First Place Comments for 2016 Collegiate Contest Winners

First Place Judges’ Comments In the Under 5,000 Division News Story First Place: Rebekah Davis of The Patriot for “Looking deeper into the Clery Act: An ‘abbreviated snapshot’ of crimes on FMU's campus” Judges Comments: The depth of reporting here is unmatched. The topic, while a difficult one to discuss, is well-researched and the writing is organized in such a way as to make the details clear and easy to understand. A job well done.

In the Over 5,000 Division News Story First Place: Tessa Schwarze of The Tiger for “Parking wars: A game no one wins” Judges Comments: Engaging lead on a well-reported story of importance to students.

Strong use of quotes and meat of story is both useful and educational.

In the Under 5,000 Division Feature Story First Place: Lauren Owens of The Patriot for “Student trains dogs wins awards” Judges Comments: This story was well-constructed and fun to read. The writer took time to decide what was important and get it right.

In the Over 5,000 Division Feature Story First Place: Andrew Moore of the Carolina Reporter for “Saving the honeybee: Businesses educate future beekeepers” Judges Comments: What an awesome, informative story that broke the mold of being a feature story. It was part personality profile, part informative story and then just a really cool story. Very well done. Well written and well organized.

In the Under 5,000 Division Arts and Entertainment Story First Place: Abigail Sivyer of The Collegian for “Hamlet” Judges Comments: Excellent job giving readers a bit of history of Hamlet productions at Bob Jones University and great choice of quotes.

In the Over 5,000 Division Arts and Entertainment Story First Place: Darby Hallman of The Daily Gamecock for “New Zealand singer Gin Wigmore to visit Columbia” Judges Comments: You grabbed me from the lede and kept my attention all the way through. Though I've never heard any of the artist's music, I want to go listen to her now!

In the Under 5,000 Division Sports Story First Place: Sam Oleksak of the CisternYard News for “Creating Clyde: The tale of Clyde the Cougar” Judges Comments: Strong, well-written piece that utilized a lot of sources and included some fun anecdotes. Nice job.

In the Over 5,000 Division Sports Story First Place: Sarah Stone of The Daily Gamecock for “Savannah McCaskill's toughness, attitude crucial for Gamecocks' success” Judges Comments: Well-written mix of personal anecdotes and quotes to paint an insightful portrait of a player.

In the Open Division Editorial Writing First Place: Staff of The Daily Gamecock for “In our opinion: The Daily Gamecock endorses democracy” Judges Comments: This is a first-rate editorial that strongly stakes out a position, backs it up with facts and ends with a strong call to action. Everything an opinion piece ought to be. Thanks for clearly citing information that supports the argument here through hyperlinks.

In the Open Division Column Writing First Place: Jason Coral of The Tiger for “Graduate perspective on library fees” Judges Comments: This is a well-researched, well-explained column that presented the argument nicely. Excellent job.

In the Open Division Student Government Beat Coverage First Place Only: Staff of The Daily Gamecock for “2016 Election Cycle” Judges Comments: Staff delivered informative, thoughtful coverage. Kudos to the staff for standing up to student leaders and candidates and serving as a watchdog for fellow students. Informed communities are essential in any democracy so thank you for your efforts in sharing quality government beat coverage.

In the Under 5,000 Division Series of Articles First Place: Brittany Shaughnessy of The Chanticleer for “Coastal Carolina receives policy warning" and "Dean Overton responds to FIRE claims” Judges Comments: Very well written articles containing a lot of information. Very well organized.

In the Over 5,000 Division Series of Articles First Place: Patrick Ingraham of the Carolina Reporter for “Cecil Williams: Through the Lens parts 1 and 2” Judges Comments: A fascinating slice of S.C. history that I – an educated native of the state – knew little about. Clear, simple storytelling. Easy to read quickly. Never lost momentum.

Very well done.

In the Under 5,000 Division Special Section or Edition First Place: Staff of the Old Gold & Black for “Special Freshman Edition” Judges Comments: Wofford chose a theme and stuck to it, working every imaginable angle for incoming freshmen. The design was clear but not boring, interesting but not overdone.

In the Over 5,000 Division Special Section or Edition First Place: Staff of The Daily Gamecock for “Best of Carolina 2016” Judges Comments: This is a good special edition, with some incredible photography and layouts. Good work!

In the Under 5,000 Division Page One Design First Place: Jude Jackson of the Pacer Times Judges Comments: This is an attention-getting front page that makes you want to look inside the issue. Good work.

In the Over 5,000 Division Page One Design First Place: Greer Schneider of The Daily Gamecock Judges Comments: Beautiful, solemn, respectful presentation – perfect for that day. The small size of the headline in the middle of the photo adds to that tone. So does the finelined, blocky font. It seems to be speaking reverently.

In the Under 5,000 Division Specialty Page Design First Place: Amy Sheeter and Rebecca Snyder of The Collegian Judges Comments: Clean and eye-catching design. I especially liked the horizontal pictures on the first page. Overall it is a unique page design.

In the Over 5,000 Division Specialty Page Design First Place: Logan Zahner of The Daily Gamecock Judges Comments: Great use of photos. Logos at the top of the page are striking. What a keepsake page for students and fans!

In the Under 5,000 Division Photograph First Place: Stephen Dysert of The Collegian for “Students place flags by the Wade Hampton Boulevard entrance in honor of 9/11 victims.”

Judges Comments: We chose this photo due to its combination of composition and storytelling.

In the Over 5,000 Division Photograph First Place: Victoria Richman of The Daily Gamecock for “A student races against a friend on an inflatable course at SpringFest” Judges Comments: The color, his facial expression, the balanced elements and the natural depth of this photo are top notch. There's a lot to appreciate about this image. Well done.

In the Under 5,000 Division Sports Photograph First Place: Michael Wiser of the CisternYard News for “The College of Charleston hosts Coastal Carolina” Judges Comments: Nice peak action shot that makes excellent use of the contrasting light and shadows.

In the Over 5,000 Division Sports Photograph First Place: Tessa Benoit of The Johnsonian for “Tevin Prescott reaches high as he goes in to dunk the ball” Judges Comments: Not your typical dunk shot. The shadow of the basket, ball, net and arm is stunning.

In the Under 5,000 Division Photo Series or Photo Story First Place: Ian Nichols of The Collegian for “Caviar & Bananas” Judges Comments: Nicely done. The series of photos guides us into the restaurant where good things are happening.

In the Over 5,000 Division Photo Series or Photo Story First Place: Madison MacDonald, Kamila Melko and Logan Zahner of The Daily Gamecock for “Cockstock 2016” Judges Comments: Interesting mix of well-edited photos. Story gives the reader a good feel for the event.

In the Open Division Cartoon or Illustration First Place: Jordan Harbin of The Collegian for “The Caffeine Fairy” Judges Comments: Good artwork and good comedic timing. This made me laugh out loud.

In the Open Division Infographic First Place: Lia Grabowski of the Carolina Reporter for “Who has suffered the most after S.C.'s historic flood?”

Judges Comments: Visually attractive, great organization and a lot of information told in an impactful way. Job well done.

In the Over 5,000 Division Advertisement First Place: Charlotte Price of The Daily Gamecock for “Tin Lizzy's” Judges Comments: Layout was well planned. The slant is a nice surprise.

In the Open Division Website First Place: Staff of the CisternYard News Judges Comments: Clean, balanced and professional. Nice blend of what is offered. Good range of art. Excellent use of negative space. Overall visual appeal results in two thumbs up.

In the Open Division Multimedia Story First Place Only: Staff of The Daily Gamecock for “Students "feel the Bern" at Sanders Russell House rally” Judges Comments: Staff should be proud of this clever project. The combination of streaming video and real-time Twitter posts was the right choice, and staff executed this multimedia story well. The paper did a service to students by giving them an opportunity to attend the rally, even if they couldn't be there in person.

In the Open Division Use of Social Media First Place Only: Staff of The Daily Gamecock Judges Comments: Staff utilizes a variety of platforms and accounts to reach their audience in a timely, effective manner. Want to be in the know about all things Carolina?

Just follow The Daily Gamecock. Great job!

In the Under 5,000 Division General Excellence First Place: Staff of The Patriot Judges Comments: THIS is a college newspaper. Nice work. This newspaper tackles important issues, like the Clery Act, it offers insight into daily life at Francis Marion, it covers sports like a "real" newspaper (because it is one). In short, it offers everything students need to understand life on campus: Issues, news, sports, crime reports, opinion and campus life, and it puts it all into context. No doubt students at Francis Marion are better informed about what is important to them because of this newspaper.

In the Over 5,000 Division General Excellence First Place: Staff of The Daily Gamecock Judges Comments: Clean design, informative and relevant content for your readers. I enjoyed the many voices scattered throughout and attention to design detail without going overboard. Job well done.

In the Under 5,000 Division Journalist of the Year Rebekah Davis of The Patriot Judges Comments: As assistant editor of The Patriot, Rebekah is well known around campus for going beyond the traditional duties of editor and seeking out stories that could impact her fellow students. One of her stories that stands out is her reporting on FMU’s failure to accurately report the number of crimes on campus for the Clery Report. She pursued truth and accuracy by taking advantage of local and national resources to ensure she fully understood the laws and codes behind the Clery Act. Rebekah’s editor-in-chief said that she wears the various hats of student, tutor, employee, leader, and more, but above everything else, she is first and foremost a journalist.

In the Over 5,000 Division Journalist of the Year T. Michael Boddie of The Daily Gamecock Judges Comments: T. Michael Boddie’s editor-in-chief said that his willingness and fearlessness to tackle tough stories makes him stand out. T. Michael’s writing demonstrates his ability to effectively cover an event while also offering a deeper look than just a course of events. He actively seeks both sides of a story and knows the right questions to ask. T. Michael is able to take broad issues and localize them for the students and his articles create a conversation among campus and the community.