NYS History Day to find new home at SUNY Oneonta

Feb. 18—New York State History Day will be moving to SUNY Oneonta beginning this year, the college announced.

SUNY Oneonta announced its Cooperstown Graduate Program recently received a $124,990 grant from the Gardiner Foundation to serve as the affiliate sponsor of New York State's History Day. This year's event is May 2.

While this year's program is virtual, future years will be in-person, CGP Director Gretchen Sorin said. Sorin, who has participated in History Day for 20 years will now oversee the state program.

"It's great for my students and for the city of Oneonta," she said. "It will bring 1,000 kids, their parents and grandparents to the city every year. They will get to see the city and the college and hopefully some will want to attend SUNY Oneonta. They will be staying at local hotels and eating at local restaurants."

CGP will be responsible for implementing the National History Day program throughout New York, working closely with 12 regional coordinating institutions to provide programming and events statewide, and designing educational programs for teachers and students, a media release said.

In recent years, New York State History Day was held at several locations in and around Cooperstown.

Joining Sorin in the implementation of the program will be Crystal Johnson, who has served as the interim state coordinator for NYSHD since September 2020 and who has been involved in History Day since 1989 as a participant, teacher and parent, the release said. Key personnel in addition to Sorin and Johnson will include CGP faculty William Walker and Katie Boardman, as a program assistant, and two CGP graduate students.

Historically, NYSHD has served about 7,500 sixth-through-12th grade students in 150 schools across the state each year, the release said. Students compete at the 12 regionals before the top entries are sent to the state competition, she said.

The state History Day competition has several sponsors, so "even if they don't win first, they might get a prize," she said. "The final feels like a giant pep rally. It's really exciting for the kids."

There are 80 to 90 judges, who are broken up into teams of three, who gauge the entries based on criteria set by the national organization, she said. The top three entries in each category in the junior and senior level then compete at the national competition in College Park, Maryland, she said.

She said students work with teachers to come up with a research topic based on the History Day theme. Students can either write a paper, create and perform a skit, or create a documentary, exhibit, or website about the topic they choose. History Day is a national program and this year's theme is titled "Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences," Sorin said. Some topics students may research this year include the debate over the founding of the United Nations, the Lincoln Douglas debates, women's suffrage or "any point in history that has been debated," she said. "Students can choose any topic they want to pursue."

Students don't have to focus squarely on historical events, they can choose anything that interests them, she said. For example, a student interested in science might choose to research Marie Currie or Albert Einstein.

She said students who participate in History Day learn how to research using primary sources at local libraries, historical associations, museums and archives, and how to construct an argument, and if they choose to film a documentary or build a website about their topic, they will learn how to do those things as well, she said.

"History is under fire these days," she said. "This program shows students how to evaluate evidence and draw conclusions."

She said she hoped more local districts would join the Cooperstown Central School District and participate in the program in the future.

"It's a fantastic program for children," Sorin said. "It helps their self esteem when they complete their presentation."

Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221. Follow her @DS_VickyK on Twitter.