The Evil Monkey has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from a southeastern university. After a postdoctoral nightmare of Inquisitorial proportions, he is currently working in a laboratory and teaching at a local community college. He is still not sure why he wrote this paragraph in the third person, and for that reason is beginning to doubt his sanity. How many freakin' people can fit into his head, anyway? No wait, my head. Oh crap.
Darwin Day is fast approaching! In honor of Charles Darwin's birthday and his intellectual achievements, the Alliance for Science is starting an annual Darwin Day essay contest geared at high school students. We will be accepting essays from the 50 states, submissions sent by email. There will be cash prizes for the top entries, magazine subscriptions, and numerous signed books on evolution, creationism, or other relevant topics in biology available as prizes. Teachers, if your student is the winner then we will also kick in some money for your science labs.
Now here's the kicker: we don't have a fancy $4,000,000 operating budget like those creationist "think tanks" in Seattle. However, The Alliance for Science has already amassed a decent amount of the prize money thanks to some very generous individuals. We are looking to expand that amount and also procure funds for future Darwin Day Essay Contests. To that extent, we already have some of our membership contributing at least $200 in matching grants, which means you, dear reader, should consider donating to this worthy cause! No amount is too small and the Alliance for Science is a 501(c)3 charity, so your contributions are tax-deductible. Additionally, if you would like to ensure that your contribution is used only for the Darwin Day essay contest, please indicate this when you send your donation by writing "Darwin Day Essay" in the memo line on your check. We will either apply the amount towards this year's contest or keep it separate for subsequent DD Essay contests, but the money will not go towards any other AfS endeavor. Unfortunately we are not equipped to accept Paypal donations at this time. Please send your donations to this address.
The contest will not actually close on Darwin Day so don't fret; neither your essay nor your generous donations need to be in by then! The formal announcement is in the works, so watch AllianceforScience.org in the coming week for more details including deadlines, more info on the awards, how to submit your essay, and the essay topic itself.
Comments
I am a high school student and interested in the contest ... I'm kind of put off, though, by the emphasis the site puts on mixing evolution and religion in other parts of the site.
Posted by: K Bescherer | February 20, 2007 11:30 PM
I am not a high school student, but feel exactly the same way.
Posted by: Organic Chemistry Help | June 2, 2007 7:20 AM