More than 250 teachers, judges, volunteers, students and their family members met at Wilbur Cross High School on Saturday, March 26, to participate in the New Haven regional competition for National History Day. The event provides students with a very challenging research experience. This year’s theme was “Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” There were 145 middle and high school students from the area that participated, and 88 entries in all of the judging categories, which included competitions for papers, exhibits, performances, documentaries, and Web sites.
The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition staff members Dana Schaffer, Melissa McGrath and Thomas Thurston coordinated the event with the assistance of staff members from the Connecticut Historical Society and the Old State House. State Representatives Patricia Dillon, Toni Harp, and Roland Lemar attended the event and spoke briefly at the awards ceremony.