This is the 50th anniversary of the National History Day competition

More than half of the Chief Umtuch Middle School students who participated in the regional National History Day event at iTech Prep in Vancouver March 8 are headed to the state competition in Kirkland next month. 

“I am so very proud of the caliber of work that our students created this year,” said Beth Doughty, a teacher in the school’s ASPIRE program for highly capable learners. “They chose topics that were original and creative.” Doughty advises the contest along with her teaching partner, Jon Nesbitt. 

This is the 50th anniversary of the National History Day competition. This year’s theme of “Rights and responsibilities” focused on questions such as “Who decides who has rights?” and “How have people, governments or institutions decided what parameters should be set to enforce responsibilities?”

Eighth grader Zelia Anderson took home first place at regionals with her individual exhibit on the Radium Girls, a group of women who developed serious health problems in the late 20th century after using paint containing the radioactive substance. Their lawsuit helped scientists understand the risks associated with radium and guided government regulations to establish better safety standards and the use of protective gear.

“It’s really interesting to see how people have changed their views,” Anderson said, “and how people look at the world differently over time.”

Lorelai Wilde and her partner, Avery Popkes-Perez, created a website detailing the history of the Rajneesh cult that formed in Antelope, Oregon, in the 1980s. 

“A lot of the early research focuses on Osho, or Baghwan Shree Rajneesh, because he was the leader,” Wilde said. “But when you investigate some of the criminal allegations against them, most of that was from Ma Anand Sheela, Osho’s personal secretary. I just thought that was really interesting how you don’t hear much about her.”

Alyson Seleen Ovando took home a top prize with her paper on the stock market crash of 1929.

“I think it is really important to think about history, especially in comparison to today,” Ovando said. “We learn how to improve, how not to repeat mistakes and the origin of things, even outside of our country.”

DJ Frazier and his partners, Seiji Garcia, Zander Holton and Harrison Parker, tackled another weighty subject in their group performance: the internment of Japanese Americans and others during World War II.

“We had to focus a lot on making sure we were using reliable sources,” Frazier said, “like websites with a .edu or .gov address, or sources that can’t be edited like Wikipedia can. We found a lot through museum sites, Encyclopedia Britannica, stuff like that.”

“The National History Day program has been a critical part of what we do for over a decade,” Doughty said. “This project enables me to teach students Washington state essential learning standards, including research techniques, citing evidence, writing with clarity, creating a professional product, presenting to an audience and articulating their arguments. It also provides students with a lot of choice in their final project topic that is driven by genuine interests.”

Other students who are moving on to state include: 

• Noah Sawczuk, 1st place for his individual documentary on the Nuremberg trials.
• Lilly Alcock, 2nd place for her individual exhibit on Title IX in women’s sports.
• Addie Staley, 3rd place for her individual exhibit on the assassinated conservationist Dian Fossey.
• Eva Tormohlen, 4th place for her individual exhibit on the Actresses Franchise League.
• Breena Gilliland and Scarlette Tenold, 1st place for their group documentary on Castle Bravo.
• Olive DeGiovanni and Brooklynn Lee, 5th place for their group exhibit on Sequoia National Park.

Doughty has routinely sent at least one student to the NHD finals in Washington, DC. This year, she’s optimistic they’ll be sending more than one student to the nation’s capital this June.

Information provided by Battle Ground School District.