Clayton State University student Adam Antell is one of two winners of the first Ogden-Daily First Amendment Essay Contest.

Sponsored by the Clayton State School of Business, the Ogden-Daily Award is named in memory of James H. Ogden, Jr., late husband of Clayton State Assistant Professor of Business Law and Taxation Judith Stilz Ogden. James Ogden was a lifelong supporter of First Amendment rights. The Ogden-Daily Award is presented to a currently enrolled Clayton State student for literary achievement in the area of First Amendment rights and free speech generally. This year’s topic was “Cybersmear: Free speech or defamation?”
First place winner Antell is a senior Marketing major in the School of Business. A resident of Peachtree City and a graduate of McIntosh High School, he will graduate from Clayton State in December 2006.

“Being a strong believer in freedom of speech and personal responsibility, I decided not to restrict my viewpoints when approaching the issue of Cybersmear,” he says.

“Cybersmear is an issue that is not exactly as easy as black and white. It is an issue which many people either don't know about, take for granted or just simply don't care about. Through my research on the subject, I have learned that our technology driven world economy thrives on instant information for lethal business decisions but every now and then there is going to be a bad apple in the mix.”

Antell also says his analytical skills benefited from his work on the Ogden-Daily Prize and he learned to approach issue from a legal frame of mind.

“After finishing the paper, I realized that I had established a fondness for the Constitution of the United States, which has provided an intriguing seed of curiosity for me into other legal issues,” he says. “I am now more easily able to approach an issue from a legal frame of mind as opposed to being emotional or political.

“I would encourage more students to get involved in individual projects such as the Ogden-Daily competition where they can learn more about their own abilities and express their untapped talents.”

Antell’s talents and interests are broad, including drums, skateboarding, football, soccer, fishing, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, hiking, reading, music, entertainment, travel, writing, politics, economics, popular culture and self improvement.

The Ogden-Daily prizes include a cash stipend in the amount of $300 and a plaque presented to the first place finisher, and a cash stipend in the amount of $100 and a plaque presented to the second place finisher. The first place paper will also be published in the Clayton News Daily, and the winning student will present their paper at the Business Conference sponsored by the School of Business or other similar, appropriate forum.

Clayton State Assistant Professor of Business Michael Baird chaired the 2006 Ogden-Daily project, while Judith Ogden and Clayton State Assistant Professor of History Dr. Adam Tate were among the judges.

Clayton State University, located in Morrow, is a state university of the University System of Georgia serving the Metro Atlanta region.

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