Undergraduate Takeover at HISB 

 

Call for Submission: Voices of Humanity

What Makes Us Human?

The Fall 2025 Undergraduate Takeover at HISB invites us to explore what lies at the heart of our humanity—beyond biology, survival, or intelligence. Does being human come from the way we connect with others, the stories we tell, or the moral choices we make? What does it mean to be human in a contemporary, college environment, where academia is shifting more towards the voices of AI rather than the voices of researchers, professors, and students?

Across disciplines and cultures, the question “What makes us human?” asks us to look inward and outward at once: to consider not only how we differ from other species, but also what unites us in our shared experience of being human.

Undergraduates: submit your creative responses (words, art, song, multimedia) to these questions by 11:59PM on October 31, 2025 using this form.

Prizes:

• First Place: $200
• Second Place $150
• Third Place: $100
• People’s Choice: $50

Eligibility: Open to currently enrolled undergraduate students at Stony Brook.

Submission Criteria:

• Writing: 600 words (Times New Roman), 12-point font, one-inch margins, double-spaced
• Art: 18x24 physical canvas (submitted as a photo)
• Music/Audio: 1 minute
• Multimedia: .png, .jpeg, Adobe file if animated , .mp4 , resolution - 300 ppi / 72 ppi

Note: All non-written submissions require a 100-word explanation explaining the concept or connection to the question/theme. Please submit this as a pdf file with your work!

Rules: 

• Accepting individual submissions only. 
• No AI. Your work must be your own. 
• If AI tools are used to edit or otherwise alter your original work, this use must be disclosed.

EVERYONE: Come join us for a showcase (food provided!) at HISB in Rm 1008 Humanities during Campus Lifetime (12:30-1:50 PM) on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 to honor the winners and finalists and celebrate our humanity.