Periclean Student Winners Advocate for Policy Change

Project Pericles is excited to announce the winners of the Spring 2024 Debating for Democracy (D4D) Letter to an Elected Official Competition. This year, we have winners from Pitzer College in California, Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, and Wagner College in New York. Student teams won $500 to advocate for policy changes addressing public safety, education rights and racial equity, and sustainability. Congratulations! ​

The winning teams:
Pitzer College: Devlin Orlin and Emily Ortiz for their letter: A Letter in support of H.R.7320: Restorative Practices in Schools Act of 2022, addressed to Representative Judy Chu (D-CA). 

Swarthmore College: Sylvia Myers, Evan Wang, Andrea Cheah, and Rohan Mandayam for their letter: A Letter Urging Support for The CHARGE Act 2023 addressed to Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA).

Wagner College: Bianca DiMarco, Jordan Esposito, and Lillian McNally for their letter: A Letter Urging New York to Introduce a “Student Protection Act” addressed to Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-NY).
​
About Debating for Democracy (D4D)–In collaboration with Periclean campuses, In 2006 Project Pericles launched Debating for Democracy (D4D), a series of programs that represent the mission of Project Pericles in action. Students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to advance their issues and to get their messages across to elected officials, fellow students, community groups, and the media. Throughout the years, we have had 180 students win D4D Letter to an Elected Official Competition awards and pursue advocacy projects on their campuses, eight D4D National Conferences providing a life-changing two-day experience for 4,000 students, and more than 50 D4D on the Road Workshops serving 5,000 students, staff, faculty, and community members across the nation. Supporters of this program have included the Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Eugene M. Lang Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and TIAA-CREF.