The American Constitution Society and the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s American Constitution Society student chapter are soliciting papers from law students for the sixth annual ACS National Student Writing Competition. The winner gets $3000 and his or her paper published. The two runners-up get $1000 each. And everyone who enters gets their papers read by someone, including “federal judges and leading academics.” This is a great way to get your voice heard by someone who might not otherwise be listening.
The potential topics are very broad and actually sound very cool — the Society “welcomes all papers furthering and promoting a progressive vision of the Constitution, law, and public policy. Entrants are encouraged to view this topic broadly, and we welcome submissions on a variety of substantive areas.” Among the topics that spring to mind right off the bat are the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, the First Amendment and animal sacrifice (check out this recent example), food disparagement laws, etc., etc., etc. The deadline is February 19, so maybe you should get started, eh?