2023 Second Prize Middle School – “Ella Scott’s Banned Book Club: How Students Are Fighting Back In The War Over Censorship and Ideas” by Dermott Foley & Grant Burthey

StudentCam is C-SPAN’s annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation. 2023 marked the 19th year of the competition and we invited middle and high school students to create a short documentary addressing the theme: “If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why?”

8th grade students Dermott Foley & Grant Burthey from Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring, Maryland won 2nd Prize for their documentary, “Ella Scott’s Banned Book Club: How Students Are Fighting Back In The War Over Censorship and Ideas.” As 2nd Prize winners, the duo will share $1,500 in prize money.

C-SPAN is funded by America’s cable and satellite television companies, who also support StudentCam. In Silver Spring, C-SPAN is available locally through Comcast.

“It is truly an inspiration to hear young voices tackle important issues in such creative and thoughtful ways,” said Misty Allen, Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Comcast’s Beltway Region. “Comcast is proud to once again partner with C-SPAN for its StudentCam competition and help recognize Dermott and Grant on their outstanding achievement.”

PRESS:

• Press Release: Washington, D.C. Area Students Win Top Prizes in C-SPAN Video Documentary Competition (Google Doc)
• Article: Eastern’s 2023 C-SPAN StudentCam Winners (Eastern Middle School News)