merit our focused attention and effort.

The crises we face are complicated—they are massive, they are hard, and we are bound, at times, to fail. But we cannot refuse to back bold ideas while the window for action that can meaningfully prevent harm dwindles. As we stare down the barrel of existential crisis after crisis, the existentialists are a guide to making meaning in 21st-century life. Our lives are defined by our freedom to constantly choose—I choose to speak; you choose to listen (or not). How we choose to greet and meet every moment fills our world with value and our lives with meaning. Faced with myriad crises, will we let our lives be defined by paralysis? Or will we courageously choose sides and define ourselves as actors that dared to try—dared to affirm our freedom and choose?

But, as Simone de Beauvoir says in Pyrrhus and Cinéas, “[humankind] is not alone in the world.” As intensifying global polarization and authoritarianism indicate, we cannot choose sides haphazardly or without attention to the identical freedom of billions of others. These choices and our actions demand thought and care—particularly for the most marginalized and vulnerable. Whatever choice I alone make in confronting a crisis will be meaningless without others willing to orient their freedom and choices toward the same projects. Disagreement is inevitable—even healthy—but the toxic polarization we face today keeps us frozen in the face of crisis because we choose not to persuade or communicate. We take sides—and we refuse to seek others to join us. We leave our lives meaningless, and crisis creeps ever closer to Armageddon.

As historian Gabriel Winant wrote in the throes of the pandemic, meeting the urgency and challenges posed by crisis requires “the building of relationships and trust across the forms of social difference.” To reach across dinner tables, borders, and backgrounds and build these relationships is to forge the bonds that alone have the power to bring the choices we make, sides we take, and solutions that follow into the world. As Winant quotes Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder from his text on fighting the crisis of tyranny, you must dare to “put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people.”

The urgency posed by a planet unequipped to withstand climate shifts in the coming decade and respond to structural inequities that will sharply allocate harm to the already-wounded means that we cannot risk inaction. For one person to imbue their life with meaning amidst extraordinary social problems, the urgency of crisis demands that they opt to take sides and try to effect change in the world. But they can only do so effectively if they dare to make those bold choices in partnership with others willing the same. That is, we can only make meaning in our lives and our world if we choose to embrace and act upon that one fundamental truth: we live in a society.

“Finding Meaning in the Pursuit of Survival”

Charles Cote ’23 Supply Chain and Information System (Schreyer Scholar)

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Theme: “Nurturing Minds, Sustaining Lives:  The importance of self-care and mental health awareness”

Key Words: resilience, positivity, balance, gratitude, self-compassion, honesty

Sir John Templeton believed that each human being “has an excellent opportunity to leave the world a better place than we found it through our choice of how we live our lives.”  The ‘Laws of Life’  included in Sir John’s books are more commonly associated with principles that guide individuals in their personal and professional lives. 

Thoughts on self-care and reflection on life’s real meaning are taught through many of the laws of life. Life can sometimes get difficult or overwhelming. During these occasions, we may find it necessary to take some time out for ourselves and focus inward. Focusing on our own emotional and physical well-being is not only healing for us, but also helps us to help others. 

What are YOUR thoughts about the importance of your emotional well-being and your approach to life? Once you have selected a law from those provided for your division, develop your essay to include the following:

• What does this law mean to you?
• Give examples of the impact of this law on your life.
• How do you create a balanced life for yourself?
• What are some coping mechanisms you utilize when life gets difficult?
• Explain how focusing on your mental health can also help others.

Visit the resources page for helpful writing tips as you craft your essay.

Instructions for Students

As you write your essay, please select the law below that expresses a key value and/or ideal by which you should live. Explain why the chosen value/ideal is important  to the way you live your life by discussing your experiences, the lessons you’ve learned, and people who have served as living examples of your chosen value/ideal.

Once you have completed your essay or video, visit the “Submit Your Essay” page to register for the Laws of Life competition and submit your essay or video.

You are reminded to maintain academic integrity by creating original essays without the use of AI tools, as it ensures fairness, and a level playing field for all. 

Seek guidance from teachers, parents, or mentors when needed but endeavor to express your unique thoughts and enjoy the learning experience of crafting a personal essay.

• Your essay must be written on one of the selected topics. The essay must be type-written. Please use a minimum 10-point print type font. HANDWRITTEN ESSAYS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
• Please visit the “ Submit ”  page on our website to register and submit your essay for the 2024 Laws of Life competition. All essays and videos must be submitted through our online submission portal (no email or drop-off entries). Due to COVID-19, we are unable to accept entries submitted in person. Your health and safety is our highest priority.
• Entry deadline is Friday, February 9, 2024.  NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
• FINALISTS WILL BE NOTIFIED ONCE THE COMPETITION IS COMPLETED. (WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY.)

Contest Notes

Previous 1st prize and 2nd prize winners may not enter another contest within the same division. 3rd prize winners may enter another contest at any time.

Entries become the possession of the Laws of Life contest committee. The award-winning entries may be made available for publication.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE WRITING UNIT FOR RESULTS. The decision of the judges is FINAL.

Primary Division

How do you care for your mind and your emotions?  What are some things you do when life feels hard or when you need a break to feel better? Choose one of the selected laws below to write an essay sharing your thoughts and experiences on nurturing your mental health, coping with challenges, and creating your emotional well-being.

“You get back what you give out”

When she was seventy-one, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel and governed for five years, including the period of the Arab-Israeli War. With a

“Healthy minds tend to cause healthy bodies, and vice versa”

Take a look at any of today’s news-stand magazines, and chances are one of the leading articles may be on the management of stress or

“Your life becomes what you think”

Thought—the act or process of thinking—is one of the greatest powers we possess, and like most powers it can be used positively or negatively, as

250-350 Words

Please Note that ORIGINALITY is important. E ssays under 250 words and more than 350 words will be disqualified. Word count must be noted at the end of the essay.

Junior Division

“As you think, so you are”

In the course of his spiritual instruction Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.” He went on to say, “Are grapes gathered from

“You create your own reality”

Do you believe that “reality” may be something outside of yourself? We often hear reference made to the “real world out there.” To be sure,

400-550 Words

Please Note that ORIGINALITY is important. E ssays under 400 words and more than 550 words will be disqualified. Word count must be noted at the end of the essay.

Senior Division

Grades 10-12

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself”

A man who was weary of the frantic pace of city life gave up his job, sold his apartment, and moved into a small cabin

“Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful soul”

Have you ever thought of beauty as a necessity in your life? Beauty isn’t only pleasant to the eye, but it is an essence that

600-850 Words

Please Note that ORIGINALITY is important. E ssays under 600 words and more than 850 words will be disqualified. Word count must be noted at the end of the essay.

College Division

Participants must be 25 or under and registered at a local tertiary institution. Proof of Birth and registration must be attached to application.

“When you rule your mind, you rule your world”

Great teachers down through the ages have described the importance of our mind and of being master over our thoughts. Buddha said, “The mind is

“What we focus on expands”

When we focus on a particular thought, our mind often immediately responds by calling up similar thoughts. Positive and loving thoughts and feelings spark a

850-1000 Words

Please Note that ORIGINALITY is important. E ssays under 850 words and more than 1000 words will be disqualified. Word count must be noted at the end of the essay.

Essay MARKING Criteria

ESSAYS ARE MARKED ON THE CRITERIA BELOW. YOU CAN USE THIS AS A GUIDE AS YOU WRITE YOUR ESSAY AND TO CHECK YOUR WORK BEFORE YOU SUBMIT.

Video Division

Create a short video using one of the following Laws of Life:

“Thoughts can crystallize into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance “

A gentleman we can call Mr. Smith was the richest man in the small town in Tennessee where he had lived all of his life.

“Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind”

Twenty years ago, comedian Flip Wilson made famous the phrase, “What you see is what you get.” While this is a common belief, it would

The purpose of the video is to demonstrate what the law means and how it factors in everyday life. Feature live people, stills, animation—whatever you think best conveys your message.

Video Specifications and Submission Process

• Video entries should be a minimum of 45 seconds and a maximum of two minutes in length.
• Video quality should be 1080p or higher.
• Video format should be in mp4 and no larger than 1GB.
• The video must be an original work.
• No copyrighted material (music, images, etc.) or trademarks (company names, logos, brands, etc.) may be used unless you own or have a license to use the material for this contest. Written permission must be obtained and provided upon request for all copyrighted or trademarked materials.

Visit the Submit page to register and submit your video.

Requirements

One student must be designated as lead producer/director for the video. In addition, the Online Registration Form must include the name, cell phone number, and e-mail address of the teacher/parent who can be contacted about the entry if needed.

A release is required from each person who has a speaking role or is otherwise distinctly featured in the video, as well as those involved in the production of the video. (This authorization assures that those involved know that the video may be shown publicly without further consent required. The release(s) must accompany the Online Registration form and video. It must be signed by the participant(s), and if the participant/student is a minor, it must be signed by the participants’s parent/guardian. You may download the release form here and/or on the “Submit” page in the Video section. 

Video content must not promote illegal behavior; discriminate against or support prejudice toward others along ethnic, racial, religious, or sexual grounds; invade the privacy of any person; support or oppose a candidate for elected office or advocate for the passage or defeat of legislation; or otherwise be inappropriate as determined by the Templeton World Charity Foundation Inc. or the Ministry of Education.

All videos will be judged anonymously. It is therefore requested that as much as possible, entrants should not mention actual names of participants or schools in the video.

Please note that professionals in media, public relations, and education will participate in the judging process to help determine the winners.

Video MARKING Criteria

The most prestigious essay competition in The Bahamas.

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The Bahamas Laws of Life Essay Competition

“Progress depends on diligence and perseverance.” –Sir John Templeton, Worldwide Laws of Life

Since 1987, students in communities around the globe have competed for prizes in essay contests based on Sir John Templeton’s writings.

In 2009, students in The Bahamas gained a contest of their own , sponsored by The Bahamas Ministry of Education and Technical and Vocational Training and the Nassau-based Templeton World Charity Foundation.

The Bahamas Laws of Life Essay Competition is an annual contest open to students in The Bahamas.

Each year, young people are invited to reflect and write on values inspired by Sir John Templeton’s Laws of Life . Students in Grades 5 -12, as well as local college-level students up to age 25, are encouraged to participate. To date, over 12,000 students in The Bahamas have written and submitted essays in the competition.

Prizes and scholarships totaling over $1.4 million dollars have been distributed. The competition is viewed as the most prestigious essay competition in the country.

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Thank you to our partner in the competition: The Bahamas Ministry of Education and Technical And Vocational Training

In 2008, the late Dr. John M. Templeton Jr. discussed his father Sir John Templeton’s writings on the Laws of Life with former Minister of Education, Hon. Carl Bethel. This led to the launch of the annually anticipated Laws of Life Essay Competition now noted as the country’s premier essay competition in public and independent schools across The Bahamas.

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Rochester students shine in essay contest about justice perceptions

Rochester, N.Y. — A dozen Rochester students were recognized today for their thoughts on justice.

Mayor Malik Evans was among the judges who congratulated the sixth through ninth-grade students who were the winners of this year's "Just Law" essay contest.

This year's topic, "What justice is to me," allowed students to share their thoughts on an important social issue.

"How do we bring together the community and the justice system because there's a crisis of trust," said Supreme Court Justice Craig Doran for the 7th Judicial District. "People that work in this courthouse want the community to trust us. People in the community want to trust their justice system. So, we decided to start with young people."

"What I got from this was more hope because more people know what law is in the world because there is a lot of injustice going on," said Serenity Stephens, School #16 student.

The Just Law essay contest has been going on for six years.

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Fourth circuit 2024 essay contest - deadline may 31.

Seventy years ago, the Supreme Court held in Brown v. Board of Education , 347 U.S. 483 (1954), that racial segregation in public schools violates the United States Constitution. The Court recognized that public education is "the very foundation of good citizenship," and Brown's impact on education and society has been the subject of much discussion and debate in our nation's history.

Has the decision in Brown , viewed through the lens of 2024, achieved its purpose of ensuring equal opportunity in public education?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is seeking submissions for its 2024 essay contest. 

Students are invited to consider and share their thoughts on the question: "Has the decision in Brown , viewed through the lens of 2024, achieved its purpose of ensuring equal opportunity in public education?"

The contest is open to all students currently in grades 6 through 12 from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Grades 9-12: Essays are limited to 500-1,000 words , and students have the opportunity to win one of three cash prizes:  first place, $2,000; second place, $1,500;  and  third place, $1,000.

Grades 6–8: Essays are limited to 250-500 words , and students have the opportunity to win one of three cash prizes: first place, $500; second place, $350;  and  third place, $200. Deadline: Entry form and essay must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, May 31, 2024 . Winners will be announced in August, and the winning essays will be presented at the Fourth Circuit's Constitution Day Program in September 2024.

For instructions on how to submit your essay and questions to consider, visit www.ca4.uscourts.gov/essay-contest .

For questions about the contest, contact the Fourth Circuit Clerk’s Office at [email protected] or (804) 916-2715.

Please note: Prior award winners as well as children, grandchildren, stepchildren, and members of the household of a federal judge or federal judiciary employee are excluded from the competition.

Professor Jeffrey Gonzalez publishes review essay in “Public Books”

Posted in: English Department , Homepage News and Events

English professor Jeffrey Gonzalez recently published a review essay discussing Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore’s memoir, Sonic Life , in the online magazine Public Books . Professor Gonzalez’s review, which appeared on May 16, was included in Lithub’s “ LitHub Daily, ” whose editors describe their selections as “the best of the literary internet,” on May 20.

Rebekah Jones' son sentenced to indefinite probation for Florida school shooting threats

A Santa Rosa County judge sentenced the son of former congressional candidate and fired State of Florida employee Rebekah Jones to an indefinite amount of probation Wednesday for charges related to threatening to shoot up a school.

In 2023, Jones' then-13-year-old son, called J.J. in court records, was charged under Florida Statute 836.10 , for allegedly making repeated threats to shoot up Holley Navarre Middle School and to stab students who angered him. The statute outlaws written or electronic threats to kill, do bodily injury, or conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism.

The News Journal is not naming Rebekah Jones' son since he was not charged as an adult and remained in juvenile court, but is including his relationship to his mother because Jones has been vocal about her son's case.

"I will withhold adjudication, meaning that he is not convicted," Judge Steven Warrick told J.J. during the hearing. "I'm going to place him on a period of probation, an indefinite period of probation not to exceed his 19th birthday."

Rebekah Jones: Son charged under law making online threats - even 'jokes' or 'memes' - a crime

Warrick also told him to "continue on the path that you're on" and to learn from bad choices.

J.J.'s sentence comes five months after he pleaded no contest on Dec. 15, 2023, to the charge. As part of the sentencing, the judge withheld adjudication of delinquency and ordered J.J. to comply with the following:

• Complete 50 hours of community service
• Write a 1,000-word essay on taking responsibility for his actions
• Read the book "Know The Law"
• Take all medications as prescribed
• Comply with any therapy deemed necessary by a psychiatrist
• Check in weekly with a school resource officer

J.J. will also have a curfew of 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday while he remains on probation. The boy will also not be able to use the internet or social media unless directly supervised by his parents or by someone his parents have appointed.

The judge also ordered J.J. to pay $268 in court costs, but since the judge and J.J.'s attorney, Alex Saiz, noted the Jones family is indigent, the boy will be allowed to work at a rate of $10 per hour to cover the court costs.

As part of the order, Jones and her husband, Jacob Romer, will be required to report any violation in probation to J.J.'s probation officer within 24 hours of the violation or risk being held in contempt.

The family has since moved out of Florida.

Why was Rebekah Jones' son charged with threatening a school shooting?

An incident report released in April 2023 by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office alleges that Jones' son made repeated threats to shoot up Holley Navarre Middle School and to stab students who angered him. J.J. had recently been withdrawn from the school and was being homeschooled.

Investigators interviewed multiple students who spoke with the teenager, as well as those who saw messages he posted on social media. In the messages to his friends, the teenager made the following statements, among others:

• “I want to shoot up the school.”
• "If I get a gun I’m gonna shoot up hnms lol.”
• “I’m getting a wrath and natural selection shirt so maybe but I don’t think many ppl know what the columbine shooters look like.”
• “Okay so it’s been like 3-4 weeks since I got on my new antidepressants and they aren’t working but they’re suppose to by now so I have no hope in getting better so why not kill the losers at school.”
• "Does your plug have access to guns?"
• "I always keep a knife on me so maybe I'll just stab people idk"

J.J., who was homeschooled at the time of the alleged threats, told one of his friends that he planned to shoot up the school the Thursday before Spring Break but there were too many things going on so he postponed it until March 31.

The students reported the claims to the school prior to that date and the investigation was launched.

Rebekah Jones claimed Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered her son be arrested

Jones took to Twitter after her son's arrest in April and  claimed Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered J.J. be arrested after she filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the state Health Department and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo  asking for her job back along with back pay.

"My family is not safe," Rebekah Jones tweeted. "My son has been taken on the gov's orders, and I've had to send my husband and daughter out of state for their safety. THIS is the reality of living in DeSantis' Florida. There is no freedom here. Only retaliatory rule by a fascist who wishes to be king."

When Jones asked the officers who ordered the arrest, she says an officer told her “it was the state.”

Who is Rebekah Jones?

Jones is a former Florida data scientist  who accused the Health Department of intentionally falsifying pandemic data on behalf of DeSantis. The claims were rejected as unfounded by an inspector general's report.

Jones came to national prominence during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic after she was fired from her position with the Florida Department of Health. Jones said she was fired for speaking out about what she said was the state's manipulation of COVID-19 data, while state officials said she was fired for insubordination.

Jones later ran against Rep. Matt Gaetz for Florida’s 1st Congressional District, but lost to Gaetz who gained 68% of the vote.

Rebekah Jones' criminal history

In December 2022,  Jones signed a plea deal admitting guilt and agreeing to pay $20,000 in a pending criminal case in which she was charged with accessing a state computer system without authorization.

Prosecutors filed a deferred prosecution agreement in Leon County Circuit Court on Dec. 9, 2022, that was signed by Jones.

The agreement delays prosecution for two years and has six special conditions, including paying $20,000 to reimburse the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for its investigation costs and admitting guilt to the charged offense.

If Jones meets conditions and is not arrested for another crime during the two-year period, prosecutors will drop the charges without Jones having to enter a guilty plea in the case officially.

Jones was charged in the case after FDLE agents executed a search warrant on her home i n December 2020 that made national news.

Prosecutors alleged that Jones accessed a state computer system without authorization and sent a mass text calling on state employees to speak out against Florida's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By that point, Jones had become a well-known critic of DeSantis and had filed a whistleblower complaint after being fired from the Florida Department of Health five months earlier.

A state inspector general  report released earlier in 2022 on Jones' whistleblower allegations  found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Department of Health.

Jones took to social media once again, calling reports she admitted guilt false. In a video posted to her YouTube account, she said she had only admitted to having a Department of Health roster on her private computer.

"There was no guilty plea. There was no plea of any kind because it was a dismissal. The case is being dropped," Jones said in a video published on her YouTube channel.

However, the agreement she signed explicitly says she is admitting guilt.

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Biden Draws on Themes of Manhood and Faith at Morehouse Commencement

The president’s appearance at the historically Black college in Atlanta drew some respectful but noticeable protest over U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

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Biden Calls on Morehouse College Graduates to Defend Democracy

In a commencement speech at morehouse, the historically black men’s college in atlanta, president biden condemned white supremacy and “extremist forces aligned against the meaning and message of morehouse.”.

You started college just as George Floyd was murdered and there was a reckoning on race. It’s natural to wonder if democracy you hear about actually works for you. What is democracy if Black men are being killed in the street? What is democracy if the trail of broken promises still leave Black communities behind? What is democracy if you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot? Well that’s my commitment to you. To show you democracy, democracy, democracy, is still the way. That Black men are being killed in the streets, we bear witness. For me, that means to call out the poison of white supremacy. Graduates, this is what we’re up against: extremist forces aligned against the meaning and message of Morehouse. And they peddle a fiction, a caricature, of what being a man is about — tough talk, abusing power, bigotry. But that’s not you. It’s not us. You all know and demonstrate what it really means to be a man. Being a man is about strength of respect and dignity. It’s about showing up because it’s too late, if you have to ask. It’s about giving hate no safe harbor.

By Katie Rogers and Maya King

Katie Rogers and Maya King reported from the Morehouse College commencement ceremony in Atlanta.

• May 19, 2024

President Biden invoked scripture and lessons from his own tragic past on Sunday in a commencement address to hundreds of young Black men at Morehouse College, saying he believes there are “extremist forces aligned against the meaning and message” of the prestigious institution.

Mr. Biden’s speech, delivered at the historically Black men’s college in Atlanta, put him directly in front of hundreds who represent a slice of the electorate that is drifting away from him over the war in Gaza and growing apathy about their choices ahead of the election. Mr. Biden used the moment to say that manhood was not about “tough talk” and “bigotry” but about calling out hate.

“Their idea of being a man is toxic,” Mr. Biden told the graduates, a reference to adversaries he did not name — but, given that his other events this weekend were focused on attacking his Republican competitor, Donald J. Trump, it was little mystery who he was talking about. “That is not you. That is not us. Being a man is about strength and respect and dignity.”

Those who stormed the Capitol with Confederate flags “are called patriots by some,” he said — a clear reference to Mr. Trump. “Not in my house.”

Mr. Biden’s speech was his first significant appearance before college students since protests over the war in Gaza began roiling campuses. For a ceremony in which students are discouraged even from decorating their caps, the signs of protest were respectful but noticeable: A small group of graduates turned to sit with their backs to Mr. Biden as he spoke, and several graduates wore the kaffiyeh, a traditional scarf associated with the Palestinians, draped over their shoulders. Some parents urged their graduating sons not to protest.

Mr. Biden also called for an immediate cease-fire and said that his administration was working to secure one. He said that members of his family had been upset by the war, a group that includes Jill Biden, the first lady, who has urged her husband in private to bring a stop to it.

“What’s happening in Gaza, in Israel, is heartbreaking,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

In a statement, Morehouse said that discussions between White House officials and students, faculty and alumni had helped shape Mr. Biden’s speech and his calls for a cease-fire in Gaza. The school also praised its graduates. “It is fitting that a moment of organized, peaceful activism would occur on our campus while the world is watching to continue a critical conversation,” the statement read.

During his 27-minute speech, Mr. Biden tried to stress to the graduates — none of whom stood for him as he took the lectern — that throughout his life he had respected and espoused the same ideas they care about.

He said he had worked throughout his life, as a public defender, senator and president, to correct inequalities. He outlined the work his administration has done that he and his advisers believe deserves more credit than it receives, including the forgiveness of large amounts of student loan debt and reducing the poverty rate for Black children.

“We know Black history is American history,” Mr. Biden said at one point, urging the crowd to “check my record,” which includes choosing the first Black female Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and the first Black woman to hold the vice presidency, Kamala Harris.

By focusing on matters of adversity and strength, Mr. Biden also sought to strike a contrast with Mr. Trump not on the grounds of politics or policy but through the lessons of keeping faith in moments of hopelessness. He spoke of the death of his first wife and daughter as well as his eldest son, Beau, from brain cancer.

He told the Morehouse graduates, a class that weathered the chaos of the pandemic and the tumult of widespread protests over the police killings of Black men, that it was natural for them to question whether there was a place for them in democracy at all.

“What is democracy when Black men are being killed in the streets?” he said. “What is democracy when a trail of broken promises still leave Black communities behind? What is democracy when you have to be 10 times better than anyone else to get a fair shot?”

Repeatedly, Mr. Biden reached for religious inspiration, recalling that Jesus was buried on Friday and resurrected on Sunday, leaving Saturday as a day of hopelessness. He suggested that 2020 — the year he was elected, with its twin traumas of the Covid-19 pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd — had been one such Saturday.

At one point, Mr. Biden said, “I’ve learned there was no easy optimism but by faith, by faith you can find redemption.”

Mr. Biden, who has a bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office — and who is old enough to have shared his memories of Dr. King’s assassination in his speech — walked into commencement on Sunday unsure of how the crowd would receive him.

Morehouse, which was established in Atlanta in 1867, is a school whose culture is steeped in tradition. Students spend their years working toward becoming the embodiment of the Morehouse man: well traveled, well read and civically engaged. As the alma mater of Dr. King, there is also a proud history of protesting for social justice.

Mr. Biden’s visit to Morehouse drew the objections of some faculty members, alumni and students, who have voiced anger over the war in Gaza and the American government’s support for Israel. The tension drew so much attention that the school’s president, David A. Thomas, publicly warned that he would stop the commencement if graduates shouted at the president or disrupted the event.

The men of Morehouse found ways to work their opposition to the war into the ceremony. DeAngelo Jeremiah Fletcher, the class valedictorian, took the stage with the Palestinian flag pinned on his stole and on his cap.

“It is my stance as a Morehouse man, nay, as a human being, to call for an immediate and permanent cease-fire, in the Gaza Strip,” Mr. Fletcher said. Mr. Biden joined the crowd in standing up and clapping when Mr. Fletcher finished, and he shook the graduate’s hand.

But by the end of Mr. Biden’s speech, signs of support were visible, too. As Mr. Biden received an honorary doctorate of law, Mr. Thomas praised the president for listening to the concerns of the graduating class. And some people chanted “four more years” as Mr. Biden left the stage.

After addressing Morehouse, Mr. Biden was set to travel to Detroit to speak at a dinner hosted by the N.A.A.C.P.

Hitting two battleground states in eight hours was the clearest sign yet that Mr. Biden is serious about reintroducing himself to voters who carried him to the White House in 2020 and whose support he will need to win to stay in office for a second term.

In 2020 , 95 percent of Black women and 87 percent of Black men voted for Mr. Biden, according to the Pew Research Center. But in April, only 55 percent of Black voters told Pew that they approved of his job performance. A recent poll by Ipsos and The Washington Post showed that 62 percent of Black Americans planned to vote in 2024, down from 74 percent in 2020.

In recent days, both Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have traveled outside of Washington to host events geared toward bringing those voters back into the fold.

Mr. Biden’s trip to Detroit comes as the latest New York Times/Siena College poll shows him winning support from less than half of Black voters in Michigan in a five-way race. In 2020, he won more than 90 percent of Black voters in the state, exit polls show.

The war in Gaza and concerns about the economy are driving factors behind what analysts say is an increase in apathy. In Michigan, nearly nine in 10 Black voters rated the economy as being in “fair” or “poor” condition, a higher rate than white voters, the Times/Siena poll found.

Alexis Wiley, the founder of a strategic communications firm in Detroit and a former member of the Democratic National Committee, said the Biden administration had to do more to communicate its victories.

“I think that they’re finally catching up to the fact that people aren’t feeling great,” Ms. Wiley said, “and now there’s this mad dash to try to correct it.”

Reporting was contributed by Nicholas Nehamas in Washington and Chevaz Clarke-Williams , Alan Blinder and Sean Keenan in Atlanta.

Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent. For much of the past decade, she has focused on features about the presidency, the first family, and life in Washington, in addition to covering a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. She is the author of a book on first ladies. More about Katie Rogers

Maya King is a politics reporter covering the Southeast, based in Atlanta. She covers campaigns, elections and movements in the American South, as well as national trends relating to Black voters and young people. More about Maya King

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