Ely White, 18, of Townshend, penned the essay about political division in the U.S. as part of a class on current events. Submitting the essay was one of the final assignments. "The future of our ...

Ari Glasser, a junior from Essex High School, won second place with an essay on the influence of billionaires in the political system. Glasser proposed a wealth tax and campaign finance reform to ...