Human Rights Commission Announces Essay and Art Winners

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 24, 2015

For more information, please contact:

Barbara McKinney, Bloomington Human Rights Commission, 812.349.3429

Bloomington Human Rights Commission Announces Essay and Art Winners

Bloomington, Ind. - Each year, the The Bloomington Human Rights Commission (BHRC) sponsors an essay and art contest for local students. This year marks the 24th annual contest and its theme was "A Lesson I Learned From Someone Different From Me."

A ceremony honoring the award winners will be held on Thursday, April 2, at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. Mayor Mark Kruzan will present the prizes, which were donated in part by Optiks, Aver's Pizza and the Ryder Film Series. The public is invited to attend the ceremony.

Judges for this year's entries were Commission members Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Birk Billingsley, Michael Molenda and Barbara E. McKinney.

The essay winners at the younger student level were first place, Zoey Burchenson, grade 4, University Elementary School; second place, Alaska Laster, grade 2, Childs Elementary School; and third place, Ben Jaffe, grade 2, Rogers Elementary School. The essay winners at the older elementary level were first place, Younwoo Shin, grade 5, University Elementary School; second place, Macy Shepard, grade 5, University Elementary School and third place, Bill Zhenyu Nie, grade 5, University Elementary School.

The art winners at the younger student level were first place, Nora LoPilato, Nola Somers Glenn, Mona Livingston and Ruby Williams, grade 3, Templeton Elementary School; and second place, Colin Moore, grade 2, Childs Elementary School. The older student art winners were first place, Childs Elementary School's fifth grade students in Ms. Schlegel and Ms. Carpenter's class; second place, Talinaiya Bao, grade 6, University Elementary School; and third place, Emily Lucy Backs, grade 6, University Elementary School. The Human Rights Commission and the City of Bloomington congratulates all of these students.

The essay contest is another effort by the BHRC to raise awareness on all human rights issues in the community. The Bloomington Human Rights Commission is designed to enforce Bloomington's Human Rights Ordinance in a fair and timely manner and educate community members about their rights and responsibilities under various civil rights laws, among other duties. More information on the BHRC can be found at [on the Commission's website|/BHRC].

For more information about the BHRC, contact Barbara E. McKinney at 812.349.3429 or contact the commission at human.rights@bloomington.in.gov.

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