Boller wins Liberty Day essay contest

WARWICK-Frances Boller drew on family experiences of escaping Nazi Germany and on her freedom to be a Bruderhof in winning the local Liberty Day essay contest. She won a $500 scholarship in the writing competition sponsored by the Warwick Leo Club, a youth service organization sponsored by the Warwick Lions Club. Boller wrote of the freedoms granted to all Americans under the first amendment. She drew information from history including such Supreme Court cases as Schenck v. United Sates and Tinker v. Des Moines School District both of which related to first amendment freedoms. Miss Boller also discussed her family's history of fleeing from Nazi Germany and eventually reaching the safe haven of the United States. She explained how the first amendment allows her to wear her headscarf in school because it represents her Bruderhof religeous principles. This protection is something she says she is very grateful to have. The five essay finalists were Frances Boller, Sheena Justiniano, Alanna McVey, Radhika Shah, and Elaine Zaveckas. For the Leos, this completed the third part of their Liberty Day project chaired by Leo Club member Michael Marshall. This final part was an essay contest for Warwick High School seniors. The topic for the essays was the importance of the constitution and the rights associated with it. Most topics focused on first amendment rights and the freedoms related to the amendment. All essays were judged by a group selected by the Leo Club, both on the essay's meaning and quality of writing Ed Burke of the Warwick High School English Department assisted with the essay contest.