Three Clermont Northeastern High School government students have won awards in a county-wide essay contest sponsored by the Quin-T Democrat Club.
The club is a grass-roots organization of Democratic activists in southern Clermont County.
Kenneth Wright, a Quin-T member and essay coordinator, said that the idea for the contest grew out of a conversation about the current political climate in the country.
“The talk on TV was about the political climate, that we’re in the worst political climate, a mean spirited time,” Wright said. “They don’t know their history.”
From that conversation, he said, the idea was born for a writing contest in which students would look back on the political process of the past and see just how mean those elections could be.
CNE government teacher Misty Goetz assigned the essay to her students.
She said that the purpose of the essay was to highlight the campaign process and analyze the influence of the media and special interests in elections, and that students could choose a president from Thomas Jefferson through George W. Bush.
“With how this election went, I thought it sounded like a good idea to have the students look back throughout history and see this wasn’t the first time in history that things have gotten vicious,” Goetz said.
Winning first place in the contest and a $300 prize was Liz Glasgo. Second place was won by Joey Neely, who won $200. Third place was won by Allison Humbert, who won $100.
Glasgo wrote about the 1872 election between Ulysses S. Grant and Horace Greeley.
“I chose Grant because I knew he was from Ohio, and I thought that would be an interesting topic,” Glasgo said. “I was very excited to win.”
More photos from this event are available for viewing and purchase – click here.