Local Student Achieves Success in History Competition

Maddison Zipper devoted months of hard work to her History Day project, and on June 19, at the National History Day competition held at the University of Maryland, it all paid off as she claimed the medal for second in the nation in her division and category. Zipper, a California state co-champion along with fellow Vista Heights student Samuel Hornaday, won her medal in the Junior Individual Exhibit Category with an entry titled, “Rights Affirmed, Responsibilities Articulated in Tinker v. Des Moines.” “History Day was a great experience,” said Zipper. “I’ve grown so much after being a part of it. I’ve improved skills I had and developed new ones. I cannot say thank you enough to all the people who’ve supported me throughout this journey, and I recommend all students experience History Day at least once in their lifetime.” In her project, Zipper delved into the issue of students’ constitutional rights at school by analyzing the Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case (1969), which concerned students who were suspended for wearing black armbands to school in protest against the Vietnam War. Zipper chose the topic after being inspired by an exhibit she saw at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. “Maddison is a winner and will go very far in life,” said her teacher, Aurelio Cortez. “It was a thrill to watch her craft this project from scratch, turning it into an informative and interactive exhibit. She will do very well at high school.” Zipper will attend Canyon Springs High School this fall. MVUSD History Day coordinator, Jo Ann Gillespie, agrees with Maddison Zipper that many more students should consider participating in the project. “It’s challenging, for sure,” she said, “but it’s highly rewarding. And we are so fortunate at MVUSD to have the strong support of the district leadership. Superintendent Dr. Judy D. White and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Martinrex Kedziora have made a real commitment to History Day.” She added that parental support has been outstanding, as well. The 2014 National History Day theme of “Rights and Responsibilities in History” challenged more than 600,000 students in sixth through 12th grade to think about the rights that citizens are guaranteed, and about their corresponding responsibilities. Students who advanced to the national competition proved themselves able to clearly examine the theme through original research projects in one of five categories: exhibits, performances, papers, documentaries and websites.