March 10, 2016
Three local students are walking away with top honors in a C-SPAN StudentCam documentary competition that accrued 2,887 video submissions from 45 states, according to a press release issued by the cable network.
The task at hand for student filmmakers in grades six to 12 was to address the following question, in anticipation of this year's presidential election: What is the issue you most want candidates to discuss during the 2016 presidential campaign?
Madeline Bowne, a senior at Cherry Hill High School East, won second place for her approximately eight-minute-long documentary "When the House Becomes a Home," a take on congressional term limits. She'll walk away with $1,500.
In third place, meanwhile, are ninth grade Tamanend Middle School students Ben Cerauli, Sammy Stevens and Sophia Cantu, all from Warrington, Bucks County. Their film, "A Flaw in the System: Bail," tackles criminal justice reform -- particularly, the Bail Reform Act of 1966 and ensuing legislation. They'll walk away with $750.
Four other students from Tamanend Middle School received honorable mentions. Five more students, from Mulica Hill, Gloucester County school Clearview Regional High School, also received honorable mentions; all honorable mentions will be awarded $250.
Now in its 12th year, the StudentCam competition awarded $100,000 to 332 students this year. According to C-SPAN, the most popular topic among students was the economy.
Bowne's mini-documentary will air April 22 on C-SPAN at 6:50 a.m.
