The Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government is pleased to announce the winners of the fourth annual Publius Prize for Undergraduate Writing on Public Affairs.
Students were invited to submit pieces published during the 2024-2025 academic year that sought to refine and enlarge the public’s views on a topic related to politics, philosophy, law, economics, culture, or religion. Essays were submitted by students across the Notre Dame community, representing multiple grade levels and majors. We are grateful to all those who submitted their pieces for consideration.
After a difficult selection process, the CCCG is proud to announce the two winners, who will each receive a $250 prize:
In the on-campus publication category, the winner is Lucy Spence ‘27 for her article “The Fool’s Religion,” published in The Irish Rover on April 23, 2025. In her beautifully-written Eastertide op-ed, Lucy reflects on the guidance Erasmus offers to Christians living in the world in his classic work In Praise of Folly.
“The Christian in the middle of the world who is a ‘wise fool’ joins in with the rest of mortals, not scorning his fellow man, but ‘casting in his lot’ with the rest in good-natured and charitable nobility.” - Lucy Spence
In the national publication category, the winner is Jonah Tran ‘26 for his article “Profits for a Purpose: A Thomistic Analysis of the Friedman Doctrine,” published in The Independent Review on December 15, 2024. In his long-form essay, Jonah draws on Thomas Aquinas’s philosophy of human flourishing to investigate Milton Friedman’s famous proposition that “[t]here is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it… engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.”
“The important point to make is that even in the case of Friedman’s ideal, that is, a perfect competition with minimal government intervention, and especially in imperfect markets, the principle of profit maximization is still an erroneous manner of orienting the purpose of business. For in any market structure scenario, the firm that orients its economic activity toward profit maximization fails to see the intrinsic good of the goods, services, and human connections within its production.” - Jonah Tran
We also are proud to announce runners-up in both categories, deserving honorable mention:
On-Campus Publication Category: “Notre Dame Students Favor Trump, Irish Rover Poll Finds,” by Shri Thakur ‘26 and Sam Marchand ‘27, published in The Irish Rover on September 25, 2024. In this thorough analysis of a campus election poll, Shri and Sam offer a balanced and insightful look at the Notre Dame political climate and the reasoning behind voter preferences.
National Publication Category: “The Dark Side of Deregulation: Coerced Abortion Incidents on the Rise,” by Catalina Scheider Galiñanes ‘25, published in the National Catholic Register on July 8, 2024; and “Photo ID laws are a barrier to voting in Tennessee,” by Vincent Micheli ‘27, published in the Kingsport Times-News on October 2, 2024. Catalina’s article features original reporting on an unforeseen consequence of abortion drug deregulation, and Vincent’s piece–published weeks before the 2024 election–argues that strict photo ID laws cause voter suppression in Tennessee.
Congratulations to the winners and runners-up! We encourage you to read their excellent pieces at the links above. The call for next year's Publius Prize will commence in Spring 2026.