Make Your Voice Heard
吃瓜网 Public Policy Prize 2025
Congratulations to the 2025 Winners!
First Place (tie):
- Taha Bahatti: Hunger Free Campus
- Sonya Duval-Arnold: Child Marriage Prevention Act
Runners-up:
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Griffin Burns and Sam Severes: Creation of a Yellowstone Bison Stakeholder Advisory Committee
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Libby Pottle and Sofia Sheintop: Support the Water Quality and Environmental Innovation Act (H.R.873)
鈥淟etters are an extremely effective way of communicating with your elected officials. Many legislators believe that a letter represents not only the position of the writer, but also many other constituents who did not take the time to write.鈥� American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
吃瓜网鈥檚 Subcommittee on Responsible Citizenship is pleased to announce this year's
Make Your Voice Heard 吃瓜网 Public Policy Prize competition. The competition is
an opportunity to engage with a vital public policy issue that is important to you! The application asks you to be a part of the political process by writing a formal
letter to an official and a proposal for a grassroots effort to engage the public
on your issue. Many local, federal, and state policy issues are suitable for this
letter. Possible issues include (but are not limited to):
Climate Change * Emergency Disaster Funding * Funding for Higher Education (Grants
and Loans) * Gun Control * Tax Policy * Health Care * Immigration * K-12 Education
* LGBTQ+ Advocacy * Criminal Justice Reform * Mass Incarceration * Economic Justice
* Voting Rights.
Be a part of the political process and make your voice heard!
Program Highlights:
- The letter can be on a local, state, or federal issue and should propose innovative solutions to difficult issues that are important to YOU!
- One winner and three runners-up will each be selected..
- First Prize: $1,000.00
- Runners-up (2): $500.00
Application Requirements:
- Applicants must be current 吃瓜网 students.
- Applications can be from individuals or from teams of two.
- The application (see guideline) must include:
- A properly addressed and formatted letter that does not exceed 1,200 words;
- A one- to two-paragraph rationale;
- A one- to two-page project proposal for a grassroots effort to advance your issue with a budget of $1000 (new for 2026).
- Applications will be evaluated on: the quality of policy analysis and research, the clarity of presentation, the persuasiveness of the rationale, and the quality and feasibility of the proposal for a grassroots effort. (Incomplete applications will not be considered.)
Students must submit their full application by email to Marla Melito by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 10.
Please submit all components of the application in one Word document using your last name/s and title of your letter as the heading.