Local Students Win National Documentary Competition

NARRAGANSETT, RI — Six Rhode Island students from two schools were awarded prizes in a national documentary competition. The students, from Narragansett High School and Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, are the local winners of C-SPAN's documentary competition, StudentCam and will be honored by C-SPAN and Cox Communication on Wednesday.

This year's documentary theme was "What does it mean to be American? Choose a constitutional right, national characteristic, or historic event and explain how it defines the American experience." More than 6,300 students from 48 states and the District of Columbia entered the competition, with the most popular video topics addressing first amendment rights, issues of equality and discrimination and immigration.

Taylor Hall, Alayna Bellavia and Lauren Aldrich of Narragansett High School took home honorable mention and a $250 prize for their film "Protecting the 2nd Amendment Rights and Lives of Americans." An assembly will be held at the school in their honor at 9 a.m. on Wendesday, where their film will be screened.

Raymond Baccari, Aydan Santon and Jovan Jimenez of Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts won second prize, which comes with a $1,500 cash prize, for their porject, titled "The Second Amendment: With It's UnBEARable Consequences."

"We experience moments of real human connection when we engage with our communities, especially with kids and teens," said Jay Albaugh, senior vice president at Cox Rhode Island. "That’s one reason why Cox partners with C-SPAN in the annual StudentCam initiative. This year, we’re so excited that our local students from Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts and Narragansett High School have been selected as winners in the national documentary competition."

The competition was started by C-SPAN in 2006 and partners with local cable providers. This year's competition saw a 10 percent increase in entries from 2018.