The Opinion & Workplace Protection Project

The assignment

Find one person you already know who cannot say what they actually think somewhere in their life. Ask them what they hold back, why, what they are afraid would happen, and what it costs them to stay quiet. Then verify what you can, talk to two to five more people who add context or push back, and write it up as a 1,200-to-1,800-word story.

Six weeks. Top three submissions receive $500, $300, and $200, plus four honorable mentions. Selected work is published on our site under your byline.

Open to

Undergraduate students at any accredited US college or university. Graduate students may enter and are judged in the same pool. You do not need to be a journalism major. Sociology, social work, political science, English, anthropology, religious studies, nursing, business, engineering, or any field where you know an industry from the inside.

Why we are asking

Free expression is usually discussed as a legal question. Can the government stop you from saying this or that. Almost all of the actual silence in American life happens somewhere else—in rooms where no law applies at all: a break room, a family dinner, a group chat, a staff meeting, a congregation. Nobody is measuring that well, because it does not leave a paper trail. The only way to document it is to ask people, one at a time, and write down what they say. You have something a professional reporter does not: people already trust you. A stranger with a notebook gets a careful, guarded answer. You get the real one.

What you will produce

Deliverable	Specification
The story	1,200 to 1,800 words. Narrative nonfiction. One person the reader remembers, one scene the reader can picture, at least one fact that surprises.
Source log	Every person you contacted, the date, the method, whether they responded, and their consent status.
Method note	300 words. How you found the story, what you could not verify, what you cut and why, and anything that made you uncomfortable.
Consent forms	One signed form per person quoted or described. If they do not want to remain anonymous, their real name only if they explicitly choose it in writing.

The timeline

Milestone	Date
Applications open	September 01, 2026
Applications close	December 31, 2026
Cohort announced	January 15, 2027
Orientation (required)	January 22, 2027
Reporting begins	February 01, 2027
Midpoint check-in (optional)	February 19, 2027
Submissions due	March 15, 2027, 11:59pm Central
Winners announced	April 30, 2027

How it is scored

Two independent judges score every submission on five dimensions: reporting depth (30%), accuracy and verification (25%), ethical handling (20%), craft (15%), and fairness (10%). Hard rule violations, fabrication, plagiarism, or missing consent forms result in automatic disqualification.

What you get

Awards of $500, $300, and $200 for the top three submissions, plus four honorable mentions. Everyone who meets the completion threshold receives a verifiable "Civic Voice Fellow" designation, written feedback from both judges, and publication rights to your work. You retain your copyright; we take a non-exclusive license only.