History Honor Society Members Advance to NYS History Day Contest

Twelve members of the Tappan Zee High School History Honor Society competed in the Lower Hudson Valley History Day Contest on March 29. Senior Owen E. placed third in the individual exhibit category and juniors Elise K. And Emily L. placed second in the group exhibit category and qualified for the New York State History Day Contest at SUNY Oneonta on April 27!

This year’s theme is “Rights and Responsibilities” and participants had to research their topic and present their work through a research paper, exhibit, documentary, performance or a website. Elise and Emily chose to do an exhibit about the “post-graffiti” movement, which emerged in the early 1980’s and is often associated with artists like Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. “We’re both interested in art and we wanted to focus on contemporary art so we asked Ms. Genovese (TZHS Art teacher) to help us throughout the process. Graffiti started on subways because it’s something that would hit a broader audience and have a lot of visibility ,” explained Emily. The pair also worked with TZHS Library Media Specialist Patty Eyer to find sources for their research through different databases. 

TZHS History teacher and History Honor Society advisor Christine Drivas noted, “These students work on these projects from October through March and it’s all done on their own time. It’s an enormous amount of work and they don’t work on these projects during class time so they are all very dedicated.”

During their research, Elise and Emily were eager to learn about the different artists that made up the movement. “I didn’t know that there were so many female artists that created graffiti art. Lady Pink was an artist we learned about and she actually transitioned more to fine arts. I liked how she was one of the top artists in the graffiti world because it was mostly a male-dominated environment,” noted Elise. 

Congratulations to all of our TZHS students who participated in the History Day Contest:

• Elise K. and Emily L. (group exhibit "The Post-Graffiti Movement: A Canvas for Change") 
• Owen E. (individual exhibit "Drawing the Lines of Democracy: Balancing Rights and Responsibilities in Political Redistricting") 
• Miles H. (individual documentary "Hermann Göring The Power The Paranoia The Fall")
• Emma M. (research paper "Eleanor Roosevelt and Advocacy for Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, Racial Equality and Social Welfare")
• Annabelle S. (individual website "The Black Silence of Fear")
• Aara Y., Kayleen Y. (group website "Interwoven Struggles: Women of Color Leading Through Rights & Responsibilities")
• Nuala M., Sophia T. (group website "??????????????????????????????: The Dead Are Crying Out For Justice"
• Jaywon C., Lukas W. (group documentary "Marching for Change: How Youth Led the Civil Rights Movement")