1) Common App Essay
2) Honors College essays:
→The Constitution of the United States currently has 27 amendments. What should be the
28th Amendment and why? (600 - 650 words)
A famous man once said “Organizing free and fair elections is more important than
results itself.” Recently in the United States there have been fewer free and fair elections and
more bipartisan frustration with the way elections are conducted. The key to understanding
this grievance is recognizing that the issue begins before voters even head to the polls. By
efforts on both sides of the political spectrum, parties are attempting to have a say, beyond
campaigning, in the will of the voters. Through the process called gerrymandering, politicians
are attempting to choose their voters rather than the other way around.
Gerrymandering was a term coined in the Boston Gazette after districts for the state
elections were redrawn in Massachusetts. Under the Governor Elbridge Gerry the district lines
were drawn in such a way that it depicted a mythological salamander; thus, the process
received the name gerrymandering. While Governor Gerry himself opposed the way the
districts were drawn, his party received control of the legislature, and he was left to deal with
the name. The issue at hand is not the redistricting of voters, which typically happens after the
census is taken every ten years. Ideally, the districts that are drawn up are meant to actively
describe the population of an area, with each district being equally populated. The problem
arises when political parties redraw the districts to fit their needs, allowing themselves to
receive the maximum number of seats in the legislature.
There are two different ways that gerrymandering typically occurs. The first way is
known as packing, where people of similar political affiliation are all clumped together into as
few districts as possible. This allows for the voters in these districts to likely vote for one
preferred party, but the overall political influence of this group is diminished. When packing
occurs in all districts, apart from those that are packed, the group that is packed has a weaker
political say. The other method of gerrymandering is known as cracking. This is the process of
splitting voters with similar political characteristics over multiple different districts. This causes
the voter strength of this group to be lessened as they struggle to elect their preferred
candidate or party. Gerrymandering has led to cities, towns, and even highways and roads to be
cut in half and placed in different districts to ensure clusters of voters of similar political parties
are placed in the same districts. While gerrymandering occasionally creates oddly shaped
districts, map drawers often cunningly design normal-looking districts that are heavily skewed.
In recent years gerrymandering has only worsened, causing more and more issues.
Algorithms now allow for political parties to draw up maps with unprecedented accuracy that
favors one candidate or party. Gerrymandering has also become more common and more
widely used, thus decreasing the electorate's trust in the process of redistricting. The balance of
, power shifts easily, often resulting in whichever party in power during the redistricting process
gaining the majority is state and national legislatures. Additionally, communities of color are
more likely to be affected by gerrymandering, as certain communities tend to vote in a
particular way. Through the process of cracking and packing their voices are lessened and their
influence in the electoral process silenced.
The process of gerrymandering is one that is thoroughly against the voter and their will.
Elections are meant for the public to every two years have a say in both the state and national
legislature. Elections in the U.S. were meant to be fair with elected officials being chosen by the
people for the people. The process of gerrymandering ruins this choice along with the fairness
and integrity of elections.
28 Amendment: Each state shall every five years select a group of nonpartisan and neutral
redistricting cartographers who shall draw districts solely based on population of an area,
with each district holding the same amount of individuals, to the nearest 1000 persons.
→What are your principal areas of academic interest? What are your career goals? (241
words)*
2) Honors College essays:
→The Constitution of the United States currently has 27 amendments. What should be the
28th Amendment and why? (600 - 650 words)
A famous man once said “Organizing free and fair elections is more important than
results itself.” Recently in the United States there have been fewer free and fair elections and
more bipartisan frustration with the way elections are conducted. The key to understanding
this grievance is recognizing that the issue begins before voters even head to the polls. By
efforts on both sides of the political spectrum, parties are attempting to have a say, beyond
campaigning, in the will of the voters. Through the process called gerrymandering, politicians
are attempting to choose their voters rather than the other way around.
Gerrymandering was a term coined in the Boston Gazette after districts for the state
elections were redrawn in Massachusetts. Under the Governor Elbridge Gerry the district lines
were drawn in such a way that it depicted a mythological salamander; thus, the process
received the name gerrymandering. While Governor Gerry himself opposed the way the
districts were drawn, his party received control of the legislature, and he was left to deal with
the name. The issue at hand is not the redistricting of voters, which typically happens after the
census is taken every ten years. Ideally, the districts that are drawn up are meant to actively
describe the population of an area, with each district being equally populated. The problem
arises when political parties redraw the districts to fit their needs, allowing themselves to
receive the maximum number of seats in the legislature.
There are two different ways that gerrymandering typically occurs. The first way is
known as packing, where people of similar political affiliation are all clumped together into as
few districts as possible. This allows for the voters in these districts to likely vote for one
preferred party, but the overall political influence of this group is diminished. When packing
occurs in all districts, apart from those that are packed, the group that is packed has a weaker
political say. The other method of gerrymandering is known as cracking. This is the process of
splitting voters with similar political characteristics over multiple different districts. This causes
the voter strength of this group to be lessened as they struggle to elect their preferred
candidate or party. Gerrymandering has led to cities, towns, and even highways and roads to be
cut in half and placed in different districts to ensure clusters of voters of similar political parties
are placed in the same districts. While gerrymandering occasionally creates oddly shaped
districts, map drawers often cunningly design normal-looking districts that are heavily skewed.
In recent years gerrymandering has only worsened, causing more and more issues.
Algorithms now allow for political parties to draw up maps with unprecedented accuracy that
favors one candidate or party. Gerrymandering has also become more common and more
widely used, thus decreasing the electorate's trust in the process of redistricting. The balance of
, power shifts easily, often resulting in whichever party in power during the redistricting process
gaining the majority is state and national legislatures. Additionally, communities of color are
more likely to be affected by gerrymandering, as certain communities tend to vote in a
particular way. Through the process of cracking and packing their voices are lessened and their
influence in the electoral process silenced.
The process of gerrymandering is one that is thoroughly against the voter and their will.
Elections are meant for the public to every two years have a say in both the state and national
legislature. Elections in the U.S. were meant to be fair with elected officials being chosen by the
people for the people. The process of gerrymandering ruins this choice along with the fairness
and integrity of elections.
28 Amendment: Each state shall every five years select a group of nonpartisan and neutral
redistricting cartographers who shall draw districts solely based on population of an area,
with each district holding the same amount of individuals, to the nearest 1000 persons.
→What are your principal areas of academic interest? What are your career goals? (241
words)*
