The 2019 Leopoldo López Student Award was present to Schuyler S. Stupica '19. Read the full award citation below.
Schuyler Stupica, you are lauded by Kenyon faculty, students and the broader Kenyon community for your commitment to the democratic efforts and values exemplified by Leopoldo López.
Your scholarship was praised for displaying a “nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the values underlying democratic regimes, the tensions within democracy between representation and effective government, and the fragility of democratic regimes.” You were one of only 24 students from 17 countries selected to attend the 2018 New York Times Athens Democracy Forum in Athens, Greece. Your essay “Identity, Diversity and Inclusion” was minorities, but also on the dangers of focusing only on identity … without providing common principles that promote inclusivity.”
Your engagement with democracy goes beyond the academic. Your many nominators praised your dogged determination and tireless efforts for the Ken Harbaugh campaign for U.S. Congress. They noted how your efforts to organize canvassing teams throughout Knox, Holmes and Coshocton counties, to register and bring voters to the polls, and to engage with members of the broader community, even those who supported other candidates, “showed that political mobilization and information can close the gap and make elections more competitive.” In the words of one nominator, you “never slacked, never complained, and never failed to continue to inspire those around [you].”
Nominators praised as well your passion for “social justice,” “improving the lives of local people,” and promoting “greater participation of women and minorities to help engage all citizens in the political process.” Your “ability to mobilize others … may well be the most outstanding aspect of your leadership,” observes one nominator. Another finds that you “exemplify what it means to be a civically-engaged citizen.”
For your commitment to building an inclusive and plural democracy, we honor you.
Leopoldo López (Kenyon College Class of 1993 and Honorary Degree 2007) was imprisoned by the government of Venezuela in 2014 for his efforts to preserve democracy in that country and is one of the world’s most prominent political prisoners. This award honors Leopoldo’s deep commitment to the vision of inclusive and plural democracy built on the fundamental principles of liberty, human freedom, the rule of law, and the rights of people.