We're happy to announce the winners of the 2009 Academic Freedom Day Video and Essay Contest. We had lots of great entries, but the judges have narrowed it down and finally selected a Grand Prize overall winner ($500 award), and a 1st place winner ($250 award) in each category.

Grand Prize Overall Winner: Joshua Owens, Forth Worth, TX (read the essay here).

1st Place Essay Winner: Jaron Daniel Schoone, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (read the essay here).

1st Place Video Winner: David Daudelin, Hackettstown, NJ (watch the video here).

Essay honorable mention: Sarah Horton, Grove City, PA (read the essay here).

Video honorable mention: Brian Miller, Amy Ingermanson, Michael Curtain and Aubrey Burd, Battleground, WA (watch the video here).