Welcome to the 4400 Project

Rules, Deadlines and Other Important Information

There is a lot of information here! 

Please read carefully.  Contact us with ANY questions.

General Rules and Information

(Essay and Video Rules below.)

Eligibility:

Students in grades 9-12 attending high school within the City of Redlands are eligible to participate.

Deadlines:  Essay and video deadline is November 1, 2012. 

Essay Contest

Entries:

• Entries shall be limited to one essay per student. 
• Topics must be chosen from among the list of prompts provided by the 4400 Project.  (See 2012 Essay and Video Prompts tab.)  Entries which choose a different topic will not be evaluated.
• Entries must be between 800 and 1000 words in length. Title Pages, citations and bibliography are not included in the word count. 
•  All essays must reflect the contestant’s own research, writing and original thinking. Plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.

All essays must include the following:

• Sources referenced via bibliography. 
• Quotes must be given proper reference via footnotes and/or bibliography. 
• Significance attributed to assertions and events must be justified. 
• Cover page to include the following:

         o  Title of Essay

         o  Essay prompt chosen

         o  Student’s name

         o  School

         o  Grade

         o  Teacher, class title and period

         o  Address, telephone number and email                                         (if applicable)

Submission:

• Online: 4400Project.org, or 4400Project@gmail.com.  Submissions must be received by November 1, 2012.   Essays submitted online must be in a Word document text file (read only preferred), or PDF file format.

•   Mail:  Mail your entries to P. O. Box 1493, Redlands, Ca  92373.  Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than November 1, 2012.  Note:  Essays will not be returned.

Judging Criteria:

1.  Historical accuracy (35 points)

•  All references to dates, names and places must be accurate.
• Quotes must be given proper reference via footnotes and/or bibliography.
• Significance attributed to assertions and events must be justified.

 2.  Grasp of the subject prompt (35 points)

• Display an understanding of the significance of the prompt and its relevance to our Constitution.

3.  Presentation (20 points)

• Themes and commentary presented in a clear and concise manner. 
  
• Conclusions logical and proceed in an orderly manner from the material used for the essay.

4.  Grammar and spelling (10 points)

• Proper spelling and use of correct grammar.

 Video Contest

Entries:

•  Video entries may be a collaborative effort.  Entries shall be limited to one video per student. 
• Topics must be chosen from among the list of prompts provided by the 4400 Project. (See 2012 Essay and Video Prompts tab.)  Entries which choose a different topic will not be evaluated. 
•  Videos should be 10 minutes or less.  Videos must be within YouTube parameters for posting videos.
• All videos must reflect the contestant’s own research and original thinking.  Plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.
  
• No profane language, violence, sex or personal attacks on people or organizations. 
• No violating copyright laws by using brand names or logos other than USA in your video. You agree to indemnify the Redlands Sunrise Rotary and the 4400 Project for any claim, demand, judgment, or other allegation arising from your possible violation of someone's trademark, copyright, or other legally protected interest in any way in your video. 
• Your video may not contain any endorsement, solicitation, commercial, or similar content advocating for or against candidates for office, political issues, or commercial products. 
•  Your video must be original content for this contest. Do not submit a video that has been submitted elsewhere.  
•  Videos must be QuickTime/MOV, WMV, MPEG or AVI. 
•  You must be prepared to provide the 4400 Project and Redlands Sunrise Rotary with release forms for all people featured in your video.   Please remember to respect others' privacy in your submission.  Entrants must have consent from all individuals appearing in or referenced in a submission.

All videos must include the following either in the video, or by separate attachment. 

• All sources in bibliography format. 
• Quotes must be given proper reference.
  
• Significance attributed to assertions and events must be justified.

 All videos must include the following by separate attachment.

• Cover page to include the following:

         o  Title of Essay

         o  Essay prompt chosen

         o  Student’s name

         o  School

         o  Grade

         o  Teacher, class title and period

         o  Address, telephone number and email                                   (if applicable)  

Submission: 

• Online: 4400Project@gmail.com by email attachment.  Submissions must be received by November 1, 2012.

• Mail: Mail your entries copied to a flash drive, CD or DVD to P. O. Box 1493, Redlands, Ca  92373.  Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than November 1, 2012.  Note: flash drive, CD or DVD will not be returned.

 Judging Criteria:

1.  Historical accuracy (35 points)

•  All references to dates, names and places must be accurate.
• Quotes must be given proper reference via footnotes and/or bibliography.
• Significance attributed to assertions and events must be justified.

 2.  Grasp of the subject prompt (35 points)

• Display an understanding of the significance of the prompt and its relevance to our Constitution.

3.  Presentation (20 points)

• Themes and commentary presented in a clear and concise manner. 
  
• Conclusions logical.

4.  Creativity  (10 points)

• Entertainment value
  

Judging Procedures

After the contest closes, essays and videos will be judged to determine whether they comply with the requirements of the contest. Those entries that do not comply will be disqualified.  All other entries will advance to round two where the essays and videos will be rated by a panel of judges based on the above criteria.  Decisions of the judges are final.

Pesky Legal Stuff

Disclaimers: 

• Redlands Sunrise Rotary and 4400 Project is not responsible for essays or videos lost in the mail or by transmission by email.
• Essays and videos will not be returned to the contestant.  Submission of essays and videos constitutes permission for Redlands Sunrise Rotary and/or 4400 Project to post winning materials online, in newspaper, or magazine publications, and use them as deem appropriate for future educational purposes.  Appropriate citations will be given to the writers/producers.
• By entering the contest, you grant Redlands Sunrise Rotary and/or 4400 Project a perpetual, royalty-free license to use your essay or video, in any media, for non-commercial purposes. Except for the prize awarded to any winner of the contest, no other compensation in any manner will be paid to any entrant for 4400 Project future use of the essay or video in any manner.
• Winners will be solely responsible for any federal, state, or local taxes on winnings if applicable. 

Privacy:

The personal information you submit on the entry form will only be used to contact you in the event you win the contest or if there is a question or issue regarding your essay or video or its content. We will not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about you, unless required for law enforcement or by statute. As your essay and video will be made available to the public, you should not include personal information about yourself or anyone else. All information collected on the title page will be deleted at the conclusion of the contest.  Redlands Sunrise Rotary and the 4400 Project may use YouTube to host the videos for this contest. You are subject to YouTube's use, privacy, cookie, and security provisions also.  Those provisions can be viewed at http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/t/privacy.

Whew!  That was a lot!

Good luck and have fun! 

1.  At 4400 words, our U.S. Constitution is the shortest written, yet the longest lasting Constitution in all of history!  This is no accident, as our Constitution is designed to last forever.  Our founders understood history and the natural progression towards the abuse of power.  They designed our Constitution to limit the government and not the people, create checks and balances to control concentrated power, and allow the maximum amount of freedom while still maintaining a strong government.  The real genius of our Constitution is that it was written to control human nature. 

Include the following, and feel free to include other points you feel are important.

• Describe the specific aspects of human nature that our founders considered so important and took into account while designing our Constitution.
• How is our Constitution designed to protect citizens from the natural progression of concentrated power?  (Give specific examples)
• Discuss the purpose the original Constitution served, and whether it still serves the same purpose.
• Give specific examples from our Constitution that support your position.  

Recommended reading:

• U. S. Constitution
• Federalist Papers, including #10, #47, & #51
  

2.  Our government was founded upon the understanding that our rights come from our “Creator,” and not from government.  Our Declaration of Independence explains these rights as “unalienable” and lays out the principles of freedom upon which our country was founded.  Our Constitution is simply the application of those principles. 

Include the following, and feel free to include other points you feel are important.

• Explain the relationship between the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
• Explain "unalienable rights."
• How was our Constitution designed to be the guardian of these rights?
• Give specific examples from our Constitution and Declaration of Independence that support your position.

Recommended reading: 

• Declaration of Independence
• U. S. Constitution
• Federalist Papers, including #2

3.  The word, democracy, does not appear anywhere in our Constitution.  This is because our form of government is a republic.  Our founders knew from studying history that a pure democracy only works in very small groups, like families or classrooms; otherwise it results in chaos and tyranny.  Republics result in ordered freedom. 

Include the following, and feel free to include other points you feel are important.

• Explain the differences between a democracy and a republic and give specific examples of how each operate? 
• Discuss why our founders chose a republican form of government over a democracy. 
• Explain what Benjamin Franklin meant when he said we have a “Republic – if you can keep it.”
• Give specific examples from our Constitution to support your position. 

• Federalist Papers, including #10 & #51
• U. S. Constitution
  

• Arrowhead Christian Academy
• Citrus Valley High School
  
• Grove High School
• Orangewood High School
  
• Packinghouse Christian School
• Redlands Adventist Academy
• Redlands East Valley High School
  
• Redlands High School

Good Luck!

• Redlands Sunrise Rotary
• Apogean Group, LLC
• Graves & King
• Clark's Nutrition
• Craig & Son's Termite and Pest Control
  
• Gallagher's Finishing Touch Engraving 
• Arthur's Commercial Press
• A. J. Barile's Chicago Pizza
  

2012 Essay Contest Winners

Congratulations!

Overall Individual Awards chosen from ALL participating schools

INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

OVERALL SCHOOL WINNER

        Citrus Valley High School

Perpetual trophy, and bragging rights, to reside at winning school for the remainder of the year!

Individual Awards for Each School

• 1^st, 2^nd, & 3^rd place essays from each school receive trophies
•  4^th – 10^th place essays receive certificates