In an ongoing effort to encourage and acknowledge insightful high school writing and oral presentations on naturism, the Naturist Education Foundation (NEF) has established
the NEF Junior Scholastic Award. NEF offers the award of $250 up to four times each year to the best original essay or speech text submissions (hereafter "essay") on the topic of naturism. A high school student who lives in a
household with a current membership with The Naturist Society (TNS) may submit an essay to be considered for the award. A winning essay may, upon approval of the magazine's editors, be published in Nude & Natural magazine, the quarterly journal of The Naturist Society, and on the Naturist Education Foundation's web site.
NEF is dedicated to improving awareness of naturism for naturists and
non-naturists, including legislators, academic communities, business owners and the public. NEF recognizes that young naturists attending high school face many
challenges in terms of acceptance among peer students and teachers. It often takes courage to submit written work or public presentations on topics pertaining to
naturism. NEF thus wishes to foster and applaud—through the NEF Junior Scholastic Award—informed discussions on these matters. NEF encourages high school students
to apply the knowledge and skills acquired in their education to the task of writing an original essay for a class assignment by exploring one of the many aspects or implications of naturism.
SUBMISSION FORM. CLICK TO VIEW
AND DOWNLOAD. THEN PRINT, FILL
OUT AND SEND.
Who may submit an essay for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
Any public or private high school student living in a household with a current TNS membership may submit an essay
or text of speech for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award along with a copy of a completed NEF Junior Scholastic Award submission form. The household's TNS membership must be current upon submission of the essay, and upon
presentation of the award. A student may receive at most one such award, although there is no limit to the number of
essays a student may submit. TNS staff, NEF board members, and their immediate families are not eligible for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award.
What kind of essay may be submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
Essays submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award must be original. That is, an essay must be the work of the
student submitting it; it must not be plagiarized in any form; and it must not have been published in print or on the
Internet. An essay submitted by a student for award consideration must be work the student has submitted for a class
assignment. The class instructor must verify this on the NEF Junior Scholastic Award submission form. Students are
encouraged to seek their instructor's assistance in editing and proofreading the essays prior to submission for the award.
Essays must address and focus on issues surrounding naturism. By "naturism," NEF refers to the practice of social
nudity as defined by The Naturist Society: a way of life in greater fidelity to nature, with a norm of full nudity in social life.
More generally, naturism is to be understood, for the purposes of offering the NEF Junior Scholastic Award, to pertain
to non-erotic social nudity. This would include for instance, but not be limited to, the student's personal experience with
or appraisal of naturism, topics such as the history of local naturist groups, biographies of key naturists around the
world, and assessments of naturism as it is found in painting, literature, film, and other arts. This would not include topics
such as nudity in sex-work, strip bars, or exhibitionism. Essays may address naturism from the perspective of one's own
experiences, history, sociology, politics, law, art, religion, psychology, philosophy, or any other field within the Liberal
Arts. If a student is unsure about the relevancy of the essay topic, the student may contact the NEF Junior Scholastic Award Committee at the address below.
Submissions must be essays or speech texts, not short stories, poetry, drama, or other forms of fiction. The purpose of each essay or speech should be to educate thoughtful and critical readers on an issue of relevance to naturism.
Essays submitted must be 1500-3000 words in length. There is no demand for a student to conform to a particular style sheet or manual of style. Essays should, however, follow standards of writing excellence expected of a superior high school essay. Endnotes and bibliographies are neither required nor encouraged. Essays should supply some form of appropriate references to any quoted material, however, to avoid plagiarism. Essays may be single- or double-spaced. Please provide adequate margins.
In what format should essays be submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
Essays submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award should be submitted in English and electronically, either via email (which is preferred) or on a magnetic or optical disk. Microsoft Word is the preferred format, but NEF can probably translate whatever you send.
Those submitting essays or speech texts are strongly encouraged also to send photos, graphics, maps, artwork, or diagrams that are pertinent to their text. Inability to submit such non-textual materials will in no way effect the chances of winning the quarterly NEF Junior Scholastic Award. If a student's essay is chosen for the award, however, it may be published in Nude & Natural magazine and/or online, and the magazine staff would be looking for photos and other visual materials to accompany the essay. Students whose essays are published may, if they wish, submit a photo of themselves to be used in the magazine along with their essay. NEF does not guarantee return of submitted materials, so retain copies of all materials you submit.
Where should essays be submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
Please submit each entry separately. If you mail a disk with your entry on it, send it to the address below. An entry may be sent as an email attachment addressed to nef-junior@naturisteducation.org. Include with the essay or speech your name, current TNS number and name assigned to your household, a copy or scan of your current student body card or other form of proof of current student status, your mailing address, phone number, email address, and a copy of the completed NEF Junior Scholastic Award submission form. A student may use surface mail and e-mail to submit various portions of the required material.
When are the deadlines for submissions for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
The deadlines for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award are March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1 of each year. For essays to be considered for the upcoming award, they must be postmarked by these dates. Essays will be considered over the course of two and only two sequential deadlines. That is, if an essay or speech text does not win an award upon submission, the NEF Junior Scholastic Award Committee will retain the text and consider it among those submitted for the next deadline and the next deadline only.
Who determines the recipients of the NEF Junior Scholastic Awards?
The Naturist Education Foundation is governed by board members democratically elected to the Naturist Action Committee by and from the membership of The Naturist Society or duly appointed by the board to fill vacancies. The NEF board has established the NEF Junior Scholastic Award Committee, consisting of NEF board members and others they may select from outside the NEF board. Members of the NEF Scholastic Junior Award Committee are selected on the basis of their experience in academia, writing, editing, publishing, naturism, and development of scholarship or award programs.
How will the essays submitted for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award be judged?
The NEF Junior Scholastic Award Committee will read essays and speech texts with an eye for relevance to naturism, for excellence in presentation, for originality, for the topic's interest value, for accuracy of information provided, and for strength of argument. If no essays submitted are deemed by the NEF Junior Scholastic Award Committee to merit the award, then no award will be given for that three-month period. All students submitting essays for the award will be informed of the results within six weeks of each deadline.
What else do students need to know if they are interested in submitting essays for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award?
Naturists endorse the rights of parents to imbue their children with the values of the parent, including naturist values, if
the parent so chooses. This acknowledgment of parental rights extends generally. A minor high school student submitting
material for the NEF Junior Scholastic Award must have permission from his or her parent or legal guardian. This
requirement does not apply if the student has reached the local age of majority, or is otherwise considered to be an adult under applicable law.
The Naturist Education Foundation retains the non-exclusive right to publish all essays winning the NEF Junior
Scholastic Award. Recipients of the NEF Junior Scholastic Award are responsible for any taxes they may accrue due to
receiving the award. The Naturist Education Foundation may modify or terminate the Award at any time. If anyone has any specific questions not addressed here, please contact NEF at:
NATURIST EDUCATION FOUNDATION
PO BOX 132
OSHKOSH, WI 53903
TEL (512) 282-6621
FAX (512) 282-2503
EMAIL nef-junior@naturisteducation.org
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