Story by Chris Marquart
Jonathan Capozzi was moved to action following Kate Grindstaff’s presentation to the Phelps-Clifton Springs Central School District’s AP/Gemini United States History classes.
Grindstaff is the coordinator of the Finger Lakes Region History Day Competition and works at the Seward House in Auburn. She visited the school to talk about the regional competition, scheduled for Saturday, March 15 at the Case Mansion in Auburn. Winners will advance to next month’s Affiliate Competition at the State University of New York at Oneonta. From there, the top performers will compete at the National Competition in June at the University of Maryland.
The theme of this year’s competition is Rights and Responsibilities in History. This theme challenges students to consider questions of time and place, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance.
Capozzi (Class of 2026) quickly made a connection, remembering stories from his mother, Susan, and his grandfather, Saadallah. Saadallah – or Gidday, translated to grandfather – emigrated to America from Syria in 1956.
“I’m presenting on rights and responsibilities in the Middle East. Ms. Grindstaff’s presentation really caught my attention,” Capozzi said, noting his grandfather often worried aloud about his own siblings; Capozzi has several family members still living in Syria. His mother visited Syria in 2001.
Capozzi will be among three Finger Lakes region students competing for a seat at the New York’s State History Day Competition, Capozzi will have a 20-minute window to present on his chosen topic of Rights and Responsibilities in the Middle East. The Finger Lakes Regional Contest is scheduled between 9 and 12 Saturday (March 15) at Auburn’s Case Mansion.
Part of the qualification process includes rigorous work and revisions to a formal paper and a preliminary production. Capozzi wrote, edited and voiced a 10-minute documentary as part of his preliminary efforts. That satisfied the first step of becoming eligible, and after revisions, the documentary will be paired with his in-person talk at the regional competition.
“His presentation is amazing,” said Secondary School History teacher Angela Simmons.
After the regional competition, Capozzi will know if he advances by around noon. He will then have a chance to make additional revisions, preparing for the New York State Affiliate competition, scheduled for April 27 at the State University of New York at Oneonta.
Simmons applauded Capozzi and his effort, noting the degree of intensity that is required. The introductory paper was more involved than one might expect.
“Jonathan had to provide multiple primary and secondary sources, an annotated bibliography, and a justification for using the selected sources,” said Simmons. “And he jumped right in.”
“The theme is rights and responsibility in history, and there is a theme there that applies to rights, rights of women, religion-based rights… it’s [inclusive] of all the Middle East,” said Capozzi. “I feel like it’s a prevalent situation across the Middle East.”
Capozzi went on to list different eras and time frames, all within the idea of what is due a person in terms of rights: The consistent war-state of Syria, both before, during and after the Assad regime, Israel and Palestine, the era of colonialism, Afghanistan.
“What costs do we pay for progress,” Capozzi rhetorically asked, echoing his documentary. “We could pick our topic, but I picked mine and based it on fact, not opinion.”
His documentary shows the ebb and flow of control across the vast Middle East region, which bounces back and forth between peace and conflict. The documentary goes back to Hammurabi’s Code, which in the fertile crescent served as the first list of individual freedoms, or an early version of the Bill of Rights. His documentary illustrates the chaos in the wake of borders drawn during periods of colonialism and imperialism. It shows how regional or conflicting sects were lumped together, and how that ultimately brought a wave of extremism under the teachings of Sharia Law.
“There is a negative connotation of the Middle East, when you think of it. It’s actually a beautiful region and parts of it still are,” Capozzi said, explaining many of the images in his 10-minute documentary were taken when his mother visited in 2001. “And there is transition in progress, but their struggle is also ours.”
The first and second place winners at the State’s affiliate competition will advance to Nationals. The National Contest will feature around 3,000 students; it is scheduled for June 8-12 at the University of Maryland in College Park.
