Sophie Dorazio

Process Paper
Word Count: 487

Being that the National History Day theme for 2017 was Conflict and Compromise, we

felt as though it was necessary to find a topic that forever changed American society and the way

people think. For example, we did not want to choose a topic that would be somewhat

insignificant to an average citizen. Certain topics focus on more governmental issues and others,

more on economic problems. These issues do not draw that much attention to them. Topics such

as women suffrage, segregation, civil liberties, etc. draw a lot of attention. With this in mind, we

decided to research an issue that is still prominent today, discrimination towards the

intellectually disabled. Many people are drawn to this issue because it impacts them directly and

a lot of people have first hand knowledge on the topic. Since there are many controversial topics,

evolving from discrimination we decided to research compromises between mainstream people

and those with a disability. The Special Olympics seemed to be the best topic to go hand in hand

with discrimination towards those with intellectual disabilities.

We conducted our research by outlining significant subtopics that would fit within our

topic. First, we researched when and how the Special Olympics began. As we understood the

simple content of the topic, we researched more in depth on various perspectives of

discrimination and the lasting impact that the Special Olympics holds on American society. We

found speeches and summaries which overviewed/outlined major points made within our project

and finally placed our information chronologically throughout our project.

We chose to make a website because we wanted to do this project as a group, as we have

for the past two years. The reason we chose a website over other project categories is because the

three of us have very busy schedules and we felt the website gave us more of an opportunity to
work independently and put all of our hard work and ideas together, while not being in the same

place. In order to construct this website, we broke down the pages and each worked on a few. As

we constructed this website we shared documents with each other on google documents so that

we could view all of each other's work.

Our project, The Special Olympics, relates to the National History Day 2017 theme,

Conflict and Compromise in numerous ways. To start off, discrimination against people with

intellectual disabilities has been an everlasting conflict throughout the world and prominently in

the United States. This issue of discrimination relates to the conflict portion within the theme.

The conflict relating to the Special Olympics is the fight to give people with intellectual

disabilities the same opportunities that mainstream people receive. To follow, the compromise

portion of the theme is backed up by the proposal and establishment of the Special Olympics, as

it gives people with these disabilities the opportunity to do what they love in a happy, safe

environment.

Jeremy Contreras
Process Paper
Word Count: 473

This years NHD project was very different from past years. Being a senior, we receive an

extended deadline for our NHD project. However, this year the rule was changed that made it

necessary for seniors to do a paper. I did not want to do a paper especially because of the success
I have had in the past couple of years a website. Because of this, our group decided to do a

website once again even though we knew it would have to be done on the earlier deadline.

The theme for this year is Conflict and Compromise so we wanted to choose something

that had a lasting impact on the world today. Compromises are made all the time no matter how

big or small. After I heard about this theme, I immediately thought of the Special Olympics.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver created this organization because she wanted her sister to have an

opportunity to participate in athletic competitions. The Special Olympics gives people with

mental illnesses an opportunity to participate in such events. However, the creation of this

organization was not easy. The conflict was trying to gain justice for people with disabilities

during a time period where many felt they did not have a place in society. He response or

compromise was creating a whole new organization to help these people.

To begin our website we knew we wanted to have an interview with someone who

participates or has participated in the Special Olympics. Because of this, we interviewed Aidan

Morin. He gave us great insight to how it has affected him and his life. In addition, we began our

research by finding general information about the organization itself and Eunice Kennedy

Shriver. This is shown in our background page on our website. Next we looked up the different

hardships she faced when creating this organization. This led straight into our compromise

because it showed what she had to overcome to make a difference. In addition we later

researched information concerning the economic, political, cultural, and social aspects of the

nation. All of this contributed to the conflicts and shows what she had to overcome. That is what

the bulk of our research reflected. This notion that she overcame so much and did whatever it

took to help these people is what we really wanted to show in our website.
 The last part of this process was making sure that the topic relates to the theme and that

we conveyed this through our website.. We needed to make sure that the conflict was clear and

that the compromise that she had been created was one that helped her cause. The use of a

website helped us to clearly show these sections. It made our topic organized and makes it easily

navigable to anybody viewing it. This was the perfect project for us.

Tyler Grippo
Process Paper
Word Count: 490

Given the choice between writing a historical paper or creating a website with a group

with the goal of going back to Hofstra, I figured that it would be both best for the group and a

better experience to try and go back and see if we could make it further into the

competition. Working with this group is a great time and we have great coordination and

chemistry, so our choice was to do another website since that has brought us success. To ensure

further success this year, we decided we needed and wanted to choose an event that had a huge

impact on a large population of people, not just a certain group or country. Being that the theme

this year is Conflict and Compromise, the three of us wanted to dig deep into a compromise that

brought about a massive change. After researching possible topics, we decided on the Special
Olympics because these games have positively impacted people with disabilities across many

countries and continues to grow in today's society.

Using the resources given to us through the Virtual Reference Collection, we conducted

our research mainly through scholarly articles. These articles helped us to find many things

about Eunice Kennedy Shriver, as well as personal stories about the Special Olympics. I also

researched on Google to find statistics on the growth that this event has sustained. For our

interview, we decided to talk to a local boy who goes to our school, Aidan Morin. He has

participated in Special Olympic events so it was great having somebody so close to home that

has a personal connection with the topic we chose, giving us fantastic personal views on the

games.

Using a website was something that was a given when our group talked about doing

another project together. It has been the source of our project for the past three years and has

been very convenient. All three of us are busy with activities and work after school, so using a

website helped us to work on it at times when we were able to. Meeting once, we divided up the

tabs and information between us and combined out bibliographies that we made

individually. We hope that we can continue this group's success because we are aware of the

potential our website can obtain from past experience.

The Special Olympics relate to this years theme because at the time when they were

nonexistent, there was conflict surrounding the participation of people with special needs in

everyday activities that any fully capable person would participate in. The compromise made

through these games and everybody who contributed into putting them into effect, especially

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, is something that is extraordinary and holds a special place in many
peoples hearts. Being that this was such a drastic and influencing compromise to get special

needs kids their own big event, we felt this topic was the epitome of Conflict and Compromise.