On Tuesday, Nov. 19, Rock Bridge completed the final competition for the Constitution Project in Jefferson City, Mo. The team brought home the Team First Amendment award for Outstanding Journalism.
“It was reassuring to know that a group full of journalists won the journalism award,” junior Madi Mertz said. “It jut showed that we should be doing what we’re doing, and we are good at what we’re doing.”
Other competition awards included individual awards for journalism, crime scene investigation (CSI) and trial advocacy, which included a $1000 scholarship. For teams, awards also included outstanding CSI, awarded to Logan Rogersville high school, and outstanding trial advocacy, awarded to Houston high school. The Grand Champion and Freedom Cup, awarded to Logan Rogersville high school.
Before this event even took place, participants began preparation to compete. According to junior competition member Renata Williams, students met with mentors for informational sessions and “soaked up as much information as [they] could and applied it.” The CSI team met with a resource officer, but the other teams met with professionals for their respective fields.
“We met with our mentor, his name is Dan Weaver, he owns several newspapers in our area and so we met up a couple of times … he also writes his own newspaper stories occasionally, so he has a lot of experience,” Logan Rogersville high school senior Marissa Mac said, “so he showed us some of his articles and he prepped us on what he expects out of us at the actual crime scene based on what he sees other journalists do.”
Starting with a crime scene at the Missouri Highway Patrol Headquarters and ending with a mock trial at the Missouri Supreme Court, the Rock Bridge team investigated the scene, reported on the event and litigated the trial for a new crime. For the CSI team, the new case presented new challenges.
“This case was definitely more complicated than the last,” junior Renata Williams said. “The evidence didn’t lean specifically toward one person, which I think helped a lot with the trial. Also, we were more prepared and it didn’t seem as new to us as a team.”
Shortly after the CSI team broke the scene of the crime, the Journalist team arrived to report on the event. After CSI gathered evidence and reporters created their print stories, the team moved from the highway patrol headquarters to the Supreme Courthouse to try the case.
“The trial was actually really professional this time,” Williams said. “I had the opportunity to be a witness for both the regional trial and the state trial, and the state trial was well put together, but confusing.
According to Williams, the CSI team did not use the reports they made while investigating in the trial, which created a rift between what Williams knew from experience and what she knew from the pre-written report. Williams said that she often found herself not knowing what to say to the lawyers during the trial. Even through this confusion, Williams enjoyed the competition.
“The whole experience was fun,” Williams said. “I got to meet other people from other schools around Missouri that were really nice and just wanted to make the experience be the best it could be.”
Through this competition, high school students gained exposure to the three branches of government that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get, according to Logan Rogersville high school senior Marissa Mac. This exposure allowed Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School senior Antanisha Milton to learn about the career field she wishes to go into.
“I was a head investigator so I kind of like took a leadership role in it,” Milton said. “It was great for me. I’m interested in going into [criminal justice], it’s a great experience for me to just be involved in it. It was very well put together and I thought it was nice of everyone, all the judges and Missouri Patrol people, to volunteer their time.”
The Grand Champion award and the Freedom Cup, which is a traveling trophy, was awarded to Logan Rogersville high school for the highest overall score at Tuesday’s competition. Their school’s name will be engraved on the base of the cup along with other Grand Champions in future years. Senior participants, who cannot participate in future years, hope that this competition grows over time.
“The bonding our group did during the competition was probably the best part and even though we didn’t take home the biggest win, we took home the award we deserved and we experienced it together,” Williams said. “I am excited for next year’s competition and to hopefully get more of the school involved so that not just journalism has the experience.”
