James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest Application & Rules

Transcription

1 James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest Application & Rules Prizes $5,000 First Prize $2,000 Second Prize $1,000 Third Prize $500 Fourth Prize $100 Fifth Prize $75 Honorable Mention (there are thirty Honorable Mention awards) Winners Selected: June 22, 2012 Winners Notified by: July 27, 2012 To Apply to the Essay Contest: Step 1) Step 2) Fill in the box Your Information below. Read the Rules (attached) and sign below. Return this form by , fax or mail. Write and post your essay on the Web before the deadline and notify us by where your essay is posted. Your Information: Full Name: Grade (Freshman, Sophomore, etc.): Name of College/University: Your Mailing Address: Address: Telephone Number: In entering this essay contest, I warrant that I am eighteen years of age or older, currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university, and that I have read and understand the James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest Rules contained herein and that I am legally bound by them. Signature: Please Print Name: Date: Please sign and return this page by , fax, or regular mail. Keep a copy for your records. aelliott@cancermonthly.com Fax: Mail: Scholarship Committee, Cancer Monthly, Inc., New Falls of Neuse Road, Suite Raleigh, NC

2 James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest Rules Prizes $5,000 First Prize $2,000 Second Prize $1,000 Third Prize $500 Fourth Prize $100 Fifth Prize $75 Honorable Mention (there are thirty Honorable Mention awards) Type of Scholarship This is an essay contest. Winners will be awarded a check to be used towards tuition and/or expenses related to their college or university education. Contestants must be enrolled in a U.S. college/university at the time of entry in this contest and must be at least eighteen years of age. Only one essay per student is allowed. Eligibility The essay contest is open to current undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled in a college or university located in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Essay Content Rhio O'Connor was diagnosed with a deadly cancer (mesothelioma) and given a year to live. Instead of giving up he found his own path to health and outlived his prognosis by more than six years. This path to health included: vitamins, minerals, a healthy (primarily vegetarian) diet, and mind-body medicine. This approach along with Rhio's ability to conduct research, work with licensed clinicians, foster an optimistic spirit, and make tough choices helped him beat his prognosis and live with a cancer considered "incurable" for many years. Unfortunately, many cancer patients are not as fortunate as Rhio. Today, cancer is the leading cause of death in adults under the age of 85 and is the leading cause of death by disease in children. Conventional cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery have proven to be very limited in providing a cure for most cancers. It is estimated that it costs over $400 million to bring a new cancer drug to market. Alternative therapies like the ones used by Rhio are regarded as highly controversial because they are considered untested and unproven. On January 22, 1971 President Nixon declared a "war on cancer" during his state of the Union Address. Since then the National Cancer Institute has expended an estimated 100 billion dollars in its search for a cure. 2

3 Undergraduate and graduate students at colleges and universities in the United States are invited to honor Rhio's spirit of self determination and intellectual curiosity by writing an essay about cancer and our progress in preventing and treating this disease since the War on Cancer was announced over 41 years ago. Are we making progress in curing cancer since 1971? If so, where? Why has the incidence rates of many cancers continued to increase? Why is cancer the leading cause of death by disease in children and of adults under the age of 85? What should be done to improve progress in curing or preventing cancer? What Your Essay Must Contain: You should discuss what you think should be done to reduce the number of cases of cancer and improve survival rates. You can take any approach you feel is best. Be sure to define the problem and provide realistic solutions. This is the James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest so readers will want to know a little about the cancer (mesothelioma) that took Rhio O Connor s life. Therefore, you should include some introductory information about Rhio and the cancer called mesothelioma. The essay needs to be posted on the web and contain a link. Please see the sections on Posting and Linking below. What Your Essay May Contain (Suggestions): Are we making progress in curing cancer since 1971 when the War on Cancer was declared? If so, where? Why has the incidence rates of many cancers continued to increase? Why is cancer the leading cause of death by disease in children and of adults under the age of 85? What should be done to improve progress in curing or preventing cancer? Essay Length The essay must be no fewer than 700 and no more than 1,500 words in length. Deadlines & Posting Rhio O Connor believed strongly in the importance of educating current and future leaders about the value of thinking outside the box when it came to the cause of cancer and its rational treatment. As a scholarship applicant, the audience for your essay is first your college/university and second the public at large. Therefore, all essays must be 3

4 posted/published on a blog or website by the contestant. You have two choices where to post it on the internet. Choice #1) Post it on a University blog or website deadline May 25, :00 P.M. ET. If the contestant has a blog or webpage available through their respective college or university and the college or university permits an essay to be posted there then the contestant should use this blog or webpage to post their essay. It is solely up to the contestant to determine whether the posting of their essay on a university sponsored or provided blog or webpage is permissible. Once your essay is posted and a link is provided (see Linking below), you must notify us by aelliott@cancermonthly.com and provide the URL where the essay is posted. Please put the words Essay Posted in the subject line. Choice #2) Post it on personal blog or website deadline April 21, :00 P.M. ET. If a university blog or webpage is unavailable then the contestant may post their essay on their own personal blog or website up until April 21, After that date, your essay must be posted on an.edu web page or it will be disqualified. Once your essay is posted and a link is provided (see Linking below), you must notify us by aelliott@cancermonthly.com and provide the URL where the essay is posted. Please put the words Essay Posted in the subject line. All expenses associated with a contestant essay and its posting or publishing on a website or blog are the sole responsibility of the contestant. Remember: Early submissions are encouraged! Linking Your readers may want to know more about the cancer that took Rhio O Connor s life. Therefore, your posted essay must contain at least one link to Cancer Monthly s authoritative mesothelioma survivors website so that readers can learn more about this particular cancer, its diagnosis, treatment, and survivors. There is no required format for this link, but one example is to have the word mesothelioma or mesothelioma cancer that appears somewhere in your essay hyperlinked to an appropriate page within the website so readers can click on it and learn more about mesothelioma if they would like. No other links or advertisements should appear on the web page or blog page where the essay appears without the express written permission of Cancer Monthly. 4

5 Judging Essays will be judged by a qualified panel of judges chosen by Cancer Monthly and winners will be selected on or about June 22, Submissions will be judged on style, content, grammar and originality. Judges will look for clear, concise writing that is original, articulate, logically organized and well-supported. Winners will be notified by July 27, 2012 via . Winners Selected: June 22, 2012 Winners Notified by: July 27, 2012 General 1. Essay must be solely the work of the contestant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification and may be reported to the appropriate authorities. 2. Decisions of the judges are final. 3. Employees of Cancer Monthly, its board of directors and their immediate family members are not eligible for this essay contest. 4. Winners shall be required to provide a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to Cancer Monthly for issuance of a 1099 Form where appropriate. All federal, state, local and other taxes and charges on prizes will be the sole responsibility of the contestant. 5. By accepting a prize, winners grant to Cancer Monthly the right to edit, publish, copy, display and otherwise use their essay in connection with this contest, and to further use their names and biographical information in promotional materials, without further compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law. 6. Winners must keep their winning essays posted on their website or blog until June 15, 2013 or until their blog or website is taken down, whichever comes first. 7. Cancer Monthly will make every reasonable attempt to read and have judged every essay, but Cancer Monthly is not responsible for failure to read and/or judge an essay. 8. Any prize or other item to which a contestant may become entitled as a result of his/her participation in this contest is subject to immediate revocation in the event of a discovery of a contestant s failure to comply with these rules. 9. The number of prizes may be changed at Cancer Monthly s sole discretion. 10. By participating in this essay contest and/or accepting a prize, contestants agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Cancer Monthly, its managers, members, directors, officers, and employees, from and against any and all liability and costs in connection with any claim from any liability, injury, damages, cost or expense, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising out of or connected to participation in this contest or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prizes. 11. Under no circumstances shall Cancer Monthly, its managers, members, directors, officers, employees, agents, investors or licensors, be liable to the contestant for any indirect, punitive, special or consequential damages. 12. Depending on the number of responses, Cancer Monthly may institute a cut-off where we will refuse to receive any more new applications after a certain date. Therefore, if you are interested in participating in this essay contest, you should submit your application as soon as possible. 5

6 13. If there are changes to these Rules they will be sent by and will be considered read and accepted by the contestant. If they are not acceptable, the contestant may recuse him or herself from this essay contest. 14. Any dispute arising from this contest will be determined according to the laws of the State of North Carolina, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and the contestants consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Wake County, North Carolina and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes. Our Contact Information: For questions about the James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest please see the Frequently Asked Questions below. If your question is not answered there, you may questions to: Or write: Cancer Monthly, Inc New Falls of Neuse Road Suite Raleigh, NC Fax: James "Rhio" O'Connor Memorial Scholarship Essay Contest Frequently Asked Questions I am a high school student. Am I eligible? No. The essay contest is open to current undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled in a college or university located in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. Therefore, high school students are ineligible. I am a foreign student. Am I eligible? Students enrolled in foreign universities/colleges are ineligible. I am an international student. Am I eligible? International students enrolled in a U.S. college/university are eligible. I am a U.S. college student attending an international campus. Am I eligible? If you are enrolled in a U.S. based college/university and are attending or plan to attend an international campus of that college/university you are eligible. I am a part-time student. Am I eligible? 6

7 Part-time students who are currently enrolled in a college/university and intend to continue their enrollment either part-time or full time in a college/university after June 17, 2012 are eligible. Otherwise, you are ineligible. I am only seventeen years old but I have been accepted to university. Can I apply? No. At the time you apply for the scholarship (i.e. sign the application form) the applicant must be 18 years old or older and currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university. I am a high school student, but I am also taking college courses? Can I apply? Yes, if the person is eighteen years of age or older and currently enrolled in a U.S. college or university (but also in high school) then they could apply. If I am enrolled in a nursing program or technical school can I apply? Yes. I am a college senior or graduate student and I am graduating in June. Am I eligible? Winners will be awarded a check to be used towards tuition and/or expenses related to their college or university education. Therefore, if you will be enrolled in a graduate program after June 17, 2012 you are eligible. If, however, you are graduating and not pursuing any additional education, you are ineligible. Can the money received from the scholarship be used to pay tuition for a summer study abroad program or overseas study? Yes, because a summer abroad program or overseas study is related to your college or university education. What about legal status? I am an immigrant and/or I don t have a social security number. Am I eligible? Essay winners shall be required to provide a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to Cancer Monthly for issuance of a 1099 Form where appropriate. Where do I post the essay? You are responsible for posting your essay on the Web in accordance with these deadlines: 7

8 Deadline for Posting Essay on any site/blog: Deadline for Posting Essay on.edu website/blog: April 21, :00 P.M. ET. May 25, :00 P.M. ET. What do you mean by a.edu or personal website or blog? Do you provide this? An.edu website is a website where the URL ends with.edu. Your university or college may have this. By personal website or blog we mean a website or blog that you control. This could be a.com or.net, etc. We do not provide this. It is one of the requirements of this Scholarship Essay Contest. Sorry, we cannot offer advice on how to post to the web, but there are probably thousands of resources on this subject. Does Facebook or Myspace or similar websites count as a post for the essay? Social Media like Myspace or Facebook may be considered a blog, but keep in mind that no other links or advertisements should appear on the web page or blog page where the essay appears without the express written permission of Cancer Monthly. I do not have access to any website or blog, what should I do? One suggestion is to ask someone you know who has a website or blog whether you can provide a guest post on their website or if they can add a page for you. Many people would like to help students apply for a scholarship. If the essay is posted on a website or blog that has advertisements on it, is that violating the rules? The Rules state that no other links or advertisements should appear on the web page or blog page where the essay appears without the express written permission of Cancer Monthly. This is important to maintain the integrity of your essay so it does not appear spammy to the judges and other readers. But, if you want to include other links you can ask us. You can send us the URL so we can give you an answer and, perhaps, permission. Send an to: aelliott@cancermonthly.com Can I include references for my essay with hyperlinks to the respective sources? There should only be one link in the essay to or to a page within this website. If you would like to include other links you will need to ask Cancer Monthly s permission. If you have citations you can include them without a link such as a standard print citation. My college.edu website is password protected so if I post my essay there I would have to send you a user name and password in order for you to see my essay. Should I do this? Only if you are permitted to do so by your college or university. Check with them first. 8

9 Can I post my essay as a.docx file on my blog or just post is as an article? Please post it in compliance with the Rules so it is accessible on the web without requiring any additional program or software to access. Do I need to mail or my essay? No. Please do not mail or us your essay. Just send us an indicating where your essay is posted on the Web (the URL). May I write the essay as a short story? Yes, if you like. Must I have to have any personal cancer experience to apply? No. May I include accounts of people I know who had gone through cancer treatments? Yes. But, if you use the name of a real person or any personally identifiable information you will need their permission in writing. What type of permission? We cannot give legal advice. It is not our job to police the appropriateness or legality of your essay. That is your responsibility. As a courtesy, we are just reminding you that if you are writing about other people, especially their personal health challenges, and posting that information on the internet, there may be privacy laws that may apply. Speak to an attorney if you are unsure what to do. Prizes We look forward to receiving your application and reviewing your essay! $5,000 First Prize $2,000 Second Prize $1,000 Third Prize $500 Fourth Prize $100 Fifth Prize $75 Honorable Mention (thirty Honorable Mention awards) 9