Daily Campus and Rotunda student staffers win 31 awards

    FORT WORTH (April 3, 2011) – SMU’s independent student newspaper The Daily Campus and Rotunda yearbook were recognized with a combined 31 awards for journalistic excellence in 2010-2011, officials with the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) announced Saturday at the group’s annual conference in Fort Worth.

The awards were highlighted by The Daily Campus’ first-place finish in overall excellence among Division 1 newspapers (newspapers published three or more times per week). The Daily Campus earned the distinction over daily student newspapers at Texas colleges and universities including UT-Austin, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, University of North Texas and others.

Four Daily Campus student staffers competed in live, on-site journalism competitions that included a first-place finish by current Daily Campus editor-in-chief Taylor Adams in the print news writing event and a third-place finish by former editor-in-chief Jessica Huseman in feature writing. Adams also earned third-place honors in the copy editing competition.

The 2010 edition of the Rotunda yearbook earned 15 individual and staff awards in the statewide contest — up from 11 awards in 2010.

Both SMU student publications have chronicled the SMU community since 1915. The independent student media are student-managed and published under the auspices of the SMU-based Student Media Company, Inc.

“The honors awarded to the staffers of our two student publications are testament to the hard work and dedication put in by our students to deliver outstanding coverage of the SMU community,” said Jay Miller, executive director of the Student Media Co., Inc.

Following are the individual awards for material published in calendar year 2010 by The Daily Campus and announced during the three-day conference:

• First Place, overall excellence, The Daily Campus
• First Place, ad design, Anna Lee Doughtie
• First Place, sports feature story, Brittany Levine
• Second Place, feature page design, Helena Bologna
• Second Place, headline, The Daily Campus staff
• Second Place, in-depth reporting, Christine Ricciardi, Taylor Adams, James Lucente
• Second Place, sports feature photo, Michael Danser
• Second Place, special section/edition, The Daily Campus (First Year Guide)
• Third Place, editorial cartoon, Lydia Hollifield
• Third Place, information graphic, Helena Bologna
• Third Place, news feature story, Amber Harris
• Third Place, news photo, Tyler Williams
• Honorable Mention, sports action photo, Michael Danser

The Daily Campus is published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fall and spring terms and is distributed at more than 55 locations across the campus. The newspaper is available online at www.smudailycampus.com.

Following are the individual awards for material published in the 2010 edition of the Rotunda yearbook and announced during TIPA’s three-day conference:

• First Place, sports package, Rotunda staff
• Second Place, academic copy, Taylor Adams
• Second Place, feature/student life package, Rotunda staff
• Second Place, information graphic, Rotunda staff
• Second Place, organizations copy, Alejandra Aguirre
• Second Place, sports copy, Stephen Lu
• Third Place, cover design, Jordan Chlapecka
• Third Place, overall excellence, Rotunda 2010
• Third Place, sports action photo, Stuart Palley
• Third Place, sports feature photo, Stuart Palley
• Third Place, student life copy, Joshua Parr
• Honorable Mention, academic copy, Pat Traver              
• Honorable Mention, academic package, Taylor Adams, Casey Lee
• Honorable Mention, academic photo, Emilia Stubbe
• Honorable Mention, sports action photo, Michael Danser

Production of the 332-page 2010 Rotunda yearbook was overseen by co-editors-in-chief Jordan Chlapecka and Amy Koshy and distributed to the SMU community in October 2010. The 2011 Rotunda currently is in print with Whitney Van Way serving as editor-in-chief. Both books are available for purchase by calling (214) 768-4545 or visiting www.smurotunda.com.

Established in 1909, TIPA is the largest and oldest press association of its kind in the United States. TIPA works to open channels of communication and cooperation among student media programs at two- and four-year colleges and universities in Texas. Some of those media include student newspapers, yearbooks, magazines and radio and television stations. 

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