C-SPAN recently announced that students in South Miami and Miami Lakes are winners in C-SPAN’s national 2020 StudentCam competition.
The following students from South Miami Middle Community School have won prizes:
Vincent Granados, Casey Golden and Max Molitor received $1,500 as second prize for the documentary, Our Roads: A Wise Investment, about infrastructure. The documentary will air on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m. ET and throughout the day on Apr. 9.
Sophia Bacallao, Victoria Cepero and Scarlett Luis received $250 as honorable mention for the documentary, Global Warming Crisis: Sea Level Rise.
Nicholas Fernandez received $250 as an honorable mention for the documentary, Too Little Too Late? about climate change.
The following students from Miami Lakes Educational Center have earned an honorable mention prize: Daniel Gonzalez III, Michelle Mairena and Khimmoy Hudson received $250 for the documentary, Immigration: The Broken System.
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, DC, 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, and
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 Craig McAndrew, C-SPAN’s director of Education Relations. “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 South Miami and Miami Lakes, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.
“Congratulations to our local winners on their hard work, creativity and well-deserved recognition,” said Marta Casas-Celaya, director of External Affairs and Community Impact for Comcast in South Florida. “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, four first prizes, 16 second prizes, 32 third prize winners and 97 honorable mention prizes. The winning videos 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 million in prizes.
