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ASU invites schoolchildren to enter creative MLK contest


September 20, 2010

ASU invites schoolchildren from all over the state to enter its 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. essay-poster contest. Winners will receive savings bonds and have their entries displayed at ASU.

They also will be honored at ASU's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration breakfast at the Tempe campus on Jan 20, 2011, along with their parents, teachers and school principals. Entries must be postmarked by Oct. 20.

ASU started the contest 26 years ago to encourage children to discuss the ideals of the late civil rights leader with their parents and teachers. Students are asked to create their entries around the theme, "Beyond the Dream: exchange for a better tomorrow," focusing on a member of their family, school or community who demonstrates leadership through service.

This year’s contest also asks students to envision how they might create a “better tomorrow.”

Essays or poems depicting the theme must be 250 words or less. The winning posters will be made into bookmarks, so they must be oblong in shape – as small as 4 1/2 by 11 inches but no larger than 6 3/4 by 17 inches. Prizes are $150, $100 and $75 savings bonds.

Entries in each of the three categories will be judged by grade level: primary (K-2nd- grade), intermediate (3rd-5th grade), middle (6th-8th grade) and secondary (9th-12th grade).

Winning entries will be chosen on the basis of originality, clarity, creativity and best depiction of the theme.

Entry forms are posted on the website, http://www.asu.edu/mlk/contest.html.