JACKSON HOLE, WYO – After receiving first and second place in their respective categories at the state competition, sophomore Race Heinbockel and freshman Will Aepli will travel to College Park, Maryland to compete with students across the country in the National History Day competition on June 9-13.
Will Aepli studied the reversal of the Chicago river as an architectural triumph and composed his research into an argumentative essay.
“Not many people know about the reversal of the Chicago River,” Aepli told Buckrail. “When I found out about, I, too, was surprised. I decided to write an essay about it because it is both interesting and had significant impacts on both the local environment and the worldwide precedent it set.”
Engineers altered the Chicago River in 1900 to make it flow backwards into the Mississipi River and away from Lake Michigan—the city’s drinking water supply.
Race Heinbockel analyzed the triumph of the United States during the Tet Offensive and argued that it was ultimately a tragedy because it prompted the loss of popular support for the Vietnam War.
“I found out about this topic because of a close family friend who happened to have served in the offensive in Da Nang and Khe Sanh as an artillery officer,” Heinbockel said. “Today, a common distrust and disgust toward American Politics and the government is widespread—as seen in the 2016 presidential election. The beginning of some of these highly critical thoughts toward the American government can be traced back to the wake of Tet Offensive. Despite this importance, the topic is not discussed nearly as much as it should be. This was the reason I decided to research it.”
