National History Day: Cram and Dias headline MV success in competition

By Abigail Sullivan

Photo Courtesy of Allison Wronski

I was able to interview sophomore Josh Cram about his National History Day project. He and fellow sophomore Grace Dias were able to move on to the Greater Boston district competition. They placed second in the group documentary category, qualifying them for the Massachusetts History Day documentary competition. Grace and Josh’s documentary was the first from Mystic Valley to qualify for the state competition.

What was your project on?

“Our National History Day project was on Professor Anita F. Hill taking a stand against Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment. In these hearings, Anita Hill voluntarily shared her experiences with Clarence Thomas, before the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

How did you decide on your topic?

“This years theme for National History Day was ‘Taking a Stand’”. Having an interest in feminism and politics, Grace and I came upon Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ 1991 confirmation hearings. Seeing the relevance to this year’s NHD theme, we decided to do a documentary on the historical significance of Anita Hill taking a stand.”

What was your thesis?

“Our thesis was: ‘By taking a stand against Supreme Court Justice Nominee Clarence Thomas for sexual harassment, Anita Hill was able to heighten the public awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, and the lack of female representation in the political sphere.’”

Cram and Dias uploaded their 10 minute documentary to youtube, so we were able to embed it here. Feel free to check it out below:

Video created by Josh Cram and Grace Dias

Courtesy of Youtube.com