Students show off their grasp of the past at region history fair

Some may label History a boring subject. With its clunky textbooks, strict dates, and old-fashioned black and white videos, one might easily find themselves dozing off during a history class.
But no one was doing any dozing at the Southeast Region History Fair on February 23, 2011.
History came to life as a collection of students from Monticello High, San Juan High, and Albert R. Lyman Middle schools, invaded the Blanding Arts and Events Center with projects ranging from exhibits to performances.
Each project had to fall in line with this year’s theme: Debate and Diplomacy.
The contest saw a lot of great work, a lot of winners, and a lot of ties.
In the Senior Division, the individual exhibit category went to Ally Anderson with her display on the Brown vs. the Board of Education case. Second place was a tie between Dallin Anderson and Trisheena Benally.
Cortney Macdonald, Simone Shumway, and Madison Parker took first place in the group exhibit category with their project on school trust lands. Second place went to Jamie Keyes and Robin Randall.
But fancy displays aren’t the only parts of the fair. Winners in the written paper category included: first place for Risha Price’s work on the Cuban Missile Crisis and second place to Ashley Rogers.
Clarissa Jack snatched first place in the live performance category with a presentation on the “new” women of the 1920’s.
Technology-based categories, such as digital documentaries and web design, were also offered this year. Logan Bradford placed first with a documentary on the Southern Ute Reservation. Sierra Whipple placed first in web design focused on the death penalty.
The Junior Division also had its fair share of strong projects. First place in individual exhibits is a tie between Whitney Jacobsen’s “Vaccines” and Jade Palmer’s “Title IX.” Second place went to Zoe Chadwick.
In group exhibits, Kaiden Hughes, Jacob Walker, and Patten Black were first for their work on the Posey War. Jens Brewer and Stettson Deeter were second.
The web design wizard in the Junior Division is Jill Hook, with a project about the treatment of horses.
All first and second place winners move on to the State Competition on April 19.
Thanks go to the schools and teachers who are involved in the fair, including Judy Barton at Monticello, Bill Sivert at San Juan, and Shane Musselman at ARL Middle School.