Vivian Hughbanks of Signal Mountain is the first place winner in the high school category of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Second Annual YouTube Video Contest, while Alyssa Neuhoff of the Walden Home School on Signal Mountain took second place in the middle school category. The TBA announced the results of the competition last week as part of its national Law Day celebration.
This year’s contest challenged middle and high school students to create three-minute videos exploring the limits - if any - of free communication. Students were asked to examine one of several themes, including the value of an “invaluable” right; whether limits can, or should, be imposed on freedom of communication; whether there should be consequences for abusing freedom of communication; and how the concept of freedom of communication applies in a digital era.
Hughbanks, a student with the Chattanooga Southeast Tennessee Home Education Association, submitted a video focusing on the importance of freedom of speech as a check against government power and as the foundation for a representative democracy. Both she and her school’s mock trial team, which sponsored her, will receive a cash prize of $500. She also will be invited to attend the TBA’s annual meeting in Memphis on June 8 and have her winning video shown to leaders in the state’s legal community.
Neuhoff focused on how the right to free speech has powered major societal changes - including emancipation, suffrage and drinking age limits. She titled her video “Above All Liberties: Freedom of Expression.”
Both videos can be viewed on YouTube.
The TBA created the YouTube Contest in 2010 to generate knowledge and interest in the law and the American judicial system among Tennessee students. It was the primary public service project of then-TBA President Sam Elliott, who Chattanooga lawyer who made civics education a focus of his year in office.
Law Day is celebrated every May 1 as a special day to mark the nation’s commitment to the rule of law. Programs are held across the country to enhance the public’s appreciation for the law, to foster a greater understanding of the American judicial system, and to provide an opportunity for attorneys to serve their local communities.
Source: TBA