The winners of the 2008 President's Essay Competitions were announced and celebrated Thursday in the Brenda Wallace reading room at Laurentian University.
This year, French, English and international students were able to choose from one of three following topics:
- Comment on this statement made by George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
- Are men and women equal in contemporary Canadian society? What roles should social organizations, political institutions and individuals play in fostering gender equality?
- What have been the benefits and drawbacks of recent technological advances? How can we best harness scientific knowledge to resolve some of today's problems?
A reward of $2,500 goes to first-place winners in all three competitions and the runners-up receive $1,000. Prizes for the English and French competitions are funded by the Sudbury District Boys' Home Charitable Trust. The international students' essay competition is funded through the Office of the President.
And the winners are:
English language competition:
Second place - Margaret Bibby, second-year, English and
anthropology for Communis Tantum Humanis: A Historical Embrace;
Samantha Pitzel, second-year, bachelor of education and
history, A World for our Children. (No first place prize was
awarded.)
Honourable mention - Heather Wilson, fourth-year, English and
women's studies for A Twenty-First Century Women's
Movement
French language competition:
First place - Darry Malka Kyakimwa, first-year, biomedical
biology for Ceux qui ne peuvent se rappeler le passé sont
condamnés à le répéter
Second place - Eric Pomerleau, first-year, commerce for La
culture du souvenir
International student competition winners:
First place -  Anick Sian S. Yaha, fourth-year
economics/mathematics student from Côte d'Ivoire for
L'impact des récents progrès technologiques et la
contribution des connaissances scientifiques à la résolution
des problèmes actuels
Second place - Julie Graff, first-year history student from
France for Est-il nécessaire de se rappeler le passé?
All winning essays are available at the J.N. Desmarais Library at Laurentian University.
For more information, phone Laurentian's Office of the President at 675-1151 ext. 3410.
