Contest Description

Congratulations to this year's contest winners!

• Claire Hogan (winning essay)
• Anthony Badolato (winning poem)
• Leah Barco (winning visual)

Download Contest Rules: Word Document || Adobe PDF

Download Cover Sheet: Word Document || Adobe PDF

The Niagara Reads Committee encourages all first-year students to submit either a written or visual project that reflects or responds to any one of the main themes found in The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien). These themes include (but are not limited to):

• Courage/Bravery
• Tragedy
• Love
• Sacrifice
• Guilt
• Shame/Cowardice
• Patriotism
• Death
• Family
• Terror/Fear
• Heroism
• War

You may submit one essay, poem, or visual/multimedia art that addresses any of these issues or another meaningful element that you feel was in the book. In your project, you do not have to directly quote or paraphrase words or ideas from The Things They Carried, but you can if you want to. Please be clear about what theme you are representing in your project and how it relates to the book.

Possible Projects

Since there are many possible forms for expressing these themes, you can submit a written work of poetry or prose or a visual work such as a photograph, collage, drawing, mixed media project, or animation. You must choose one category and can only submit one project. Students may work in groups of two or three people to create a joint project, but are asked to clearly identify their work as a joint project and to include everyone's names and contact information on the cover sheet.

General Guidelines

This cover sheet with your name, student number, address, phone number, and e-mail address must accompany all projects. If you are submitting a group project, each student must complete a cover sheet. Please do not include your name anywhere else on your written or visual submission, as a process of blind review will review submissions.

Members of the University community who have expertise in essays, poetry, and visual work will judge projects.

Written Project Guidelines

You may submit either:

Visual Project Guidelines

You may submit one visual project, which could be a painting, drawing, photograph, mixed media work, cartoon, or Flash animation.

• Paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, and mixed media work should be no larger than 24 inches by 36 inches.
• If you are submitting a piece of digital work, please burn it to a CD.
• Please make sure that no identifying information appears on your work.

Only one submission per student or student group, please.

Project Submissions

Projects should be placed in the Niagara Reads Contest box in the Learning Center (first floor of Seton Hall). Remember to complete the cover sheet with your name, student number, phone number and e-mail address. Do not include your contact information anywhere else on your submission.

Deadline for entries: Wednesday, October 8th at 5:00 p.m.

Project Winners

There will be a winner in each category (essay, poem, and visual project). Each category winner will be awarded $150 (group participants will share the prize if a group project is submitted). Project winners will be notified by October 15th, and prizes will be presented during Family Weekend, October 24-26, 2008. The works may be displayed on campus or reprinted in campus publications.

Questions?

Questions about the contest can be addressed to the contest coordinator, Michelle Ciminelli (mrcim@niagara.edu).

Download Contest Rules: Word Document || Adobe PDF

Download Cover Sheet: Word Document || Adobe PDF