Eligibility

The Victims of Communism Day scholarship competition is open to students living in Manatee and Sarasota County, in grades 9-12. You need to be enrolled in a public, private or parochial high school or a home school program in the United States, its territories and possessions, or dependents of U.S. military or civilian personnel in overseas schools.

Participants must be U.S. citizens or must be lawful U.S. permanent residents.  

The VOC Florida Scholarship has three categories:

1. Essay
2. Exhibit
3. Oratory

Your written Victims of Communism Day entry must be submitted online by the December  13 deadline. Exhibits and Oratory presentations will be at the West Bradenton Baptist Church, Family Life Center 1305 43rd St. St. W Bradenton, Florida on January 17, 2026 starting at 10:00am.

Analysis Points

Your work should take into consideration the following Analysis Points.

Analysis Point 1:

• How the Communist leader you’ve chosen shaped his country’s political, economic, educational, judicial, and/or social systems to reflect his personal ideology and how that affected ordinary citizens. 
• How his actions conflict(ed) with the principles of freedom, capitalism, and democracy. Identify how authoritarian regimes victimize their citizens by:
  • Restricting individual rights and choices, resulting in poverty, starvation, migration, and systemic lethal violence 
  • Suppressing freedom of speech and religion using state-controlled violence. 
  • How Communism impacts the principles of:  

1. Democracy (Political power in the people’s hands, expressed as one citizen, one vote, in free and fair elections)
2. Rule of law (Due process; both government and citizens honor the law)
3. Federalism (Distribution of power between the national government and state and local governments)
4. Individual freedoms and rights, including private ownership of property and businesses 
5. Limited government 
6. Republicanism (Representative government; consent of the governed)
7. Separation of powers (Principles of checks and balances between the three branches)

Analysis Point 2: Distinguish how and why the United States’ Constitutional republic’s governance practices and treatment of its citizens differ from those of authoritarian and totalitarian states.  

How to Enter

Record your original 3-5 minute (+ or – 5 second max.) audio essay on a flash drive, or other electronic device. You will submit the recording, typed essay and this completed entry form. Provide these items to your school/group competition coordinator for judging.

You must be the sole author of your work product. 

Judging Criteria

Historical Quality is worth 40 points: Treatment of the theme should show imagination and human interest.

Clarity of Presentation is worth 20 points: Clearly express your ideas in an organized manner. Fully develop your theme and use transitions to move smoothly from one idea to the other.

Relationship to Theme is worth 40 points: Clearly relate topic to analysis points.  Demonstrate significance of topic in history and draws conclusions.