Documentary by Batchelor students wins 3rd place in CSPAN competition
Two students at Batchelor Middle School in Bloomington, have won a national competition sponsored by C-SPAN to produce a video that answers the question, “In the next 20 years, what is the most important change that you would like to see in America?”
Nick Ransford and Daniel Taylor, both eighth graders, produced and submitted a documentary they titled, “United or Divided: The Separation of our Country.”
C-SPAN executive Craig D’Agostini said, “We congratulate Nick and Daniel on this outstanding achievement.”
In the video, Ransford and Taylor make the case that U.S. political parties have divided the nation and need to get serious about bringing it together again.
“Political parties are supposed to connect our country,” Ransford said in an interview at Batchelor school. “What we’re seeing is political parties dividing us more than uniting us.”
Taylor cited as evidence conversations he’s heard around election times as the landscape becomes littered with political posters — like his mom’s declaration, “I’m not Democratic or Republican, I’m American.”
C-SPAN asked students entering the competition to address the theme “Looking Forward while Considering the Past.”
The Ransford-Taylor video — a third-prize winner in the national competition — can be viewed at studentcam.org. And for their efforts, the Batchelor students will receive, besides national recognition, $750 cash.
Asked what he’d do with his $375 share, Taylor speculated, “A new car, maybe?”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Batchelor students place 3rd in CSPAN documentary contest
