News 6 Minaret: Florida’s Top Newspaper...Again UT paper nabs six of 18 FCPA awards, beats big public schools For the second straight year, The Minaret won the Best College Newspaper Award, announced by the Florida College Press Association earlier in the week. The staff, led by senior editorin-chief Peter Arrabal, won six of the contest’s 18 awards, two of which were first-place finishes. “It is a testament to the quality of continuing leadership development of The Minaret, cemented by an experienced, dedicated advisor,” Arrabal said. The award partly covered the time when Steve Knauss was editor-in-chief. "I think that it is a great indicator that the resurgency of The Minaret is one that is not a temporary phenomenon, but
shows a passion for journalism,” said former editor-in-chief Steve Knauss (2007-2008). “That it has not been institutionalized, but it is here to stay." Kelley Bumstead received first-and third-place awards for best sports story. Cristobal Gomez won second place for best feature story, and Michelle Magner finished with a third-place award for best feature. All three students are senior Communication majors. Moving up a spot from last year, The Minaret finished second for best front page design. Of the seven universities placed throughout the awards, UT led the way with six, Florida A&M University followed closely with five and University of North Florida finished third with three awards.
The Minaret Online (www. theminaretonline.com) was awarded seventh place at the national Associated Collegiate Press awards in San Diego, Feb. 26 to March 1. They finished just behind the sites of several prestigious dailies like UCLA’s Bruin and The Daily Californian from Berkeley. Last year, the Historical Black Colleges and Universities organization named the thrice-weekly FAMUAN (FAMU) the top newspaper. Also, University of North Florida’s Spinnaker placed seventh last month in the national Associated Collegiate Press awards for weekly tabloids. UT’s enrollment is half the size of FAMU’s and a third the size of UNF’s, both of which have journalism majors.
From “Drought”: Front Page GIS analyst of the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SFWM), the Hillsborough River which runs east side of campus "is in trouble." The Southwest Florida Water Management District evaluates each river for what they feel is the minimum flow level that is needed for existing life to live. There is a dam below the Hillsborough River which allows salt water from the Tampa Bay to enter during low tides and to release during high tides. "This is where the problem begins," said Karlin. "Since the
water level in the river is so low, the salt water cannot escape. This affects the animals that depend on certain salinities of water to live." Mike Moligan, a public relations representative from the SFWM, explained the steps the city is taking to address the water shortage. "The city of Tampa is in a phase four water shortage. Water use is being restricted by reducing the hours for outside irrigation, fountains, and car washing," he said. Unfortunately, Moligan does not believe that these steps alone will stop the problem. "We are in a 30 inch deficit of rain fall over the last three years, and this will leave a long term ef-
fect on the reservoir," said Moligan. In the mean time, University of Tampa students can do their part in stopping the drought. Karlin suggests placing a bucket in the shower while students wait for the water to heat up to catch the water that would have otherwise been wasted. Concerned freshman, Michelle O'Brien said, "I'm personally trying to cut back on my water usage, I have been taking shorter showers and turning the water off while I'm brushing my teeth." For more tips on how to help reduce the drought visit http:// www.swfwmd.state.fl.us.
By Shelby Kuni Head Copy Editor
The Minaret | April 10, 2009 From “Twitter”: Front Page
before. So after doing something research, Twitter became an obvious resource for communication with UT students. We decided to promote Twitter as a whole.” “We took this direction because as a student, I knew that not many people were even familiar with Twitter so we actually had to promote Twitter while promoting Hire-UT on it,” she explained. When asked how the program is working so far for UT, Fusari said, “Hire-UT on Twitter is working great so far. It is updated with important events and workshops we offer, which really helps keep students in the know.” The program so far has 51 followers with numbers on the rise. “Since we have signed up on Twitter, I just continue to
hear more and more about people using it every day,” Fusari said. So what can Twitter do for users? "It gives me the option of following profiles of professionals that have inside knowledge in the job market, or even people who are posting internships and jobs around my area," Fusari said. She added that after she registered Hire-UT, she made a personal account. For those students who have never heard of Twitter, let alone the Career Services office, now is the time to get involved. The Career Services office is located in Riverside 116. Fusari said for more information on Twitter, “I suggest jumping on the Twitter bandwagon. It seems that everyone is starting to have a profile, and if you go to the homepage, there is a quick video that really explains what exactly Twitter is all about.”
Photo by John Meacham
Graduating soon?
Info Session GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN
BUSINESS AND EDUCATION MBA (part-time and full-time) M.S. in Accounting | M.S. in Finance | M.S. in Marketing Certificate in Nonprofit Management Master of Arts in Teaching | Master of Education
www.ut.edu/graduate
April 11 | 10 a.m.
Sykes College of Business, room 134 Reserve Your Seat (813) 258-7409 | utgrad@ut.edu Register online: www.ut.edu/graduate
SYMBOL OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE