On Jan. 9, the Democratic Party Carroll County, in collaboration with the Republican Party Carroll County and Eureka Springs Indivisible, hosted an awards celebration at Pizza Hut honoring three Carroll County High School students. Ethan Weems, Jacob McMahan, and Morgan Price received 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place cash awards for competing in the Second Annual High School Nonpartisan Civic Engagement Essay Contest.
The essay question, formulated by Richard Mann, AP History teacher at Eureka Springs High School, was “According to Locke, the purpose of government is to protect the rights of the governed. Yet, while declaring the rights of the individual (as in the Bill of Rights), does the U.S. Constitution also assert the individual’s responsibilities? Why or why not?” Almost all county schools were represented in the pool of essays, and plans are to offer the contest to teachers and students again in 2020.
The essay contest, brainchild of Jillian Guthrie of Eureka Springs (former Vice-Chair of Community Outreach for the DPCC), was conceived of as a means to engage young people in thinking about civic engagement, their place in the political process, and by extension, provoking critical thinking about their role and responsibility in growing into civic life.
Guthrie said it is her hope this can serve as a springboard to bring civil and constructive political exploration and discussion back into the schools, where beliefs and values are often formed.
DPCC has targeted funds to help bring the Young Democrats Club back into the high schools, and Charlie Reece, Chair of the Republican Party of Carroll County, asserted they can do the same for a Young Republicans Club. Any student interested can approach their principal or teacher, and a concerted effort will be made to find a sponsoring teacher for the club.
According to Jean Reed, Vice-Chair Community Outreach for Carroll County Democrats, this contest was designed as a collaborative project between the political parties, including Eureka Indivisible.
It was thought that with the current political environment of divisiveness and nonfunctional partisanship in Washington, we could successfully demonstrate cooperation and communication.
In planning the contest and visiting with county high school principals, Reed, Guthrie and Reece held meetings with personnel from all area schools. This illustrated cooperative planning by design, inviting teachers to help guide students as citizens toward nonpartisan participation in local civic and government life.
Judges for the essays were Democratic and Republican representatives.
The Civic Engagement Essay can serve as a role model of Carroll County citizens working together to engage our youth and build our future together.