Sandy Flores Ruiz, a senior and student editor at Simpson Street Free Press, won first place in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation’s annual Civics Games contest.
Flores Ruiz said she chose to focus on former Wisconsin Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his “Red Scare” tactics because it reminded her of how stifled students often feel when they want to talk openly about controversial topics. Her essay notes that a famous television journalist showed courage in exposing McCarthy while many others stayed silent.