On May 31, this year’s edition of “Tomorrow’s Historians,” a collaborative effort between the Irvington High School Social Studies Dept. and the Irvington Historical Society, was held in the  Irvington High School library before a full house for the first time since the pandemic. 

The concept for the symposium was created by Social Studies teacher and Irvington Historical Society member Dr. Erik Weiselberg thirteen years ago. Prior to the event, Advanced Placement U.S. History teachers Chris Barry and Larry Fata selected the top 24 research papers (out of a pool of 90), which are written by students as a course requirement. Students are permitted to choose their own topic.

At the symposium, Chris Barry served as moderator and spoke of how former teacher/Irvington Historical Society President Peter Oley would have loved this event, given his passion for local history and his belief that students do best when they are given choices. He then introduced the students, who read their thesis statements, referenced the evidence supporting those statements, and entertained questions from Chris as well as the audience.

Here is a list of the students and their topics:

Evi Frechter–The Failures of the U.S. in the Holocaust

Matt Taveres–Puerto Rico Should Be a State

Simone Bohdanowcycz–The Detrimental Effects of American Isolationism in the 1920s

Sofia Garrigo–Cuba and the American Revolution

Chloe Pisani–The Relationship Between the U.S. and the Marcos regime in the Philippines

Hanna Reich–The CIA and Fidel Castro

Christopher Zorn–The Evolution of American Imperialism

Maxwell Ma–The Fatal Flaws of Reconstruction

Daniel Strauss–The Impact of the Stonewall Riots

Abby Vincent–The Failures of Modern Feminism for Women of Color

Ana Bjorgvinsson–African American Cadets at West Point:  the Racism They Faced

Emmaline LeBuhn–Racial Bias and American Healthcare for Women

Ciara Lyons–Northern Racism and Hypocrisy

Lucy Moness–Abu Ghraib and the Lucifer Effect

Anders Knapp–The Navajo Code Talkers in WWII

Felix Nolan–Wild West Gunfighters:  Separating Fact from Fiction

Jonah Goldberg–WWII and the U.S. Economic Recovery

Ben Kasoff–The New Deal:  Failure and Success

Patrick Rushford–Robert Moses and His Ambiguous Legacy

Justin Schoenfarber–Antebellum Literature and the Coming of the Civil War

Molly Martin–How West Virginia Became a State

You can watch the video of the presentations by each of the students here: