Attorney General George Jepsen today congratulated Jonathan Tinker, 14, of Hillcrest Middle School in Trumbull for writing his way to first place in the 19th annual Law Day essay contest sponsored by the Office of the Attorney General.

Approximately 500 8^th grade students submitted essays on the topic: “Should the government pass a law setting a minimum age for kids to join social networking sites? Or should it be left up to parents, kids and/or social networking sites themselves to determine and enforce age restrictions on such sites? If the government should make the rules, what should be the minimum age?”

Tinker, a student of Mrs. Alford, concluded that “the government should regulate social networking sites and it should do this by providing ratings for the various levels of maturity by discerning the appropriateness of the website for various age groups.” He argued that access to sites aimed at teens and adults, such as Facebook and Twitter, should be restricted to those 15 and older.

Tinker’s was among the top five essays chosen by a panel of 13 judges, who also recognized five more essay writers with an honorable mention. Attorney General Jepsen will present a certificate to the winner at a school assembly at a later date.

“Our judges spent many hours evaluating this year’s entries before making their selection and I congratulate Jonathan,” Attorney General Jepsen said. “I am pleased so many students chose to participate and I commend the teachers who helped them take on this worthwhile exercise.”

“Analytical and writing skills are important for success in school and in the workplace. This contest gives students a chance to think critically and practice those skills on an important issue in their lives,” Jepsen said.

The top five winners, their schools and teachers also included: in 2^nd place, Francesca Narea of Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, Mr. Stanitski; 3^rd place, Jessica Kobsa, Middlebrook Middle School, Wilton, Ms. Kiernan; 4^th place, Colby McLiverty, Assumption School, Ansonia, Mrs. DeGennaro; and 5^th place, Cassidy Nemec, Assumption School, Ansonia, Mrs. DeGennaro.

Students recognized with an honorable mention were: Alyssa M. Saxton, Putnam Middle School, Putnam, Ms. Esernia; Ava Coleman, St. Bridget School, Cheshire, Mrs. Gamache; Matthew Spence, St. Aedan-St. Brendan School, New Haven, Ms. Couden; Alison Cofrancesco, St. Aedan-St. Brendan School, New Haven, Ms. Couden; and Marisa Mantovani, North Haven Middle School, North Haven, Ms. Quinn-Devine.

The judges were:  Michael L. Anderson, attorney, Anderson Law Firm, P.C.; Joseph Andreana, executive director, Connecticut Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, Inc.;  Phyllis Carella; Nicholas D. Caruso, senior staff associate for field service, Connecticut Association of Boards of Education; Bette M. Daraskevich;  Eileen P. Driscoll; Cindy Dubuque, executive assistant, Office of the Attorney General; Tom Hennick, public education officer, Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission; Archie Leslie; Susan Tukey, John C. Turner, Jr., attorney, Maher & Murtha, LLC, Karreen Veneziano, fiscal administrative officer and Betsy Wright.

Susan E. Kinsman

susan.kinsman@ct.gov

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