Jenna Vespi and Mia Potamianos
Editors of Promotion
This fall, students in English teacher Courtney Romeiser’s AP Language classes participated in the New York Times Learning Center’s Second Annual Editorial Cartoon Contest. Students age 13-19 were asked to create an editorial cartoon by providing “insightful commentary or criticism” regarding a current issue, political topic or historic event covered by the New York Times. Ms. Romeiser was able to incorporate this project in her curriculum about rhetorical analysis. “I think the students realized there are challenges that come with (making) a good, effective, humorous, and impactful cartoon,” said Ms. Romeiser. Each AP Lang student was able to use their deep thinking skills to create an editorial cartoon by generating their individual opinions.
Students submitted their work by Oct. 20 and results should be posted by the New York Times by mid to late November. “I really enjoyed it, it was a new experience and I got to look up different articles on the New York Times about a wide variety of things,” said junior Elijah Theus. We also participated in the contest, as part of the class, and even though it tested our artistic abilities, we enjoyed the challenge.
This year, the New York Times had thousands of entries from across the country. A panel of judges selected six winners, 12 runners up, and 18 honorable mentions. The editorial cartoons of three J-D students were among the top finishers in the contest.
Click here to view their cartoons, and the cartoons of all the winners across the country.