Judges' Comments

The judges were unanimous in our selection of Morgan Mastrianni's paper, Read Like Water, for the Spring 2018 First Year Writing Prize. We noted how this paper intricately weaves together strands about the artist's book The Way to Be Empty, Buddhist teachings, and her personal memories of horse training, to create a breathtaking experience for the reader. Morgan embraces ambiguity and questioning and a sense of discovery throughout, creating a moving and memorable journey that does, in fact, resemble "reading like water." 

In awarding Mona Baloch's essay Speak With Caution honorable mention, the judges noted its skillful weaving together of personal experience and scholarly analysis of racial profiling in airports. Mona's focus on language as a marker of Muslim identity helps us to see the construction of race and practice of surveillance in new ways. 

Tatiana Ivy Morse's essay, Snap Out of It: The Implicit Bias Behind Snapchat Filters, beginning with its inviting introduction, demonstrates a lively and subtle exploration of the complexities behind the layers of filters on social media. In particular, her essay addresses the problematic concepts illustrated by some of the filters, which are designed to alter facial features to ostensibly more culturally pleasing norms. Tatiana discusses the very real concerns these filters raise, and presents a subtle argument for how we can engage with these filters in a healthier and more positive way. She combines personal experience with thoughtful academic research.