Winners of Robert H. and Susan M. Rewoldt Essay Contest in Politics Announced
Hillsdale College politics faculty award top three essays
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College announces the winners of the second annual Robert H. and Susan M. Rewoldt Essay Contest in Politics. Students Maggie Hroncich, John Rowe, and Duggan Foley took first, second, and third place, respectively. Their essays were written on the topic: “Liberty and the Rule of Law.”
“We were impressed, as always, by the quality of writing we received in these essays,” said Provost Christopher VanOrman. “It is exciting to see students reach beyond what is already asked of them in the classroom, and these essays are an excellent example of the kind of work our students put into most everything they undertake here.”
Maggie Hroncich’s essay, “Rule of Regulations: Dual Institutions and the Illusion of the Rule of Law,” won first prize and discussed the threat to the American conception of liberty posed by the Administrative State and judicial activism.
“If knowable, publicly promulgated, and justly enforced law is essential to a free and flourishing society, there can be no expectation of liberty in a state ruled by bureaucrats and judges,” Hroncich wrote.
John Rowe won second prize with an essay on the necessity of a virtuous population for liberty. Duggan Foley won third prize and wrote a critique of various government responses to COVID-19 and how those responses threatened liberty and the rule of law.
First place received $5,000, second place $3,000, and third $1,000. The contest was open to all Hillsdale College undergraduate students. Essays were judged by politics faculty.
In 2019, Mrs. Susan M. Rewoldt established an endowment to fund an annual essay contest on political topics, made possible through a generous bequest to Hillsdale College from her late husband, Robert H. Rewoldt. Mr. Rewoldt’s bequest has also funded the Robert H. and Susan M. Rewoldt Scholarship for the George Washington Fellowship Program and the Robert H. and Susan M. Rewoldt Endowed Merit Scholarship in Politics, for students with a declared major in politics.
View headshots of the winners of this year’s essay contest here.
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