The Rotary Club of Montecito
2013 Ethics Essay Competition
Call for Essays
Prizes: 1st $250 2nd $200 3rd $150

Competition for Santa Barbara Area High School Students

TOPIC: Examine a Key Ethical Failure Related to a Contemporary Issue

The past few years have produced several high-profile news stories that brought serious ethical concerns to the forefront of public opinion. Some of these scandals included David Letterman, Tiger Woods, Herman Cain, mortgage-backed securities, former Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Mark Sanford and Senator John Edwards. Political/economic stories involving fraud and corruption have been all too commonplace, including Bernard Madoff and numerous corporate examples. Students will first examine or explain an ethical rule or principle, including the basis for the ethical rule, why it is important and who has defined it as such. They will apply the ethical rule to the news story of their choice, local, national or international and provide commentary and perspective about the story and the consequences of the breach of ethical behavior. The essay will conclude with a summary of what can be learned from this contemporary issue and its significance.

SPECIFICATIONS: Essays must be between 1,000 and 1,200 words, in MS-Word with an 11-point type font, 1.5 line spacing, and one inch margins. A cover page must include the student’s name, date of birth, high school and class (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior), mailing address and phone number.

Essays are submitted directly to the screening committee (email to [email protected] with the MS Word file attached (Note: Rotary Essay Competition in the Subject line), on or before April 19th, 2013. Winners will be directly notified by the screening committee. The top three winners will be invited to Montecito Rotary to share their insights and receive their monetary awards.

For more information contact: Marc Fleischman, Coordinator of Essay competition at 805-569-5629 or [email protected].