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City College Outstanding Essay Contest

April 20, 2010
by Online Staff | SacCityExpress.com

The Sacramento City College Outstanding Essay Contest

funded by the Sierra Health Foundation

Write an essay, win money!!

First prize:          $1,000

Second Prize: $700

Third Prize:         $300

Finalists will be announced at the essay contest awards ceremony.

Entry Guidelines:

• Entrant must be a currently enrolled SCC undergraduate student.
• Essay must be on the supplied theme found on the back of this flyer.
• Essay must be no fewer than 800 words and no longer than 1,500 words; essay must be typewritten and double-spaced.
• Only one entry per student.
• Essay must be the sole work of the entrant.
• A stapled cover sheet with the essay must contain the entrant’s name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, essay title, and word count.
• Entries must be submitted to Rodda South 226 no later than May 7th, 2010.
• Winners will be announced at the essay contest awards ceremony to be held in October, 2010.  Information on exact date and time will be emailed to all entrants.
• Direct all questions or concerns to Maureen Dana  danam@scc.losrios.edu or 650-2962

Topic

In the following quote, Mark Crispin Miller asserts that TV’s coverage of war causes us to not actually see or experience war; rather, we are removed from its true devastation.

“While a war is among the biggest things that can ever happen to a nation or a people, devastating families, blasting away the roofs and walls, we see it compressed and miniaturized on a sturdy little piece of furniture, which stands and shines at the very center of our household.  And TV contains warfare in subtler ways.  While it may confront us with the facts of death, bereavement, mutilation, it immediately cancels out the memory of that suffering, replacing its own pictures of despair with a commercial, upbeat and inexhaustibly bright.”

In reading Miller’s quote, we may immediately assess his statement in light of the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  We may also ponder the role of media in the military actions of the past.  However, Miller’s statement, while directly addressing the issue of war, also touches on the way the media paradoxically exposes, shapes, and clouds our understanding of various developments and events in our world.

Consider Miller’s point and write an essay about the role of the media in shaping our perceptions