The Society of Ohio Archivists Membership and Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2021 SOA History Day Awards. The awardees were selected from submissions for the award, from among those advancing to the state finals competition which was held virtually on Saturday, April 24.
Junior Award: Angela D’Souza, Birchwood School of Hawken, for her junior individual documentary, “The Cleveland Free-Net: How a Case Western Reserve University Experiment Opened a New World of Communication.” Angela worked with archivists at Case Western Reserve University to obtain primary source documents and resources about the Cleveland Free-Net that she used in her documentary. She also interviewed the widow of the creator of Free-Net, who gave her additional photos and primary sources she used.
Senior Award: Brendan Zbanek, Mary Basilion, Zara Braun, Shaker Heights High School, for their senior group performance, “Tinker v. Des Moines: The Student Led Fight For Free Speech.” Brendan, Mary, and Zara researched the Supreme Court case files, and read books from the 1960s to fully understand the time period. They also conducted an interview with Mary Beth Tinker, the plaintiff in the case, and incorporated her firsthand knowledge of the case into their performance. Continue reading