WASHINGTON (March 11, 2020) – C-SPAN announced today that students in Concord and Arlington, Massachusetts, are winners in C-SPAN’s national 2020 StudentCam competition.
Ben Austen, Eliot Martin and Sabrina Blasik, students at Arlington High School in Arlington, will receive $250 as honorable mention winners for the documentary, “Climate Change and the Green New Deal.”
Addison Boger, Tessa Renyi and Meredith Kenney, students at Nashoba Brooks School in Concord, will receive $750 as third prize winners for the documentary, “Climate Change: What Will Our Future Be?”
Each year since 2006, C-SPAN partners with local cable television providers in communities nationwide to invite middle and high school students to produce short documentaries about a subject of national importance. This year students addressed the theme, “What’s Your Vision in 2020? Explore the issue you most want presidential candidates to address during the campaign.”
In response, nearly 5,400 students from 44 states and Washington, D.C., participated. C-SPAN received over 2,500 submissions on a variety of topics. The most popular topics addressed were:
- Environment (18%) – Climate Change, Green New Deal, Pollution and Plastics
- Equality/Discrimination (15%) – Prison Rights, Affirmative Action, Veterans’ Rights, Human Rights
- Guns (13%) – Gun Control, Mass Shootings, Second Amendment, Gun Safety
- Health Care (12%) – Universal Health Care, Mental Health, Addictions, Vaping
- Immigration (9%) – Border Security, Undocumented Immigration, Separation of Families, DACA
“StudentCam provides a platform for young people to have their voices heard on the issues they are clearly passionate about,” said C-SPAN’s Director of Education Relations Craig McAndrew. “This year’s entries reflect remarkable research and production values and feature a wide range of interviews with elected officials and experts. The life skills students learn from this experience will carry them forward in their academic, personal and professional lives.”
C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable television companies, who also support StudentCam. In Concord and Arlington, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.
“Congratulations to our local winners on their hard work, creativity and well-deserved recognition,” said Tim Kelly, VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs. “Comcast is committed to strengthening our communities through educational programs and we are proud to partner with C-SPAN in its mission to encourage students to think critically about issues that affect our country.”
These winners are among the 330 students from across the country winning a total of $100,000. C-SPAN is awarding one grand prize, 4 first prizes, 16 second prizes, 32 third prize winners and 97 honorable mention prizes. The winning videos will receive cash awards of $5,000, $3,000, $1,500, $750 and $250, respectively. This year marks the 16th year of the StudentCam competition, which has awarded over $1,000,000 in prizes.
High school students competed on a regional level, with the United States divided into three regions: West, Central and East. Middle school students were judged on a national basis. The grand prize winner was selected nationally among all regions and grade levels.
The 150 winning videos can be viewed at http://www.studentcam.org and may be used in a broadcast with attribution to C-SPAN.