Conflict and Compromise at History Day

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Fruitvale Jr. High’s Alyssa Shannon, Aaliyah Beed, Brock Lynch, Dylan Gonzales and Joshua Gonzales had reason to smile after giving a winning group performance at Kern County History Day

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East High’s Alyssa Ramirez and Alison Johnson convinced the judges how much they knew about President Lyndon Johnson with their winning exhibit, “Reforming the Great Society.”

Two sisters dominated the documentary categories, while East High topped the Senior Division and the Fruitvale School District the Junior Divison, as 25 years of Kern County History Day competition played out on March 8 at Ridgeview High School in Bakersfield.

The national theme for this year’s event was “Conflict and Compromise,” and Centennial High’s Sarah Moore certainly demonstrated that in a chapter of American history she took on in her winning documentary, “The Conflict of Nazis in Skokie: A Question of Compromise.” Her documentary detailed a controversial time in American history, when a Jewish lawyer actually defended the First Amendment rights of the National Socialist Party of America (NPSA) to hold a parade in Skokie, Illinois, against the wishes of the town’s largely Jewish population, which included several Holocaust survivor families.

“Even though the case was about First Amendment rights and preserving free speech, lawyer David Goldberger was called a ‘self-hating Jew,’” Moore said. “Anyone has the right to free speech, but this was a case about using your own free speech to counter another person’s right to free speech.”

Moore’s sister, Grace, who attends Fruitvale Jr. High, proved just as adroit at producing documentaries, when her entry “Going for Broke: The Men of the 100th Infantry and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team” similarly was awarded first place in the Junior Division.

East High’s group documentary team of Rosalba Cardenas, Joesph Lopez and Kat Martinez, did some digging to discover the allied invasion of Sicily during World War II actually produced ingenuity to achieve the objective, introducing paratroopers and rip cords on parachutes to wartime combat. The trio received one of the Senior Division categories first place awards for their work, “Operation Husky: The Battle for Sicily.”

Fruitvale Jr. High’s Alyssa Shannon, Aaliyah Beed, Brock Lynch, Dylan Gonzales and Joshua Gonzales said they were emotionally touched by the research they put in developing roles for their winning group performance entry, “Four Innocent Girls” Victims of Hate; Casualties of Ignorance; A Tragic Incident That Would Affect Civil Rights in the U.S. Forever.” The historical re-enactment dealt with four young girls who lost their lives in a church bombing.

“I realize how really brave those kids were, having to endure things like high pressure water hoses being sprayed on them,” Lynch said. “They were our age and were bombed. We are able to live better today respecting each other’s rights as a result of their tragic loss.”

Winners in each category earned the right to compete at History Day in California — May 8-11 in Sacramento. State winners can contend for additional honors at National History Day, June 15-19 at the University of Maryland.

Approximately 160 students in grades 4-12, from 24 Kern County schools competed. Students involved in the competition had worked all year to research and prepare historical papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries and posters.

Kern County Superintendent of Schools, the law firm of Klein, DeNatale, Goldner, Cooper, Rosenlieb & Kimball, LLP and Ridgeview High School sponsor the county event.

KERN COUNTY HISTORY DAY 2008 WINNERS

  • (Students eligible to represent Kern County at History Day in California, May 8-11 in Sacramento)

SENIOR DIVISION (Grades 9-12)

Group Documentary

  • Ruben Rivera, Sergio Gonzalez, East High — “Cesar Chavez: The Struggle for the Farm Workers”
  • Joseph Lopez, Kat Martinez and Rosalba Cardenas, East High — “Operation Husky: The Battle for Sicily”
  • Dylan Del Rio, Jose Ortiz, East High — “Vietnam Veterans: The Lost Soldiers”

Individual Documentary
  • Sarah Moore, Centennial High — “The Conflict of Nazis in Skokie: A Question of Compromise”
  • Morgan Barnes, Bakersfield High — “Earl Warren: Bringing Unity to the Court and Justice to the Nation”
  • Russell Reason, Centennial High — “Repatriation of Expatriation: The Forgotten Story of Hispanic Americans and the Great Depression”

Group Exhibit
  • Bianca Ramirez and Vanessa Saavedra, Foothill High — “The Impact of Black Death”
  • Alison Johnson and Alyssa Ramirez, East High — “Reforming the Great Society Through Faith-Based Initiatives”

Individual Exhibit
  • Karlee McGuire, Liberty High — “Susan B. Anthony: Failure is Impossible”
  • Brandon Louey, Centennial High — “Conflict and Compromise: SNCC and the Voter Registration Movement”
  • Karlee Grundeis, East High — “The Conflict and Compromise of the 1965 Watts Riots”

JUNIOR DIVISION (Grades 4-8)

Group Performance

  • Caitlin Bransby, Chloe Carlson, Bianca Hinojosa and Danielle Opdyke, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Conflict & Compromise: America on the Homefront”
  • Aaliyah Beed, Dylan Gonzales, Josh Gonzales, Brock Lynch and Alyssa Shannon, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Four Innocent Girls: Victims of Hate; Casualties of Ignorance; A Tragic Incident that Would Affect Civil Rights in the U.S. Forever”
    ALTERNATE: Mikayla Feil and Daniel McDonald, Tevis Jr. High — “Conflict of Conscience: The Internment of Japanese-Americans”

Individual Performance
  • Gabriela Forter, Fruitvale Jr. High — “A Negotiator for Change”

Group Documentary
  • Sameen Bramer and Calvin Laverty, Columbia Elementary — “May It Please the Court: Tinke vs Des Moines”
    ALTERNATE: Rory Hagelstein and Ali Thompsett, Standard Middle — “After the War: Should Rosie Return Home?”

Individual Documentary
  • Grace Moore, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Going for Broke: The Men of the 100th Infantry and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team”
  • Carson Crawford, Fruitvale Jr. High — “The Week That Changed the World: The Conflict of the Cold War and the Shanghai Communiqué”
    ALTERNATE: Travis Beckett, Standard Middle — “A Cambodian Survivor Story”

Group Exhibit
  • Allison Cordova, Johnny Gieg, Trevor Para and Ramie Sahota, Columbia Elementary — “Internment: The Conflict & Compromise of Two Lives”
  • Alex Burditt and Andrew Kerwin, Discovery Elementary — “General Homma: Beast of Bataar”

Individual Exhibit
  • Brittany Louey, Endeavour Elementary — “From Selma to Voting Rights Act of 1965”
    ALTERNATE: Eric Haynes, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Munich Conference: The Compromise That Led to War”

Historical Paper
  • Marissa Manos, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Wisconsin vs Yoder: The Conflict and Compromise of Amish Religious Freedom”
  • Anastasia Clegg, Fruitvale Jr. High — “Conflicts, Compromise and Independence: The 1947 Partitioning of India”

Group Poster (Grades 4-5 only)
  • Juana Alcala, Ashley Arellano, Isabella Ozuna and Alondra Paredes, Alicante Ave. School — “Pathing the Path to Equality in Education: Mendez vs Wetminster 1947”
  • Geoff Gonzales, MaKay Moss and Amy Williams, Columbia Elementary — “Ben Kuroki: Conflict & Compromise of Nisei During WWII
    ALTERNATE: Kiley Barton, Haley Cavazos and Anelise Puentes, Highland Elementary — “Korean Conflict”

Individual Poster (Grades 4-5 only)
  • Sophia Constantine, Norris Elementary — “Conflict and Compromise: The Battle for Monte Cassino”
  • Kyle Gaines, Rio Bravo-Greeley — “The Great American Baseball Strike”
    ALTERNATE: Alejandra Santoyo, Myrtle Ave. School — “Rosa Parks”


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