Winner

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"So many fangs glinted in the moonlight, spittle reflecting within the multicolored mass. I wondered if anyone had every considered what it would be like to be killed by a swam of house cats."

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- Rebecca Giansante ('21)

Major: Creative Writing

Minor: History

Honorable Mention

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"I look to clouds for comfort too fearful to peer my gaze downward. The murkiness of the cold water made every vibration a mighty serpent in my mind."

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-Will Kramer ('21)

Major: Creative Writing

Minor: Psychology

Honorable Mention

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"I’m sitting in the parking lot, remembering the wet, yucky kiss my grandma placed on my lips last night, when the doctor comes out. Positive, she says."

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-Cole Cronk ('21)

Major: Public Relations and Advertising

Minor: English

"You hear your father call you down for dinner. On your way down, you hear a whisper from the closet saying, 'Don't go down there son, I heard it too.'"

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-Richard Rodriguez ('24)

Major: Business Admin

Minor: CCI

"diis inferis, ego adoramus te, et tibi committimus omnibus, qui legere hoc maledicto, sic omnia vertit contra eos, sicut et ego sacrificium eorum viscera, corda eorum, animas pro vobis

Please, I beg of you, do not read the inscription, not one word—you mustn’t!—lest you pass the daemon’s curse unto yourself—oh! oh, good Lord, you’ve already read—oh, may God have mercy on your poor soul…"

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-Elizabeth Wolfinger ('21)

Major: Film Production

Minor: English

"I rubbed the burn out of my eyes after logging out of my last Zoom class: My eyes had been feeling more strained as the semester continued, but this felt different. As my vision continued to blur, I looked to the mirror on my desk and saw my reflection staring back -- except instead of my sea blue eyes I saw blood clotting at the edges of my lashes, corneas so dry they were flaking, and my blue irises slowly peeling away from the surface and drooping toward my sunken cheeks."

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- Kathryn Bernhardt ('21)

Major: Creative Writing

Minor: CCI

"Rest in peace.

She didn't."

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- Jacob Vaus ('21)

Major: Film Production

Minor: English

"My wife drowned in a lake six years ago. Today, I got text from her number that said, 'I'll be home soon, sweetie,' right before front door opened and the sound of wet footprints grew closer."

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- Dylan Wen ('21)

Major: Communication Studies

Minor: Image Text Interface