The award honors members of the senior class who have demonstrated a commitment to and a capacity for public service. "Like Thompson, he or she should exemplify great human warmth, commitment to fairness, compassion for all people, and the promise of moral leadership in the public sphere," said Dr. Bernard Lytton, chair of the Council of Masters Awards Committee and master of Jonathan Edwards College, in presenting the awards.
This year's recipients are Mary-Ann Etiebet of Ezra Stiles College, whom Dr. Lytton described as "a counselor and committed member of the community," and Gary Stewart of Timothy Dwight College, who, Dr. Lytton said, was "a superior scholar and committed citizen."
Their award citations follow:
Mary-Ann Etiebet
A native of Nigeria, you have participated with enthusiasm in the life of your college and in senior year have reinvested and enhanced your experience as a successful freshman counselor.
You have been president of the Yale African Students Association and taught in the New Haven Adult Literacy Program. You helped organize a conference on welfare and affirmative action at the Women's Center and spent a summer in the Zambian National AIDS Prevention Program.
The many contributions to the life of your community, your mature counsel and quiet good humor epitomize many of the qualities for which Thompson was known, so the Council of Masters is very pleased to award you the Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize.
Gary Stewart
Your scholarship in political science has been recognized by the award of both the Patterson and Tyler Prizes. You were described by your teacher as being a superior student with great intellectual ability. You were a member of the T.D. Debating Team that won the Adams Cup on two occasions. You wrote for Counterpoint and were a member of the Yale College Council. Above all, you have been a founder and a leader of the Black Political Forum at Yale that has through campus-wide cooperation sought to address problems of racism and contemporary political issues confronting our multicultural society.
Like Thompson himself, you have shown a commitment to fairness and the promise of moral leadership in the public sphere. Therefore the Council of Masters is most pleased to award you the Roosevelt L. Thompson Prize.