CU writing program announces winners among fall '99 essays

The John S. Knight Writing Program at Cornell has announced fall 1999 award winners in several categories.

• The Elmer Markham Johnson and James E. Rice Jr. prizes of $250 each are awarded to the best essays written this semester in response to a teacher's assignment in a first-year writing seminar.

James E. Rice Award winners: Simon Leet '03, computer science for "I'll See It When I Believe It" (English 132 -- The Personal Essay; instructor: Jasper Bernes, teaching assistant (T.A.), English); John O'Reilly '03, biology, for "Interpretations of St. Bartholomew in Michelangelo's Last Judgment" (History of Art 112 -- Storytelling in Art: Virgins, Saints and Martyrs -- Stories of the Christian Faith; instructor: Richard Gay, T.A., history of art). Honorable mention: Sabrina Macedo-Moran '03, engineering, for "Inside and Outside: The Things They Carried" (English 270 -- The Reading of Fiction; instructor: Maureen McCoy, professor, English).

Elmer Markham Johnson Award winners: Amy Stutius '03, government and economics, for "The Changing Perceptions of Gender Roles" (History 100.04 -- Suffering Until Suffrage: Women and American Politics, 1760-1920; instructor: Laura Free, T.A., history). Honorable Mention: Mark James Adams '03, computer science, for "The New Ducks of Cayuga Lake" (Music 111.4 --What to Listen for in Music; instructor: Ann McCutchan, Knight postdoctoral fellow, music).

• The Adelphic Award ($250) goes to the best essay written by a student in a first-year writing seminar whose native language is other than English. Adelphic Award Winner: Luis Garcia '03, undeclared, for "Bilingual Education" (Spanish literature 110 -- Crossing Borders/Rites of Passage; instructor: Angélica Lozano-Alonso, T.A., Romance studies). Honorable Mention: Atanas Tzenev '03, economics, for "Northern Ireland: Searching for the Elusive Solution" (Government 100.3 -- Nationalism in Great Britain; instructor: Sydney A. Van Atta, T.A., government).

• The John S. Knight Prize for Assignment Sequences ($400) is awarded to the teacher submitting the best sequence of writing assignments for a first-year writing seminar.

John S. Knight Prize for Assignment Sequences winners: Zubair Amir, T.A., English, for "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: Guiding Student Writing on Coleridge (English 185.03 -- Writing About Literature "Twice-Told Tales")"; Margaret A. Weitekamp, T.A., history, for "Murder Board" Sequence (History 100.11 -- Gender, Race, Society, and Space: Space History, Science Fiction and American Society). Honorable Mention ($250): Matthew Evangelista, professor, government, for "How Political Scientists Write About Separatism" (Government 100.6 -- Separatism).

• The Gertrude Spencer Prize ($350) is awarded to an instructor and student for work together that led to the student's finished essay.

Gertrude Spencer Prize winners: E. Casey Becker '03, arts and sciences, and Paul Hecht, T.A., English, for "Obscurity-Clarity Spectrum" (English 185.7 -- Poetry via Performance and Practice); Katrina Becker '03, international agriculture, and Mindy Peden, T.A., government, for "The Inherent Inequality of Segregation" (Government 100.4 -- Racism, Segregation and Apartheid).

The Knight Writing Program offers first-year writing seminars in more than 30 departments, with over 100 different courses taught each semester.