SUMMARY: A high school student is set to win top prize in a prestigious contest for her essay describing the political courage demonstrated by Vermont's governor in supporting same-sex civil unions.
To a 17-year-old high school junior from Kentucky, a Vermont governor's stand in support of gay and lesbian rights was a courageous political act. On Monday, she will receive a prestigious award for the essay in which she made that case.
Stephanie Dziczek of Covington, Ky., will receive first place honors in the Profiles in Courage Essay Contest, conducted each year by the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Library in Boston. Her essay about Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's (pictured) support of his state's landmark civil union law was chosen from nearly 1,200 entries in the contest, which is named after the former president's 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
The annual competition asks students to write an essay on a current political issue and an elected official who is acting courageously to address it. "The John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest is designed to help high school students appreciate the importance of public service and the difficult choices that politicians often face," said John Shattuck, chief executive officer of the Kennedy Library and Foundation.
In her essay, Dziczek said Dean stood up for what he believed in, even though it probably cost him a chance at a presidential run and put his gubernatorial seat at risk. "Disturbed by Vermont's reaction toward gay civil unions, Dean made the 'extension of the rights and benefits of the [Vermont] constitution to all Vermonters, regardless of their sexual orientation' the heart of his campaign for acceptance and understanding," Dziczek wrote. "Over the next six months, Dean fought harder for open-mindedness than for votes."
For the first time ever, two essays will be given first-place honors. The second was authored by Tyler Boersen of Haslett, Mich. Boersen's essay highlighted the political courage demonstrated by Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak, who was targeted for defeat by the National Rifle Association (NRA) lobby after he voted against an NRA-backed amendment.
"Democracy faces enough challenges today without saddling our youth with doubt and cynicism about their elected leaders," said Shattuck. "Stephanie Dziczek and Tyler Boersen are to be congratulated for understanding why President Kennedy most admired those politicians who have the courage to make decisions of conscience without regard for the consequences."
The judges included Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine; Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.; John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center; David Burke, former president of CBS News; Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund; Antonia Hernandez, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; Elaine Jones, director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund; and Caroline Kennedy, president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
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The JFK Library has posted Dziczek's winning essay on its Web site.
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