The Souhegan Ethics Forum recently received a $30,000 grant from the Pulitzer Foundation for its work on HYPE, a youth philosophy conference that is estimated to draw about 1,000 students this year.

The Ethics Forum is a student-run leadership group at Souhegan High School. The mission of Ethics Forum is "Transforming meaningful philosophical dialogue into active ethical leadership."

Hosted at the University of New Hampshire’s Durham campus in March, HYPE is a philosophical discussion for involved students with a passion for learning. In the past, students have come from all over New Hampshire, and this year HYPE hopes to expand into surrounding states. Estimates for this year’s attendance are already at more than a thousand students.

Not only is HYPE a nonprofit event, but the entire day is free for those attending. This includes food, transportation, overnight accommodations, merchandise and more. The Ethics Forum covers these costs with the help of the Pulitzer Foundation grant.

The news was revealed at a meeting with the New Hampshire Humanities Council, three Souhegan students, and their teacher, Chris Brooks, who helps run the Ethics Forum.

Elizabeth Maloney, one of the three student representatives, said when they broke the news, "I was pretty shocked, and also really proud of our group because the Pulitzer Foundation gave us the full grant – they were that impressed by our event."

The first official HYPE planning day was held at St. Anselm College on Oct. 9, where approximately 70 students gathered to begin making decisions as to what the day would look like. They chose the colors and logo and began forming discussion questions that correspond with this year’s theme, "Freedom of Expression," and form the basis for the Socratic seminar-style event.

"This project celebrates the human need to tackle prickly subjects that have far-reaching social consequences," said Dr. Kathy Mathis, director of the New Hampshire Humanities Program. "We are excited to work with a generation of high school students whose priorities include thinking deeper and more critically about American life through the creative application of philosophy.

"HYPE day is a culmination of interscholastic student leadership; it is an idea and a method that organizers are committed to replicating nationwide."

Plans for next year’s HYPE event grow even larger and even more expensive. Matt Saunders is one of five students who have been working with St Anselm’s professors conducting research on grants for which the forum would be eligible. These students will then write grants in hopes of hosting an even larger HYPE in 2017.

"I think HYPE is important because it brings an opportunity to explore philosophical discussion to students who may not usually have that privilege," Saunders said. "I’m already excited to see what next year’s group will do with the grant we write and how they’ll evolve the HYPE event even further."

Alex Cullen is a senior at Souhegan High School in Amherst.