* University of Texas at Arlington receives 2015 Director’s Trophy * Kevin Dilley, UT-Tyler adviser, named Adviser of the Year * Dylan Bradley, UT-Arlington, elected 2015-2016 student president * Laura Krantz, Tyler Junior College, named faculty president
Texas Intercollegiate Press Association
Type-Hi 2015
First Place in Sports Action Photography by Edward Balusek of the University of North Texas. The sports photo contestants attended a baseball game featuring the University of Texas at San Antonio hosting Old Dominion University, April 10, 2015 (See photo details inside)
1st Place Winners in On-Site Competitions Marta Planells Courtney Gilder Rafael Sears Sabrina Corsiga Presley Fowler Byron Thompson Joseph Alderman Elizabeth Campbell Rafael Sears Taylor Griffin Scott Wilhite Belen Casillas Valeria Perez Hope Stokes Meagan Falcon Steven Cerkiewicz Lauren Huston Shelby Baker Joey McReynolds Edward Balusek Natalie Goin Kyra Littlejohn Maddox Price/Brigitte Zumaya Elyse Mack David Dunn Alexia Chavero Alma Bustamante Nathan Wright Jeremy Villanueva Richard Nguyen
Spanish News Writing Radio News Writing Print News Writing TV News Writing TV Announcing (English) News Photography Editorial Cartoon Copy Editing Feature Photo Yearbook Design Editorial Writing Magazine Design Print Advertising Radio Advertising TV Advertising Radio Announcing (English) Newspaper Design Feature Writing Live Video News Sports Photography PR Release Writing PR Crisis Management 2-Person Photo Essay Headline Critical Review TV Announcing (Spanish) Radio Announcing (Spanish) Print Sports Writing TV Sports Writing Radio Sports Writing
Type-Hi TYPE-HI is the on-line publication presenting 1-2-3 Place winners from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association On-Site Contests conducted at the organization’s annual spring convention. Students representing student media (newspapers, magazine, yearbook, radio, television, online) from the state’s two-year and four-year, public and private colleges and universities compete against each other in scenario contests under deadline. Some contests feature
Richland College Midwestern State University UT-Arlington North Lake College Texas State University University of North Texas Texas A&M - Commerce TCU UT-Arlington Baylor University Northeast Texas CC Stephen F. Austin State St. Mary’s University Amarillo College Del Mar College Stephen F. Austin State Texas State University Texas Woman’s University TCU University of North Texas Abilene Christian University St. Mary’s University Brookhaven College UT-Dallas UT-Arlington UT-Pan American Amarillo College UT-Tyler Sam Houston State Kilgore College
Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Spring 2015
actual events or activities, sending the students into the field to test their skills. Contests are supervised, monitored and judged by student media faculty advisers. Contest winners are then recognized at the association’s annual Awards Breakfast on the last day of the convention. Material is reprinted as the entries were submitted to judges, there is no editing. Cutlines for photos are as the students submitted them with their
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TYPE-HI is organized at the TIPA Central Office, located on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce. Contact information: Fred Stewart, executive director, Box 4104, Commerce, TX 75429. Ph: 903-886-5231, Fax: 903-468-3128, Email: Fred.Stewart@tamuc.edu. Texas Intercollegiate Press Association was established in 1909.
1st Place: Print Sports Writing By Nathan Wright (UT-Tyler)
Aaron Burns struck out 10 and allowed only two runs in seven and one-third innings to lead UTSA to an 8-2 victory against Old Dominion in the second game of a Conference USA doubleheader Friday night at Roadrunner Field. The right-hander from Jarrell (6-2) scattered nine hits and walked two before being relieved in the eighth inning of the nightcap. With the win in the second game, the Roadrunners (21-14 overall, 9-5 in Conference USA) swept the doubleheader after taking the first game from the Monarchs (1617, 4-10) 7-6 in 13 innings. “He is kind of a one-pitch guy,” UTSA head coach Jason Marshall said of Burns. “He just throws the fastball away from the righthanded hitter and throws the fastball away from the left-handed hitter. There is not a lot of magic to it other than he just really locates down in the strike zone.” The game was scoreless through two innings before the Roadrunners got on the scoreboard first. COVER PHOTO: Old Dominion University junior infielder Nick Lustrino trots back to the visitors dugout with his head hung low while the University of Texas-San Antonio players celebrate an extra innings win in center field. UTSA freshman infielder Skyler Valentine hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th inning that allowed senior catcher John Burmann to score the winning run. The Road Runners topped the Old Dominion Monarchs 7-6 in the first game of a double header on Friday night at Road Runner Field.
With one out and a runner on third base in the bottom of the third inning, Jesse Baker launched his team-leading 10th home run of the season to give UTSA a 2-0 lead. The blast drove in Skyler Valentine, who led off the inning with a double. “I have decreased my strikeouts this season and it has led to better hitter’s counts and just seeing better pitches,” Baker said of his home run at-bat. The Monarchs got a run back in the top of the fifth. Justin Hayes singled home Jason McMurry to cut the Roadrunners’ lead in half at 2-1. UTSA answered in the bottom of the inning, however, when Valentine took home plate on a double steal attempt to make it 3-1. Valentine had a big night offensively as well, driving in two and scoring three times. Geonte Jackson also had a multi-hit game for the Roadrunners, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Meanwhile, Burns was cruising. After a shaky start in which he gave up three hits in the first two innings, he settled down and retired nine batters in a row from the end of the second inning to the beginning of the fifth.
“I just tried to work ahead and throw strikes,” Burns said. “And let them get themselves out.” He allowed just one hit in the sixth and seventh before running into trouble again in the eighth. He gave up a leadoff double, a one-out single and then a walk before he was finally relieved. Cody Brannon pitched the final inning and two-thirds and allowed just one hit and struck out three of the seven batters he faced to earn his third save of the season. The Roadrunners added some insurance in the eighth inning, scoring five times to take an 8-2 lead. John Bormann had an RBI double in the inning to fuel the outburst. “Anytime you can add runs at the end of a game, we call it separating from your opponent,” Marshall said. “Anytime you can add a run and another run and another run, you are fortunate to get five. We had a lot of good swings there.” The Roadrunners and Monarchs won’t get much rest before concluding their three-game series. After playing 22 innings on Friday, the teams will play the finale of the set at 11 a.m. today.
Television Announcing (English) 1st Place Presley Fowler (Texas State University) 2nd Place Shera Niemirowski (Abilene Christian University) 3rd Place Alexis Bloomer (Sam Houston State University
2nd Place: Print Sports Writing By Grant McKinley (UT-Arlington) Aaron Burns had the heater working early on a chilly Friday night at Roadrunner Field where UTSA swept Old Dominion University, 8-2 in game two of its doubleheader. The junior right hander fanned 10 batters and allowed just two earned runs in 7.1 innings, leading the Roadrunners (21-14 overall, 9-5 Conference USA) past Old Dominion for their fourth consecutive win. “You kind of expect it I guess to go out there and throw for as long as I can until I can’t really lift my arm,” Burns said after throwing 119 pitches. By the start of the eighth inning, the Temple Junior College transfer was running on fumes as he had already thrown more than 100 pitches. Old Dominion started to get to UTSA’s team leader in ERA with a leadoff double followed by a single to score The Monarchs second run of the game. After walking his first batter of the night, Burns was pulled for senior left handed pitcher Cody Brannon who forced a ground ball to end the top half of the inning with the bases loaded.
UTSA was coming off a marathon 7-6 win in game one of the doubleheader, which lasted 13 innings after the Roadrunners scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie it. Head coach Jason Marshall said it was encouraging to see his team respond by scoring early in game two and tacking on five runs in the eighth to blow open the late night encore. “Definitely there were some tired moments in the second game for both teams,” Marshall said. “To come back out and tack on those runs late, that was really encouraging. It was breathing life into us at the end.” The Roadrunners’ five-run eighth widened a 3-2 lead UTSA held going into the bottom half of the inning and gave the team enough insurance to pull away from Old Dominion, who finished with 10 hits. Old Dominion was in position to take an early lead after Burns gave up just his fourth extra base-hit all season with a double to right field. But with runners on second and third, Burns eliminated the threat by striking out his second batter of the inning. The Monarchs had a runner in scoring position again in the top
of the second with one out, but were unable to convert the leadoff single. UTSA responded one inning later with a two-run homer from junior Jesse Baker to break the deadlock. The home run was just the second hit of the game for the Roadrunners and the 10th of the season for Baker. “I was just trying to move the baseball and get him home,” Baker said about his teammate on third base. “Luckily he left me a hanging curveball and I hit it over the fence so it was a good feeling.” Freshman outfielder Justin Hayes delivered Old Dominion’s first run of the game with a ground ball single that scored junior infielder P.J. Higgins who hit the fourth double of the season and the second of the night off Burns. But with The Monarchs leader in RBI’s coming to the plate, Burns locked down like he had done all night and forced a groundout to end the inning. “He’s just got a sneaky fastball and I don’t know how else to describe it,” Marshall said. “I’ve been saying it all year to folks. He’s got great size. The arm is really easy so it gets on hitters.” UTSA and Old Dominion will conclude the series at 11 a.m. Saturday at Roadrunner Field.
Mike Warms Scholarship for 2-Year Students
Viven Sanches (Del Mar College)
Alma Bustamante (Amarillo College)
Frank Buckley Scholarship for 4-Year Students Nathan Wood Wright (UT-Tyler) Shehan Ravindran Jeyarajah (Baylor University)
Laura Woodside (UT-Arlington) Joseph Leon McReynolds (TCU)
Jeff Henderson Scholarship for Journalistic Excellence Belen Casillas (Stephen F. Austin State University)
2nd Place: Sports Photography By Ryan Miller (SMU)
USTA second baseman Tyler Straub, left, applies the tag for a pivotal out in extra innings on Friday evening.
2nd Place: News Photography By Brianna Sheen (Midwestern State University)
A firefighter with the San Antonio Fire Department puts out a car fire at 300 South Callaghan on April 10. Wesley West, battallion chief and incident commander, said the firefighters got the car fire under control two minutes after arriving on the scene at 1:26 p.m.
1st Place: Critical Review (Subject: The movie “Home”) By David Dunn (UT-Arlington) It behooves me to informs you that the Boov needs to do the improve. Do a double-take on that sentence, and you’ll realize my grammar errors that will make your head explode. Has your head exploded yet? Congratulations. You have now experienced my reaction to watching Dreamwork’s “Home,” a terribly insipid, annoying and recycled animated experience that might succeed in pleasing children, but will definitely irritate the adults that take them to it. Whenever I go to an animated movie, one question goes through my mind: will this be really funny, or will it be as immature as its target audience? My answer was given to me in a swift and painstaking blow. “No,” Dreamworks told me. “Since when are we ever funny?” Directed by Tim Johnson (the director of “Antz” and “Over the Hedge”) and based on the book by Adam Rex, “Home” follows an octopus-like alien species called the Boov, one in particular named “Oh” (Voiced by Jim Parsons), whose name was coined from the Boov’s exhausted reactions when seeing him. The Boov, I will point out, are not an intelligent race (though they love to claim that they are), but are instead mindless drones that have the intelligence of a kumquat and the personality of a doormat. These are aliens that think they can lose a chase through the Milky Way because their pursuers are lactose
intolerant. Oh is the worst of all of them. Not only is his grammar the most misconstrued out of anyone else: he is the clumsy Jar-Jar Binks equivalent of the Boov, with his antics getting him into so much trouble that he needs to “be put under the arrest.” He eventually teams up with a young girl named “Tip” (Voiced by Rihanna) in finding her mother, jazzing her car out with so many gadgets and slushy machines that it makes the people from “Pimp My Ride” look like wannabes. First of all, let’s get this out of the way: you’ve never seen an alien-buddy movie like this before. Right? I mean besides “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial,” “Paul,” “Mars Needs Moms,” “Planet 51,” “Escape From Planet Earth,” “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” “Earth To Echo,” “Avatar,” and every other alien movie you can think of. This storyline is so old and overused, the arc of humans and aliens coming to understand each other being done hundreds of times before this. What makes this movie any different? Well, for one thing, the grammar is more skewed than a kindergardener’s chicken-scratch handwriting. Oh’s dialogue is the absolute worst, with him using phrases such as “coming into the out,” and “sad mad.” While this may seem cute at first, it gets overused and annoying very quickly, and I wonder how anyone can retain their grasp of the English language after it is mercilessly mangled here. A copy editor would smack themselves with the AP Stylebook while watching
this movie. The movie, of course, has its charm, but it punctuates the film in infrequent moments. I did like a few things in the movie, such as how when the Boovs feel an emotion, their violet skin changes into different colors. When they are happy, for instance, they turn pink. When they are sad, they turn blue. Red when angry, yellow when scared, green when guilty, so on so forth. I also liked the chemistry of Oh and Tip, with the both of them being the outsiders of their respective races. Their similarities and their differences alike led them into some scenes of heart warmth and friendly clashing alike, making some touching, if predictable, moments. In the end, I have to ask myself the same question I would for any other movie: would I recommend this to the average moviegoer? My answer with this one depends on age. If you are younger than ten years old (maybe eight), then by all means, go ahead and enjoy it. It’s a colorful and immature adventure, and that’s what parents are probably expecting when they take their kids to see this movie. Like the Boov, some kid’s faces might turn into the bright, happy shade of pink after walking out of this movie. In the meantime, mine turned into a fiery shade of red.
1st Place: Newspaper Design By Lauren Huston (Texas State University)
1st Place: Editorial Palcohol may not be a term anyone has ever heard of. And why should they? It represents a new and emerging product that was developed by Mark Phillips for the sole purpose of providing a convenient path of least resistance to an alcoholic beverage anywhere in the world in any situation with nothing more than what appears to be a package the size of artificial sweetener. Too bad this thing doesn’t cure cancer. Palcohol is powdered alcohol that comes in many flavors. It’s almost like e-cigs, but not. A natural first blush response to such an idea is probably perplexing. But according to Phillips, he invented it for “hiking, biking, camping and kayaking” and claims that it would also make traveling more fuel-efficient by reducing weight on commercial vehicles like planes and trains. While that may be a hard sell for some, weight on commercial aircraft does get to the molecular level of measurement, and every unit
By Scott Wilhite (Northeast Texas Community College)
counts. Texas Rep. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) doesn’t see it as the next green product that reverses our deteriorating climate. Although Palcohol is ready to hit the selves this summer and has been approved by two federal regulating agencies, Garen has introduced a bill on the state level that would criminalize the product by classifying it as “illicit”. “It seems pretty silly to me”, Garen said, “I don’t know why we need powdered alcohol. We have plenty of alcohol as it is.” He’s afraid that the risk level for abuse it is big. He also says that the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission has weighed in and doesn’t think it ought to be legal either. Grace Barnett, a spokesperson for a group that advocates against drug and alcohol by young people, Standing Tall, is afraid the convenience and size of the product will make it easier for young people to conceal. “With packets small
1st Place: Spanish News Writing Una persecución policial ha provocado el choque de un coche contra una vivienda, provocando un incendio que ha afectado tanto al vehículo como al inmueble. Al menos una persona ha resultado herida, según los datos que ha facilitado en rueda de prensa el Jefe de batallón del Departamento de Bomberos de San Antonio, Wesley West. El suceso ha tenido lugar en el número 300 de S Callaghan Rd. La víctima ha sido trasladada al Hospital Universitario de la ciudad con quemaduras severas, aunque su estado de salud es reservado. Los únicos datos que han trascendido indican que se trata de una mujer que, al parecer, se encontraba
enough to fit into a child’s pocket, it will be harder for school and parents to identify and confiscate this substance from our youth.” Phillips does point out that because it would only be sold in liquor stores -it is alcohol after alland because of that, it would fall into the same regulatory statutes that are already in place for keeping it out of the hands of children. Garen may be missing his own party’s message of a government who’s outgrown their britches and that has too many regulations. The initial reaction for a responsible person, drinker or not, could be that it does make it very easy to have a drink that will have a psychotropic effect on our bodies. That is a reasonable assumption. But it’s just a drink, and there are already laws that attempt to protect our children, and unless Palcohol produces a different effect on the body, or is in some way less safe than what’s already regulated, more regulation probably isn’t a good idea.
By Marta Planells (Richland College)
dentro de la casa en el momento del accidente. La víctima ha sido hospitalizada como paciente de ‘prioridad 1` por lo que según West, la quemaduras son “serias”. El conductor del coche se encuentra en paradero desconocido tras haber escapado del lugar del accidente. West ha explicado que se desconoce su identidad y su estado de salud. Asimismo, los motivos que provocaron la persecución no han trascendido ya que el Departamento de Policía está llevando a cabo una investigación para determinar lo ocurrido. Tres dotaciones de bomberos han atendido el fuego, que se ha declarado bajo control tras cinco
minutos, según ha detallado West en su intervención. Los daños materiales se han cuantificado en un total de 60.000 dólares, sumando el daño de la vivienda en sí y el contenido de ésta. La Policía de San Antonio está trabajando en búsqueda del sospechoso, aunque se desconoces los cargos que se le imputan.
2nd Place: Editorial The regulation of powdered alcohol is necessary, but banning its sale is too far. There is no need to treat powdered alcohol any differently than its liquid cousin. This isn’t a new substance, it’s a new delivery method. Intended to replace heavy bottles while traveling, Palcohol is a one-ounce packet of powdered alcohol equaling about one shot. The powder dissolves in about one minute when added to beverages, and is supposed to be ready for market by summer. So far, five states have filed bills completely prohibiting the sale of powdered alcohol, and two states have included it with liquid alcohol restrictions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Texas joined the movement with House Bill 1018, introduced by Rep.
By Dylan Bradley (UT-Arlington)
Charlie Geren (R.-Fort Worth), which would make the sale or possession of powdered alcohol illegal. “I think the potential abuse is big,” Geren said. “We need to do something about it before it happens.” But the potential for abuse is true with any regulated substance. “They could spike the punch, they could snort it, they could just put it in their mouth,” Geren said. “I just don’t think it’s something that we need to have on the shelves in our liquor stores.” People already spike punch and put alcohol in their mouths. This isn’t a new phenomenon. It takes over a minute to dissolve, making it hard to hide in someone else’s drink, and would be painful to snort, according to the Palcohol website. “With packets small enough to fit into a child’s pocket, it will be hard-
2nd Place: Spanish News Writing
er for schools and parents to identify and confiscate this substance from our youth,” Grace Barnett, spokeswoman for Standing Tall, said. Yes, a child in possession of alcohol is bad. The real problem is how children get their hands on alcohol in the first place. If powdered alcohol were regulated in line with liquid alcohol, it would be just as difficult to obtain. Criminalizing the sale or possession of powdered alcohol in Texas is a waste of time and resources. Regulation is necessary for public safety, but there is no need to prohibit its sale. Geren needs to hear that from Texans while there’s still time for amendment. Whether in the form of a letter or phone call, let representation know it’s not acceptable to prohibit the sale of alcohol, regardless of it’s form.
By Sam Hankins (Texas State University)
San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) respondaba 1:26 p.m. a un incendio de un coche y un garaje en Callaghan Road. Wesley West, jefe del Batallon 8 de SAFD, dijo que el fuego fue resulto de un accidente de un coche que se perseguía por la policia. “El vehículo perdió control después de una persecución con el departamento de la policia,” dijo West. “(El vehículo) golpeó un poste de utilidad en frente y se voltaba.” El incendio en el garaje se causó por calor radiante, dijo West. “Cuando se incendió fue bastante cerca de la casa que causó el garaje a incenderse,” dijo West. Una mujer estaba en la estructura cuando se incendió, dijo West. “(Ella) se trayó afuera y se transportó a University Hospital, Prioridad Uno, con quemaduras,”
dijo west. “Las heridas estaban muy serias.” El conductor del coche se fue de la escena de pie. “PD (San Antonio Police Department) está en la procesa de buscar esta persona,” dijo West. El accidente se atendía por cuatro vehículos de SAFD. Bennie Mayberry, instructor de entrenamiento de bombero, dijo que esto es normal. “(Hay) tres máquinas, un camión de escalera y un jefe del batallon,” dijo Mayberry. Después de que la víctima se removió de la casa, los bomberos se atendían un rato después de volver al edifício. “El procedimiento típico es que removemos la víctima,” dijo West. “En cualquier incedio de estructura que es un incedente actual, donde hay humo y llamas,
tenemos un EMS (Servicio Medical de Emergencia) esperando.” Los oficiales de EMS atendían a la víctima hasta que se transportaba a University Hospital. West no pudiera comentar jamás en el estatus de la víctima. West dijo que SAFD atiende a accidentes con incendios de coches “cada día.” No obstante, dijo que es menos común que un edifício se incende también como resulto. “Un incendio de coche que envuelve a una casa así no (es) tan frecuente,” dijo West.
1st Place: News Photography San Antonio Fire Department personnel put out a vehicle fire at 300 S. Callaghan Road this afternoon. Emergency responders arrived at the
By Byron Tho
scene shortly after the vehicle involved in a home and the driver fled on foot. (Cutline s
Radio Announcing (English) 1st Place Steven Cerkieweicz Stephen F. Austin State University
2nd Place Dante Hernandez Texas A&M-Kingsville
3rd Place David Duenes West Texas A&M University
1st Place: Print News Writing By Rafael Sears (UT-Arlington) A police chase ends in San Antonio with a house in flames, a woman in the hospital and the driver’s whereabouts unknown.
San Antonio Police are searching for the unidentified driver, who crashed a 1979 Cadillac into a utility pole; catching the car and a nearby home on fire, Batallion chief Wesley West said. While extinguishing both fires at 300 South Callaghan road, the San Antonio Fire Department found and rescued a woman inside the home with serious burn injuries, West said.
After arriving at the
scene at 1:26 p.m., the fires were extinguished in about seven minutes with the fire causing about $50,000 worth of damage to the garage attached to the house, West said. “The operation went, in my opinion, flawlessly,” West said. “It was handled in a very quick manner.”
West said the driver fled police after being served a warrant.
The woman was transported to University Hospital. West did not reveal any additional information about the woman due to privacy concerns.
Charles “Chuck” Choate Memorial Adviser of the Year 2014
ompson (University of North Texas)
a police chase crashed into a residential submitted with photo entry)
Kevin Dilley (right), University of Texas at Tyler, receives Adviser of the Year congratulations from 2013 recipient Butler Cain of West Texas A&M. (Photo by Patricia Dillon, A&M-Commerce)
1st Place: Editorial Cartoon
By Joseph Alderman (Texas A&M University-Commerce)
Topic: Palcohol - powdered alcohol that comes in flavors
2nd Place: Editorial Cartoon
By Clarissa Martinez (UT-Brownsville)
3rd Place: Editorial Cartoon By Blake Muse (Midwestern State University)
2nd Place: Print News Writing
By Anwesha Bhattacharjee (UT-Dallas) The priority for firefighters is to first ensure safety of people, including those in the structure and firefighters’, then property conservation and finally put out the fire, he said. The rescue operation was by-the-book and all equipment functioned well, West said. “Obviously, we can always do better, but the operation went, in my opinion, flawlessly,” he said. “It was handled in a fairly quick manner. I strive for perfection; you can always improve but I thought we did a good job.” Car fires are a fairly common occurrence for the SAFD, although it’s not as common for a house to be involved in such an incident, West said. Meanwhile, SAPD is working on locating the driver of the car, whose details were not released at this time. The charges in the warrant are also unknown. More details on the absconding driver are expected to be released by the PD at a later time.
A single-story house in northwest San Antonio caught fire leaving one seriously injured when a vehicle involved in a police chase lost control and hit the utility pole outside the residence a little after 1 p.m. Friday. The driver of the vehicle, a 1979 Cadillac, fled the scene when the vehicle caught fire. The victim, a woman, sustained burn injuries and was transported to the University Hospital priority one, said Wesley West, a battalion chief with the San Antonio Fire Department, or SAFD. All details identifying the victim have been withheld at this time. “The story I’ve got right now, and it’s fairly confirmed, is that (San Antonio PD officers) were attempting to serve a warrant and the person in the car was running from PD at that point and ended right here in 300 S. Callaghan (Rd.),” West said. SAPD officers were at the scene of the fire, he said, and the victim was the only one in the house at the time. No firefighters were injured during the operation, West said.
The fire from the car generated enough heat and radiation causing the garage to catch fire, West said, causing damages worth $50,000 including $10,000 in property damages. Firefighters reached the scene at 1:26 p.m., five minutes after receiving the call, but it was unclear who made the call, West said. Three engines and a ladder truck were used to control the fire. The victim was rescued 11 minutes after the emergency was reported. Firefighters doused the car fire within the first two minutes of arriving at the scene after which they entered the house, located and extracted the victim before putting out the blaze in the garage. The entire operation took close to seven minutes, which is standard for a single alarm fire such as this one, West said. Firefighter Bennie Marberry, who has been with the department for more than 27 years, said each fire truck carries four officers — a driver, two firefighters and an officer who directs the operation.
By Jacob Beltran (Texas A&M University-San Antonio) at about 1:20 p.m. in the same The fire caused $50,000 in block, West said. damages to the home, including The Cadillac erupted in $10,000 of damaged content. flames, spreading to the garage of No firefighters were the home. injured among the three units “He crashed close enough fighting the blaze. to the house which, set the house on fire,” West said. “Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the garage of the home.” Firefighters found one woman in the main part of the house as they extinguished the garage, he said. She was transported to University Hospital with serious injuries.
3rd Place: Print News Writing
A police chase ending in a house fire Friday afternoon on the West Side left one woman in the hospital and a man on the run. Westley West, a San Antonio Fire Department battalion chief, said San Antonio Police Department officers were attempting to pull over a man and serve him a warrant in the 300 block Callaghan Road. The man tried to evade police in a 1979 Cadillac, but lost control of his vehicle and crashed near a single-story house
1st Place: Copy Editing
By Elizabeth Campbell (TCU)
2nd Place: Copy Editing
By Taylor Raglin (Stephen F. Austin State University)
3rd Place: Copy Editing
By Linda Nguyen (UT-Dallas)
3rd Place: Editorial Fort Worth state representative Charlie Geren recently introduced House Bill 1018 to the Texas Legislature. If passed, the document would classify powdered alcohol, referred to as Palcohol, as an illicit beverage in the state of Texas. While Geren may be proposing this bill with good intentions, the legislation goes against years of precedent and should be rejected. Without question, alcohol can be a harmful product. If abused, it can warp the mind and even lead to violence. But despite its flaws, alcohol is legal. America tried banning alcohol in early part of the 20th Century and it did not work. Alcoholism went up, abuse increased and national outcry eventually caused Prohibition to be overturned less than two decades later. Powdered alcohol can be dangerous, but we as a society have made the decision that something simply being dangerous does not mean it should be illegal. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, an organization dedicated to reviewing the ramifications of products, had enough faith
By Shena Jeyarajah (Baylor University)
in the safety of Palcohol to approve it. Like any other alcoholic product, this ruling was provided that sale was limited to those of legal age. Geren points to the harmful potential that Palcohol could have and believes it could lead to increased consumption by minors and higher levels of alcoholism. “They could spike the punch, they could snort it, they could just put it in their mouth,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s something that we need to have on the shelves in our liquor stores.” Logistically, any of these goals can be accomplished with normal liquid alcohol. Palcohol creator Mark Phillips noted that the product takes over a minute to dissolve, which actually would make spiking punch at a party more difficult than simply pouring in alcohol. Standing Tall, an interest group against youth group and alcohol use, has also come out “With packets small enough to fit into a child’s pocket, it will be harder for schools and parents to identify and confiscate this substance from our youth,” Standing Tall spokeswoman Grace Barnett
Television Announcing (Spanish) 1st Place Alexia Chavero (UT-Pan American) 2nd Place Alma Bustamante (Amarillo College) 3rd Place Michael Hernandez (Texas A&m-San Antonio)
said. While it may be more portable, obtaining Palcohol will still be just as difficult for minors. The product will exclusively be sold in liquor stores and not be retailed to any individuals under the legal drinking age. Some may point to the idea that kids could have easy access through their parents’ leaving Palcohol unattended. However, this is not a legal problem, this is a parenting decision. No amount of legislation can address a parent who simply leaves illicit substances around the house. Five states have already banned the product, so this is not a conversation limited to Texas. But, Texans have set forth the precedent that citizens are entitled to freedom unless it poses a public issue. The sale of Palcohol poses little excess risk compared to liquid alcohol. For that reason, Texas legislators need to strike down House Bill 1018 before they risk taking away what Texans value most: our freedom.
3rd Place: Spanish News Writing
VO1: 23 sec
SOT: Wesley West, Chief Battalion 18 sec
VO2: (17 sec)
By Natalie Pena Mares (UT-Dallas) VO1: Un incendio que ocurrió por la tarde alrededor de las 1:21pm, hoy Jueves Abril 10, ha dejado una mujer inocente con heridas serias. La victima fue encontrada dentro de la residencia en la calle 300 S. Callaghan Rd después que los bomberos respondieron al incidente de un carro que se consumió en llamas de fuego unos segundos antes. El jefe de bomberos que estuvo encargado de la unidad que respondió a este incidente, Wesley West, explico que fue el causante del incendio. (23 sec)
SOT: (Wesley West) La causa del incendio fue...un accidente de un vehiculo solo, el vehiculo perdió el control después de ser perseguido por la policía, el [vehículo] perdió el control después de chocar contra un tubo de utilidad, dando vueltas. El vehiculo estuvo lo suficiente cercas de la casa para cuando el fuego inicio.” (15 sec)
VO2: El incidente fue resuelto en 15 minutos y aunque los danos del incendio no fueron mas que $50,000, la victima fue trasladada a University Hospital inmediatamente para atención medica. Su identidad no hacidó revelada ni tampoco la identidad del conductor del vehiculo que escapo la escena del incidente. Los tendremos al tanto cuando mas detalles sean revelados. (17 sec) 55 sec total
3rd Place: Sports Photography
By Tiffany Johnson (Kilgore College)
UTSA’s Jesse Baker (4) from Brenham, Texas, slides past Old Dominion first baseman Taylor Ostrick’s tag for a safe call.
1st Place: Feature Photography
By Rafael Sears (UT-Arlington)
Jonathan Jones sleeping this morning in Travis Park. He waits here everey Tuesday and Thursday for the free lunch served by Travis Park United Methodist Church.
TIPA Faculty Officers President
Laura Krantz Tyler Junior College
Vice President Beth Francesco UT-Arlington
Secretary
Diedre Jones Trinity Valley Community College
1st Place: Radio NewsWriting By Courtney Gilder (Midwestern State University)
Sound Byte: Fire Crews and Sirens (5 seconds with gradual fade) Read over the sound byte:
Audio Clip: Battalion Chief Wesley West (8 seconds) What started out as a car chase this afternoon, ended with the car and a single-story home in flames. The San Antonio Fire Department received the call at 1-21 this afternoon of a car fire in the 300 block of South Callaghan (Cal-LA-han). By the time Battalion Chief Wesley West and his men arrived, the fire had spread to the garage.
“The source of the fire in the house was actually the vehicle fire. When the vehicle caught on fire, enough radiant heat exposed the garage to where the garage caught on fire.”
One female victim was rescued from the inside of the home and was transferred to University Hospital with serious burn injuries. The fire caused 50-thousand dollars in structural damage and ten-thousand dollars worth of property was destroyed.
For now, I’m 182 reporting from San Antonio.
1st Place: PR Release Writing By Natalie Goin (Abilene Christian University) [Insert logo here] Contact: Jane Doe Position 111-222-3333 jane.doe@email.com GULLION NAMED 2015 U.S. PROFESSOR OF THE YEAR BY COUNCIL FOR ADVANCEMENT AND SUPPORT OF EDUCATION FORT WORTH, May 1, 2015 – Dr. John Gullion, associate professor of criminal justice and sociology at Texas Wesleyan University, was named the 2015 U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. This award honors the most outstanding undergraduate professors in the country – those committed to excellence in education and actively changing the lives of their students. Gullion is credited with developing the criminal justice department at Texas Wesleyan, nearly quadrupling its size during his tenure. Prior to teaching, he worked for the Los Angeles Police Department as a criminologist and has interviewed more than 2,300 criminals from all over the world. He also conducted research with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in 2014. In addition to receiving $5,000 contributed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recipients of this award are given prestigious media and presentation opportunities reserved for the top advocates in education. “[Gullion] stays current in his field so that our students’ educational needs are met and they are prepared for today’s competitive workplace and graduate studies,” said assistant professor Dr. Eddy Lynton. “His commitment to education the whole student is best exemplified by his sustained teaching excellence.” About the U.S. Professor of the Year Award Since 1981, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and primary sponsor The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has honored the top undergraduate educators in the United States. All undergraduate instructors in the U.S. of any academic rank are eligible to receive the award. Top educators judge the entries based on contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community and profession.
1st Place: Radio Sports Writing By Richard Nguyen (Kilgore College) HOST – UTSA trumped the Old Dominion Monarchs in an 8-2 victory at
Roadrunner Field. Jesse Baker sparked the offense for UTSA hitting a 2-run homer in the bottom of the third.
BAKER - “I was just trying to see more pitches early, luckily he left a curve ball hanging for me and I hit it out the park.
HOST – The Monarchs were led behind the bat of Justin Hayes who went 3-4 singling twice and bringing in one run.
Aaron Burns pitched 7 1/3 innings for the Roadrunners striking out 10 hitters and only allowing 2 earned runs.
MARSHALL - “The key to the night was Burns throwing strikes and us playing catch on defense”
HOST – The Roadrunner’s bats woke up in the eighth inning where they
scored five runs off of five hits that would lift them over the Monarchs. They will face off again at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Roadrunner Field.
Radio Announcing (Spanish) 1st Place Alma Bustamante (Amarillo College) 2nd Place Herminio Rodriguez (Texas A&M-Kingsville) 3rd Place Melissa Ortiz (Sam Houston State University)
UTA wins Director’s Trophy The 2015 Director’s Trophy was won by the University of Texas at Arlington at the TIPA convention in San Antonio. This marked the third year of presentation of the award recognizing the school with the most overall points earned in on-site competitions. Sam Houston State won the first trophy in 2013 and repeated the accomplishment at the 2014 convention.
1st Place: Headline By Elyse Mack (UT-Dallas)
2nd Place: Headline By Caitlin Piper (Eastfield College)
3rd Place: Headline By Hannah Root (UT-Tyler)
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1st Place: Print Advertising
By Valeria Perez (St. Mary’s University)
1st Place: Feature Writing
She was casually walking down the riverwalk as comfortable as ever. Nothing really stood out, except for the pink and pearl contraption she was wearing around her waist. Most people have only seen corsets in historical dramas or at steampunk conventions, but this young woman wore hers proudly for all of San Antonio to see. Amber Welch always had a love for the Victorian era, and she said that love was just a natural progression into the most complicated clothing she could find. She began her venture into corsetry in 2008, when she experimented with her first corset right out of high school. “My first corset was really gross,” she laughed. “I decided one day that I would make a corset and headed down to JoAnn’s. I had read a book on corsets, but when I made my first one it turned into more of a bustier because I cut a lot of steps without knowing the basics.” From there, her skills only grew. She realized that despite her skills, her garments would improve as she learned the basics and bought the proper fabrics and hardware needed. This also happened to be the biggest challenge Welch faces everyday, as she is constantly limited by the capabilities of her machines. According to Welch, no one can just decide one day to make a corset simply based on the necessary tools. One requires a specialized fabric called coutile that costs $30 per yard, steel bones and the hardware needed to whittle them down without stabbing through the corset, and some kind of grommet setter that can punch through multiple layers of fabric. “It can get pretty dangerous,” Welch stated. “Needles fly in my face when they break, and I have to grind down the bones outside. You have to use a lot of safety precautions.” In 2012, Welch joined the Facebook group “Learn how to make corsets,” a community devoted to teaching and creating corsets of all kinds. It was here her work began to make drastic improvements. “In two months, I learned more than I ever had on my own,” Welch said. “I got in there and started asking questions. The people in that community are now my closest friends and I have learned so much from them.” Electra Designs, who started the Facebook page, is a corsetier based in Austin, TX and has been in business for 20 years. According to Welch, Electra Designs was what inspired her to get into corsetry. “I thought ‘I want to be able to do that’, so I started sewing and practicing,” she said. “I was able to meet her a couple years ago and was really nervous,
By Shelby Baker (Texas Woman’s University) especially when she got my name wrong.” In 2013, Welch struck out on her own, leaving the Romantacy contract and fashion degree behind for awhile to start her own business called “Lovely Rats Corsetry.” Since then, she has been a full-time corsetier. According to Welch, this would never have been possible without her wife, whom she married in December 2014. “She told me one day that this is what I needed to do,” Welch said. “She told me that this is what would make me happiest and said she would support me while I built a customer base.” Welch recently raised her prices to combat her high overhead. When she began, she had to buy everything in bulk, which sent her personal cost skyrocketing. This change in prices, she said, resulted in the highest profit in her last quarter and she is now at the point where the business can support her. Her customer base is rather diverse, and she is currently booked for the next six months. Men, women and transgenders enjoy her corsets, especially those who are looking into body modification, which she assures is safe. “I make a lot of tight laces and waist-training pieces,” Welch said. “Most of my stuff is for body modification.” One of her most exciting clients goes by the name of Penny Underbust, who has a tricky figure to pattern a corset for. With a narrow waist and 60 inch hips, Welch enjoys the challenge that comes with her sweet client. According to Welch, her brand aesthetic is extremely feminie and girly. She has a talent for pattern matching that makes her corsets appear seamless. Some of her most popular work includes a Cthuhlu patterned corset, a piece inspired by Queen Elsa from “Frozen,” and one of her most recent pieces that she embroidered a multi-colored jellyfish onto the front of. With over 100 corsets under her belt, Welch has begun experimenting and building her repetoire. Her latest escapade is integrated corsetry, which is the blending of corsets with other patterns like vests and shirts to build full piece garments. “It’s really challenging,” Welch said, “but it’s really worth it. Like anything else, you start out sucking, and then with practice you suck a little bit less until you don’t suck anymore.” Welch currently lives in Carrolton, TX, where she shares her apartment with her wife, her corgi and her sewing room. She believes she wouldn’t have her life any other way.
2nd Place: Print Advertising
By Veronica Rodriguez (UT-Pan American)
Highlighting the 2014 convention were the sights, sounds and attractions of San Antonio’s famed River Walk. Photo by Patricia Dillon, A&M-Commerce
3rd Place: Critical Review
By Diamond Gregg (Brookhaven College)
Staying true to its track record of light-hearted, feel-good films, Dreamworks’ “Home” offers laughs, tears
and shouts to audiences of all ages with its adaptation of Adam Rex’s novel “The True Meaning of Spekday.”
Directed by Tim Johnson (“Antz,”) “Home” first enters into the frame a pint-sized, adorable, well-intentioned
alien, voiced by “Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons, who assumes his name is Oh after the sound his peers make once noticing his arrival anywhere.
Right away, you are hooked with the character’s unique take on English vocabulary and grammar, such as
“by-to-the-way,” and “drop it like it has a high temperature.” Additionally, Parsons voice is recognizable almost instantly. The melodic but almost pre-pubescent hum of Oh’s speech is both endearing and intriguing.
While cozying in on the new alien-friendly Earth, Oh’s race, the Boovs, find themselves in trouble with the
enemy, Gorg. This prompts a new, unlikely relationship between Oh and a middle-schooler named Gratuity (Rhi-
anna), a minutely entertaining character in comparison. “Tip,” as she likes to be called, is on a mission to find her mother, Lucy (Jennifer Lopez,) after the Boovs relocated the human population elsewhere.
The animation is dynamite with on-point attention to skin texture and color. Tip’s hair is multi-faceted and
In typical albeit entertaining form, audiences witness the blossoming of Tip’s friendship with Oh following a
life-like. She plays with it exactly like a typical teenage girl would when she gets nervous. While Oh’s ears mimic that of Princess Laya’s famous hairstyle in Star Wars. reluctant and rocky start.
The aesthetic and technique of the Boovs taking over Earth is almost an innocent tip-of-the-hat to War of
the Worlds with giant alien crafts “exterminating” the humans, (though we later find out, are simply relocated to villages in Australia.)
Tip and Oh find themselves on a trans-Atlantic journey to Paris, Boov’s headquarters so to speak, to try and
Martin’s character is the only other memorable one in the film. A loud-mouthed, arrogant and cowardly
stop the Darth Vader-like enemy, Gorg, from attacking. All this after Boov’s captain, Captain Smek (Steve Martin,) steals a precious trinket from the enemy’s space-craft.
captain, Smek, who turns a berserk red when angry, has fooled the Boovs into following his every command while
wielding his “sshh-ing stick.” Ruling his “people” with a newly found crown of toilet paper and traffic cones, riding his noble steed, the vacuum cleaner, Martin is hilarious.
Eventually, however, bravery and good-heartedness prevail when Oh saves the day by risking his life to save
his new found friends.
“Home” is undoubtedly formulaic, cookie-cutter and a little predictable though the appeal was not lost on
me. We are introduced to main characters; watch their relationship develop, their disagreements, their moments of forgiveness to one another. After which, sub-characters are placed and the audience is taken on a whirlwind of ad-
venture, all while finding satisfaction with a justified, warm and sappy ending. “Home” follows this regimen exactly but with a few surprises peppered in, still manages to leave a fresh taste on the pallet.
2nd Place: Feature Writing
He rode his bike up the sidewalk and dismounted, frantically flagging down a passing stranger. After a quick conversation, the stranger shrugged and walked away. From there, Alan Sapenter, a homeless ex-convict, jumped back on his bike and sped away, looking for another stranger. Sapenter, 52, uses this con on a daily basis. He rides up to a stranger and, panting, asks if he or she is from San Antonio. If the stranger replies with a yes, he sighs in relief and proceeds to ask whether he could have $8 to get his car out of a parking garage. Sapenter cites a struggle with a declined credit card and lack of cash as his reason for desperately needing the money. If the stranger is not from San Antonio, Sapenter responds by declaring, “Oh no, not another one,” as though he has asked several other people who were unable to help him. Sapenter’s background and his present situation seem vastly different. He said he typically does nothing. “What would I like to do? Live a normal life,” he said. Sapenter chuckled with disdain as he recounted his past. In his khaki shorts and plaid button-up shirt, Sapenter could have been the average person enjoying a warm day. With orange headphones draped around his neck and a blue phone tucked in his shirt pocket, Sapenter fits into what most people would consider normal. It is only after a closer look that his bloodshot eyes rimmed with dark bags and his bruised, torn skin can be seen. “I’m homeless, and I’m a crack head,” he confessed, after attempting to continue the con of having a car in a parking garage down the street. “I use the bike to pull petty cons,” Sapenter said. “I ride around and lie to people. I’m not a violent person.” Sapenter grew up in several different cities around the world. His father was in the Army, and the family moved frequently to places such as Kansas, New Jersey, Virgina and Turkey. He graduated from high school in Alexandria, Va., and later graduated with a focus in the sciences from Prairie View College. It was at this graduation that Sapenter began his dissent into drug addiction. “My brother was at my graduation and told me I needed to get off of mom and dad’s help,” he said. “He told me I was a spoiled brat, and he says, ‘You need to come with me to Atlanta.’ I said no, I’m not going to Atlanta.” At the time, Sapenter lived with his parents in Waco, Texas, where his mother worked as an educa-
By Linda Wilkins (Baylor University)
tor. Sapenter said he decided to move to Atlanta in the hopes of making his own way. After transitioning to Atlanta, Sapenter saw his brother and a friend smoking from a white rod. This was the first time he tried cocaine. Sapenter has tried 16 times to complete a treatment program for his drug and alcohol addictions. He said five of those times were not serious. The rest were. The last two times he attended a treatment facility in San Antonio called In House Recovery that includes a 90-day in-patient program. The last time he was in rehabilitation, he was kicked out of the program for attempting to con and hustle locals. This was two years ago. It was also two years ago that Sapenter’s father, who was also an alcoholic as Sapenter grew up, kicked him out of his house. “I always wanted to be like him,” Sapenter said of his father. “But something happened this last time in rehabilitation.” Sapenter’s father and mother reached out to Sapenter to offer help, as he slipped further into the drug world. Eventually, however, their money would only go to supporting his drug habit. Then, Sapenter was arrested and incarcerated for drug dealing and possession. After failing his final treatment program, his father decided he could no longer support him. Sapenter currently sleeps on the porch of an abandoned house on the east side of San Antonio. Often, though, he does not sleep. “Where I go on the east side, they think I’m the police because of the way I talk,” Sapenter said. “Petty cons.” He finds food in hotel garbage cans, sometimes whole cases of beer that has been tossed aside. Sapenter is one of several homeless people in downtown San Antonio. While Sapenter sleeps on a porch, others seek a place to rest in the local hotels. Mona Shah, the front desk manager at a local hotel, said she often speaks with homeless people coming into the lobby asking for shelter. Without the ability to pay, however, she has to turn them away. Shah said they do not ask for food, only shelter. “They come at nighttime,” she said. The homeless, she said, come to use the restroom or to ask for a free room. Shah said they can use the restroom, and if they ask for directions to a shelter, the hotel would provide them. Sapenter said he often seeks shelter and food from the Salvation Army as well.
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2nd Place: Feature Writing continued Each homeless person’s background, however, is unique. An immigrant from Mexico, Vincente often sleeps on a bench in Madison Square Park, his jacket and few belongings tucked close beside him. Vincente has lived in San Antonio for 11 years. He left his mother and brother behind in Mexico because he thought “America would be better.” Vincente, 47, works as a day laborer — getting work where he can find it. He works odd jobs around the city in construction and clean up. Recently, Vincente was hospitalized for two weeks with stomach pain. Vincente said he was not sure what was wrong, but he knows that now his stomach often hurts with hunger. He said his favorite food is Mexican, but America’s Mexican food is nothing like in Mexico. Madison Square Park is a refuge for many homeless people as they choose to rest their feet or decide to stay for the night. Some even sleep on the ground beside benches during the day. Sapenter, however, admits he still struggles with drug addiction and does not see it changing soon. Any money he comes by goes to fund cigarette purchases, alcohol or perhaps a McDonald’s burger. Sapenter and Vincente are only two stories of the homeless in San Antonio. Their stories are vastly different, yet they find themselves in similar situations.
Cruising on the river in San Antonio. Photo by Particia Dillon, A&M-Commerce
1st Place: TV Advertising
By Meagan Falcon (Del Mar College)
10s Story Board
*A disabled little boy is shown getting bullied by 2 small little boys in the playground. [This shot is a 2s wide shot.] [Cut to a 3s o/s shot of the boys ganging up on the boy as he lays on the ground crying.] Small girl: Hey, leave him alone! *Voiceover
*The boys get startled and run away from the little boy. [Cut to a 2s close up of the little girl grabbing the little boy’s hand to pick him up.] [Cut to a 2s wide shot of the boy and the girl walking together hand in hand back to class.] [Fade up logo and slate and cue TV legal.] *TV legal: This public service announcement is brought to you by Love Has No Labels and the AD Council. [Fade to black]
2nd Place: Public Release Writing
By Alyssa Bonner (West Texas A&M University)
Contact: Jane Doe Director of Communication, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (123) 436-7890 jane.doe@case.org FOR RELEASE AFTER 8 A.M. MAY 1
Dr. John Gregory Gullion of Texas Wesleyan named 2015 Professor of the Year FT. WORTH—Texas Wesleyan University’s Dr. John Gregory Gullion, associate professor of criminal justice and sociology, was named the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s 2015 U.S. Professor of the Year.
The selection for the award was based on the recipient’s impact on undergraduate students, scholarly approach to teaching and contributions to the institution, community and respective profession. Nominated by his TWU colleagues, Gullion was honored for his dedication and service to his students, department and university. “What a great honor this is,” Gullion said. “I never would have been able to receive such a great award without the help and support of my colleagues at Texas Wesleyan.”
During his nine years at TWU, Gullion has driven the undergraduate criminal justice program toward major growth. The department had 25 sociology majors with a criminal justice emphasis when Gullion started, and since then, the number has more than quadrupled, with 110 students currently in the program. Earning the highest teaching evaluations at TWU each semester, Gullion makes his curriculum “come to life,” providing students with rigorous and engaging assignments and activities.
“I am humbled,” Gullion said. “My goal in teaching is to make sure my students leave my classes not only with knowledge, but with the ability to put that knowledge to work.” Gullion extends his view of education from the classroom to the work force, Dr. Marcel Kerr, dean of the school of natural and social sciences, said. Gullion attended a research trip with Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, in the summer of 2014. The former Los Angeles Police Department criminologist has interviewed more than 2,300 criminals globally, but his passion lies in teaching classes on gangsters, criminals and serial killers.
“He stays current in his field so that our students’ educational needs are met and they are prepared for today’s competitive workplace,” Dr. Eddy Lynton, assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice, said of Gullion.
Gullion’s colleagues said he goes above and beyond in the classroom and to recruit new majors for their program, mentor current majors and assist recent graduates with their career goals. Frederick Slabach, TWU president, said Gullion truly lives out the university’s “Smaller. Smarter.” focus, making students and their welfare his priority. “Dr. Gullion offers our students a real-world look at criminal justice,” Slabach said. “His dedication to the profession and his students is evident in everything he does at Texas Wesleyan.”
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The U.S. Professor of the Year Award is sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is the only national program that recognizes excellence in undergraduate education. The program salutes undergraduate professors who excel in teaching and positively impact the lives and careers and students.
Division 2 Best of Show 1st Place Patriot Talon (UT-Tyler)
1st Place: PR Crisis Management
By Kyra Littlejohn (St. Mary’s University)
Situation Analysis: CEO James Rusty, age 61, was giving a speech discussing how great of a year AAA Marketing Group has had. During the speech, Jane Storch, 36 and a 5-year employee of AAA went to the microphone and made allegations in regard to overt sexual advances and three cases of sexual assault that have been allegedly ignored by zone managers. She threatened to file sexual harassment charges against the organization. Upon hearing this, Rusty collapsed and was rushed to the hospital where he was eventually in stable condition. AAA has offices in 36 cities across the nation and has been in business for 35 years. One local media news outlet was present, and upon hearing the news contacted a local television crew. Immediate Action Steps:
1. Determine the Scope of the Problem a. Local: The central office of AAA Marketing Group is located in Dallas; Texas is where the initial crisis took place. There was one local news outlet, the Dallas Morning News, present—eventually a television crew was present as well. b. National: AAA Marketing Group also has offices located in 36 different cities across the nation, moving this crisis from merely a local scope to a national scope as well. 2. Unified Messaging a. Designate a spokesperson + one alternate b. Craft a solid, key message that is consistent throughout c. Distribute this message internally as well as externally with a fact sheet and media inquiry contact information d. Update media outlets and all affected parties as new information evolves
3. Timing is of the Essence a. Once the key message is curated, the media and public should be informed of as much information as possible, including the allegations that were put forth, what is being done to fix the situation, and what people can do to help. Honestly is key, and the victims should also be consoled.
4. Create a Crisis Hotline a. Create a crisis hotline service center away from the main AAA Marketing Group site and direct all inquires to this one main site to assure that same message is being distributed and that all questions are being properly answered. People who prove to be adequate should take shifts, day and night, by the phones as well as social media/media monitoring to assure that positive media relations are in tact. MEMORANDUM
To: National Public Relations Director, AAA Marketing Group From: Deputy Public Relations Director, AAA Marketing Group Day: April 9, 2015 Subject: Sexual Harassment Action Plan Steps
In the recent spring sales meeting, allegations were put forth by, Jane Storch, an employee of 5 years— stating that she, along with 8–10 other women, were on their way to file charges against the organization on the grounds of sexual harassment. She stated that they are all victims of overt sexual advances and in three cases assaults have been reported but ignored by zone managers. Moreover, she stated that they have proof such as tapes, pictures, and
affidavits. CEO James Rusty collapsed and was rushed to the hospital, but remains stable. Our course of action over the next sixty days is as follows.
1. In determining that the scope of the crisis as both national and local, thus giving us two targeted audiences, we have crafted two messages that should be distributed accordingly. - Local: Clients, Stakeholders, Community Members, Suppliers, Media (printing services for marketing materials, etc.), Employees - National: Other Offices, Stakeholders, Media, Clients, Employees
Local:
For the past 35 years, AAA Marketing Group has set the bar and has transformed the marketing industry in ways that one could never imagine. More importantly, AAA Marketing Group has become a leading example of community building in the Dallas area. As CEO of this organization for 19 years, I have prided myself on making the working environment one of great transparency, and open-communication lines. As the allegations of sexual assault have been brought to my attention, we are officially launching a formal investigation to look more into the situation. I grant my most sincere apologies to those who are affected by the situation, and I assure you that we are going to get to the bottom of this, so that we can assure a safe, community-based working environment for all. James Rusty CEO National:
For the past 35 years, AAA Marketing Group has set the bar and has transformed the marketing industry in ways that one could never imagine. More importantly, AAA Marketing Group has become a hallmark company for having a great sense of transparency and open-communication line. As CEO of this organization for 19 years, I have taken pride in making sure that our working environment is one built on community. As the allegations of sexual assault have been brought to my attention, we are officially launching a formal investigation to look more into the situation. I grant my most sincere apologies to those who are affected by the situation, and I assure you that we are going to get to the bottom of this, so that we can assure a safe, community-based working environment for all. James Rusty CEO
2. Public Relations Directors at every single office must be contacted. Once they are contacted, they should be briefed on the situation, given the facts, updated information, and the key message as appropriate. These messages must be disturbed across all media outlets, including local media outlets, national media outlets, and social media. Media outlets that we have a good relationship with should be contacted first because they are most likely to angle the story in the most favorable light. All other media inquires should be answered second. a. In addition, all employees must be briefed with fact sheets containing the key messages, along with a point of contact to refer any media inquire to.
3. The national communications team needs to sit down with the in-house counsel. The legal team must understand that our job is important as well because even if we win the case, our company can still fail. The legal team must launch a formal investigation. ALL, I repeat, ALL zone managers must be investigated. Both locally and nationally. Employees should be questioned to make sure no one else is planning on coming forth with similar allegations. The national communications team should be updated every step of the way and distribute information accordingly. In the meantime, the legal team should also make it a point to seek correspondence from the opposing side to gain more insight into the situation, and see the evidence.
4. While the formal investigation is pending, transparency should be at an ultimate high. Once the formal investigation is launched, and more facts of the case have been discovered, CEO James Rusty shall
conduct a press conference to answer any questions that may still be lingering, and to update everyone on the progress of the investigation. In the meantime, updates should happen at the same time every week via designated outlets, and constantly via social media. 5. Should the case actually taken to court instead of a settlement, and should we be found guilty— AAA Marketing Group will live up to the consequences. Should this happen, the zone managers who allegedly ignored the allegations will be terminated effective immediately. Should we be found innocent, we will still welcome the victims back with open arms because they are after all a part of our AAA Marketing Group Family. 6. Innocent or Guilty, a national AAA Marketing Group Campaign will be launched to help build awareness to the issue of sexual assault in the work place. This will be a month long campaign, and we will partner with both local and national sexual assault awareness organizations to hold panel discussions, events, and fundraisers, etc. to show that this issue is a serious one, and is not being taken very lightly. 7. A formal letter after the investigation will be distributed to all stakeholders, and employees granting apologies, and additional steps to take should any of these allegations ever come about again, along with who should be contacted. The whole structure in which such measures are addressed will be reviewed, revised, and changed to better serve the people that help keep our organization running.
2nd Place: PR Crisis Management
By Natalie Goin (Abilene Christian University)
Part 1. Situation Analysis An AAA Marketing Group spring sales meeting was interrupted by a female employer and her supporters, who announced their plans to file sexual harassment charges against the organization. Shocked by the accusations, the CEO collapses and is taken to the local hospital. A reporter in attendance calls a TV crew down the hall, which proceeds to start covering the incident and endangers the reputation of the company.
1. The following steps should be taken following the immediate impact: A. Control Commotion – Initially the main task is restoring order back to the room. Both the announcement and collapse are reason alone for the other employees to panic, but it is a PR professional’s job to ensure that this does not happen. i. First deal with the CEO and ensuring his safety. It was the right move by his assistant to cancel work for the rest of the day, but make sure they are communicated with. Sending a work email explaining what happened and that the company will take the necessary steps is key. Remind the employees they are in good hands and that work will still go on as usual in the morning. ii. Designating one spokesperson to answer questions is key. Having several opinions from different employees will entail an unclear message. Ideally, this would be someone highly influential other than the CEO under question. As soon as the CEO is stable enough, he needs to make a statement both to the company and the public through a press conference. He will ensure everyone that he is shocked, appalled and that the company will cooperate completely will law enforcement during the investigation. B. AAA Marketing must actively play a role in how the media shares information regarding the meeting. i. AAA Marketing’s public relations team must work together to prepare an official statement and press release. There is not enough information or insight into the investigation at this point, so it is crucial to portray that the company leadership was shocked by the accusations, that they have zero tolerance for sexual harassment, and that they are completely prepared to actively work with law enforcement to figure out what happened. It is extremely important that the company doesn’t condemn or criticize the actions of the women, but rather that they will support them throughout the course of the investigation.
ii. Continue to prep and use the designated spokesperson for all press conferences. Having several opinions from different employees will entail an unclear message. Ideally, this would be someone highly influential other than the CEO under question. Direct the media to this person with any and all questions. iii. The message that the company needs to consistently portray to the media is that they are doing everything they can to support their employees, and that they will fire anyone who is involved with the claims if they are found guilty. vi. Remind the public that these were allegations. Consult a lawyer and the legal department for back-up and a statement explaining that they will fully support the investigation, however it is important to remind the public that until it is proven, there is no claim. v. As employees gain back trust, use their testimonies. Share the stories of how much the company has done to get to the bottom of this issue.
2. The following steps should be taken in consideration of company employees: A. Call a company-wide meeting in which the designated spokesperson will address the employees as a whole. Since AAA has offices in 36 cities across the country, it is important that these field offices are getting the right story, and the same story as everyone else in Dallas. The messaging will be the same as what was given to the media: the company leadership was shocked by the accusations, that they have zero tolerance for sexual harassment, and that they are completely prepared to actively work with law enforcement to figure out what happened. The employees must be reminded why they work for AAA Marketing, that they are valued and that the company will do whatever it takes to protect their employees. Organizing a specific task force to maintain company moral will make a huge impact on the employees as a whole. i. Organize separate meetings and focus groups to identify where the problem may be, and potential options to actively initiate change. Make it known that it is an open environment, and make it a comfortable place for people to come forward. This can be done by empowering the employees, and by refusing to speak badly about the women who came forward. By actively cooperating in the investigation, employees will gain back the trust of the leadership. ii. If/when information surfaces supporting the women’s claims, terminate anyone involved immediately. Make it known that sexual harassment is not tolerated. If it happens to be a widespread and serious issue, encourage the CEO to resign as well. Nobody will trust a CEO with that reputation, whether they are a potential client or employee. This can also involve restructuring the HR department, making it easier for employees to safely and securely handle complaints. iii. Tell the truth. Keep employees engaged with new information about the investigation. If they think something is being hidden from them, they will retaliate and question as well. The best way to gain support is through their trust. iv. Make additional sexual harassment courses mandatory for employees. v. As the company handles all of these changes internally, make sure that it is being covered by local and national press. (TV, radio, social media, online news sites, etc.) Positioning the company as open and active will make a huge impression on the overall investigation. Creating already thought-through interview questions and press kits and fact sheets to give to the media will allow the company to get the information they want shared across, while also making it easier on the press. Avoiding the press will make them biased against you. Telling the truth is essential to getting the public to trust them. Part 2.
Mr. Callahan,
I wanted to personally inform you about the incident in Dallas in which a female employer and her supporters announced their plans to file sexual harassment charges against the organization. Shocked by the accusations, James Rusty collapsed and was taken to the local hospital. Thankfully, he was later reported in stable condition, but not before a reporter in attendance called a TV crew to the scene. National news organizations are quickly picking it up, and we need to act quickly to ensure that we are ahead of the story. While we do not know if these allegations are true, it is important that we stand with our affected employees throughout the investigation. I will organize a press conference this afternoon in which Diane Ross will speak as our appointed spokesperson for the incident. In the days to come, I have developed a plan that will help ensure that we maintain the support of our employees and the
general public. For the next 60 days I propose the following: 1. Our priority will be to gain back the trust of our employees. It is vital that we allow meetings and focus groups to allow our employees to voice their concerns. This should happen immediately, and continue throughout the process. It is also important to keep them completely aware of any new developments. We must organize mandatory sexual harassment seminars. Within the next two weeks, we need to get this started. 2. In the next few days, we need to start actively showing our employees our success. As new things come up, we need to remind them who they work for and why they love their jobs. I suggest created a task force to specifically promote the company internally. 3. As we make these changes, we must invite news organizations to cover the developing story. I anticipate that by the end of this week, we will have planned questions, fact sheets, and news releases prepared for them to steer the conversation as much as possible. We need to update these weekly, and cater them to any new leads in the story. 4. As the investigation continues, we should have a weekly press conference with our designated speaker. This way all of the information is current and up-to-date, and it will give the impression that we are open and unwilling to hide our skeletons. 5. At the beginning of next month, we need to start releasing stories of employees who are pleased with the changes that are being made. It must be known that there are significant changes being made, and regardless of the validity or outcome of the charges, AAA will be seen as a company who does whatever it takes to protect their employees. 6. In the following weeks, we should release information about the success of our new sexual harassment course and that the company is not deterred or phased by the investigation. It is important to show the world that we will not stop producing our top-notch work because of a scandal. 7. If any of the information is found true, we must report that fairly. We need to appear transparent and not on the defensive. In addition to this, we need to prepare James Rusty or any HR executives that they have the possibility of resigning. If they are found guilty or negligent in any way, the company will never recover with them in leadership. We need to start preparing them now for that possibility, and consider looking into replacements. Please respond with any additional comments, concerns or ideas you may have about how to best handle this situation. It is important that we remind the company and the world what AAA stands for, and that is a company with a long-standing tradition of success. If we work together on this, it is definitely achievable. I am looking forward to working with you through this. Best Regards, John
3rd Place: PR Crisis Management
By Jordan Moss (Stephen F. Austin State University)
Situation Analysis: AAA Marketing Group finds itself in a scandal revolving around sexual assault. The group is under fire for the alleged failures in regards to it handling complaints from a group of eight to 10 women. The organization must now respond to these allegations and show that it takes allegations of sexual assault very seriously. Handling the media
a. We at AAA Marketing Group must first assure he media that we take the allegations very seriously. A history of how we have handled such complaints in the past must be presented to show that we care about women
and protect all of our employees from sexual abuse. b. We must assure the media that the collapse of our CEO was from the pure shock of the allegations and not because of a sense of guilt. We need to show his record when it comes to handling issues pertaining to sexual abuse and let it be known that he is an advocate of women’s rights. c. We need to assure our investors and business partners of the CEO’s health and well-being. We cannot appear to have leadership questions. d. The files of the complaints filed by the women in question must be reviewed. We need to be able to confidently assure the media that we took the allegations very seriously and that due diligence was given to their cases. e. Press releases detailing the findings of our own internal investigation must be released to the media. Rather we find that we acted appropriately or not should be irrelevant. If we find we did act appropriately we must state this, should we find we did not act in an efficient manner we must correct the issues and own the mistake. It is better to let someone get fired for this than to tarnish our public image. f. We need to begin briefing our top execs and people who handle our complaints from employees to speak to the national media. Sexual abuse scandals often light up ratings and our people need to be prepared to answer the tough questions. Meeting with our PR department’s top people is highly recommended. g. The people accused must be placed on suspension effective immediately. Anything less will be seen as too little and the media must be made aware of their suspension. h. In addition to the internal investigation it is recommended that an outside agency be brought in to conduct an investigation. While costly hiring an outside agency will help eliminate any perception of sweeping things under the rug. i. There is no easy road here. The allegations are serious and will take time to resolve. Even if no wrongdoing is found the perception of our company will change. We need to reach out to our female owned business partners and assure them that we are working to both get to the bottom of and correct any issues found.
PR plan
Over the next 60 days we must release a steady stream of updates that help assure our business partners that we are working to remedy this situation. Any piece of information uncovered is best to be revealed to help show we did not cover up anything. By scheduling appearances for our top execs on news programs we can begin to get out in front of this thing. Finding prominent women in the company to speak on behalf of us will be essential. Getting involved in donating money to women’s shelters or doing pro-bono work for support groups of abused women is recommended. Show that we care, yet walk the fine line in not overdoing it so as to not appear to be overcompensating. The biggest key over the next 60 days and beyond will be transparency. We may find little if any wrongdoing, we may find huge glaring errors were made. We need to be 100 percent honest with our findings in order to show we both care and are working to correct the issues. We also need to begin to investigate the women making the accusations. While a smear campaign would be bad we do need to know more about them and their potential gains from these accusations. Our plan of action must remain fluid. We have to be willing to respond quickly to any information uncovered. Putting together a team of our best PR people to focus solely on this situation is recommended. While reaching out to the media is essential it is also recommended to begin sending messages to our clients to assure them that we are working to get to the bottom of this. Communicating with our publics will help to show that we are working our hardest to maintain the excellence and the reputation we have built over the years. Recommended immediate action a. b. c. d. e. f.
Write and send press releases addressing our efforts to remedy this situation. Begin both internal and outside agency investigations. Brief top execs for media interviews. Suspend all accused pending investigation results. Give women who are accusing time off with pay. Highlight everything positive we have ever done for women’s groups and begin doing more charity
work with them. g. Reach out to clients and assure them of our efforts. h. Remain fluid and seek legal counsel.
Final thoughts
There is no easy way out of this. Owning responsibility for our failures in handling this matter is essential to preserving our reputation. By releasing all findings we are legally permitted to release to the media we can help establish a level of trust with the general public. Honesty will be key to surviving this; nothing good will come of a cover up. Utilize the investigation results to determine rather or not to settle with our accusers or to go to court. While a trial has the potential be ugly being perceived as paying our accusers off could damage us. We recommend the steady release of information regarding the investigation while assuring our clients that our work quality will not suffer. Identifying the clients most likely to leave us after this will be essential so that we can begin working to keep them and protect our brand. The road ahead will be long and difficult, by working with the media and working to protect our business relationships we will in time find ourselves back in a situation where our work speaks for itself.
3rd Place: Print Advertising
By Stacy Hood (Sam Houston State University)
2nd Place: Radio News Writing
By Hope Stokes (Amarillo College)
THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IS SEARCHING FOR A SUSPECT THAT FLED THE SCENE AFTER A CAR CHASE THAT LED TO A CAR AND HOUSE FIRE.
THE SUSPECT LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE DURING A CHASE WITH SAN ANTONIO PD AND CRASHED INTO A UTILITY POLE CAUSING THE CAR TO SET ON FIRE- THE FIRE THEN SPREAD TO A NEARBY HOUSE. THE SAN ANTONIO FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ON THE SCENE WITHIN 5 MINUTES OF THE INITIAL ACCIDENT AND WAS ABLE TO PUT OUT THE CAR AND HOUSE FIRE, AS WELL AS RESCUE A VICTIM FROM WITHIN THE HOUSE.
BATTALION CHIEF WESLEY WEST SAYS THE VICTIM WAS NOT IN THE BURNING HOUSE FOR LONG AND BELIEVES HIS FIREFIGHTERS DID A GOOD JOB HANDLING THE SITUATION.
SOT: 10 SEC “IT WAS A STANDARD SEARCH… THEY FOUND HER FAIRLY QUICKLY UPON GOING INTO THE HOUSE. THE OPERATION WENT, IN MY OPINION, FLAWLESSLY… YOU CAN ALWAYS IMPROVE, BUT I THINK WE DID A GOOD JOB.” THE VICTIM IS CURRENTLY IN THE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL WITH SEVERE BURNS. ###
3rd Place: Radio News Writing
By David Dunn (UT-Arlington)
NAT SND: FADE PERSONAL ALERT SAFETY SYSTEM ALARM [:03]
412: A car chase ended violently after the driver lost control, crashed into a utility pole and set the vehicle and a single-story house on fire. At 1:26 p.m. Friday at 300 S. Callaghan [KAL-A-HAN] Street, the San Antonio Fire Department responded to the scene, rescuing one female victim from the fire’s vicious blaze. [:19]
WEST: The search crew that found the victim brought the victim out, initiated care for the victim on the front side of the house, and then transferred care to the ambulance that was waiting. [:11]
412: Battalion chief Wesley West said the victim sustained severe burn injuries, and was transported to University Hospital priority one. The driver was nowhere to be seen. [:09] WEST: When they had the accident, they fled the scene. At this point, PD is in the process of searching for that person. [:07]
412: West said the victim was the only person found in the building, with the house itself suffering $50,000 worth of damages. In San Antonio, I’m 412, Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. [:10]
2nd Place: TV News Writing
By Carmina Tiscarena (Brookhaven College)
Anchor intro / lead (00:00-00:12) BREAKING NEWS FOR YOU THIS AFTERNOON. THE SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT IS SEARCHING FOR AN INDIVIDAUL AFTER A HIGH SPEED CHASE, THAT CAUSED A FIRE ON 300 SOUTH CALA-HaaN ROAD. Take VO : (00:12- 00: 38) THE S-A-F-D RECEIVED A CALL REGARDING THE FIRE AROUND 1:21 P-M . THE SUSPECT LOST CONTROL OF THEIR VEHICLE, SPUN AROUND AND HIT A UTILITY POLE OUTSIDE THE RESIDENCY. MINUTES AFTER THAT, THE 1979 CADILLAC VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. THAT FIRE SPREAD TO THE GARAGE OF THE SINGLE STORY HOME. THE SUSPECT FLED THE SCENE AND A VICTIM WAS FOUND INSIDE THE GARAGE. Take SOT (Wesley West // Battalion Chief) (00:38-00:52) The person inside the garage was rescued by the fire crews. They were brought outside from the structure and transported to University Hospital, priority one. That means the female patient suffered burn injuries that are serious. The radiant heat from the vehicle exposed the garage causing it to catch on fire. Anchor tag (00:52- 00:60) WEST SAID THE TOTAL DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FIRE IS 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS AND THAT INCLUDES THE CONTENT THAT WAS INSIDE THE GARAGE. ###
Keeping up with TIPA Website www.TexasIPA.org Type-Hi publications issuu.com/texasipa Email Fred.Stewart@tamuc.edu Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/72090153445/
3rd Place: PR Release Writing
By Jacob Beltran (Texas A&M University - San Antonio)
Texas Wesleyan University
Dr. John Gregory Gullion named U.S Professor of the Year 2015
May 1, 2015
FORT WORTH - Dr. John Gregory Gullion, associate professor and coordinator of the criminal justice and sociology programs at Texas Wesleyan University, was named Friday as the U.S. Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). “I’m humbled by this award. My goal in teaching is to make sure my students leave my classes not only with knowledge, but with the ability to put that knowledge to work,” Gullion said. “I never would have been able to receive such a great award without the help and support of my colleagues at Texas Wesleyan and my students. I dedicate this award to all of them.” The award includes $5,000 from the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching; an allexpense paid trip including a guest and a current or former student to Washington, D.C., for the November awards celebration; and a framed certificate of recognition. About Dr. John Gregory Gullion:
Gullion is credited with spearheading the development and growth of the undergraduate criminal justice program. He started teaching in the program nine years ago with 25 sociology majors with a criminal justice emphasis, helping grow the program with more than 110 criminal justice majors today. He is a former LAPD criminologist with a Ph.D. in sociology from University of North Texas. The professor has interviewed more than 2,300 dangerous minds from around the globe and teaches classes on gangsters, criminals and serial killers. Students report his courses are rigorous and engaging, and that he provides activities and assignments that make the course materials “come to life.” “Dr. Gullion offers our students a real-world look at criminal justice. His dedication to the profession and his students is evident in everything that he does at Texas Wesleyan,” said Frederick Slabach, President of Texas Wesleyan University. About the U.S. Professor of the Year program:
The U.S. Professors of the Year program salutes undergraduate instructors in the country who excel in teaching and positively influence the lives and careers of students. The program is sponsored by CASE and the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching. Entries are judged by top U.S. educators and other active participants in education. -30-
1st Place: Radio Advertising
By Hope Stokes (Amarillo College)
Love Has No Labels - Gender :30 Intro: (Fax machines, keyboards typing and phones ringing) (NAT sounds continues in background) Male #1: (Irritated) Did you hear that Donna got MY promotion? Male #2: Yeah I did. (Chuckles) I can’t believe you got beat by a girl. (Footsteps sound then suddenly halt) Male #3: (Interrupts) Did I just hear you say that Donna got the promotion? (Laughs) I thought you were a man’s man, Mike! (Male #2 and #3 laugh together as sound fades out) Announcer: Prejudice knows no gender, no age, and no limits. (Uplifting instrumental music fades in) Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love. Learn more about the “Love Has No Labels” campaign at W W W dot Love Has No Labels dot com. This public service announcement is brought to you by Love has no Labels and the Ad Council
3rd Place: Radio Advertising
By Jeremy Villanueva (Sam Houston State University)
Slug: Love Has No Labels #1 Sponsor: Ad Council TRT: 00:30
Talent – 30-year-old male, masculine and friendly
THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY LOVE HAS NO LABELS AND THE AD COUNCIL: (fade in upbeat music)
Talent – I MANAGE A SMALL BUSINESS. I LIVE IN A TWO-STORY HOUSE AND DEVOTE MY TIME AND MONEY TO MY FAMILY. I HAVE TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN (SFX: you can hear a faint “I love you, daddy” in unison from the distance). MY HUSBAND AND I TAKE GREAT CARE OF THEM. (music cuts suddenly)
(SFX: heart beating, progresses quicker as talent reads)
YOU CAN’T SEE ME. YOU BARELY KNOW ME. HOWEVER, YOU PROBABLY JUST MADE A JUDGEMENT ABOUT ME. A VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUBCONCIOUSLY JUDGE OTHERS BASED ON AGE, GENDER, RELGION, SEXUALITY OR DIVERSITY. (SFX: heartbeat fades out as upbeat music fades back in) BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, WE ARE ALL HUMAN. IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE DIVERSITY. LET’S PUT ASIDE THE LABELS IN THE NAME OF LOVE. LOVE HAS NO LABELS. (fades out music) Slug: Love Has No Labels #2 Sponsor: The Ad Council TRT: 00:30
 Talent: various males and females of different ages.
Disclaimer: The talent does not need to be of what the advertisement says they are since “Love Has No Labels.” This irony only further enhances that this shouldn’t change someone’s view. If the person producing the advertisement wishes to seek people of what they are stating they are, that is more than fine. (An acoustic, tribal, choral version of U2’s “Pride-In the Name of Love” fades in)
Talent #1: I’M WHITE. Talent #2: I’M BLACK. Talent #3: I’M 16-YEARS-OLD. Talent #4: I’M 54-YEARS-OLD. Talent #5: I’M FEMALE. Talent #6: I’M MALE. Talent #7: I’M MUSLIM. Talent #8: I’M CHRISTIAN. Talent #9: I’M JEWISH. Talent #10: I’M GAY. Talent #11: I’M GAY. Talent #12: I’M DISABLED.
(these lines repeat, overlap one another and progresses in pace. Feel free in this time to add other differences in race, gender, religion, sexuality, disability) (voices and music cuts)
(The acoustic, tribal version of U2’s “Pride-In the Name of Love” fades in, again) Talent #1: I’M HUMAN. Talent #2: I’M HUMAN. Talent #3: I’M HUMAN. Talent #4: I’M HUMAN. (add the other talents in overlapping each other stating they are human) (fade out voices)
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, WE ARE ALL HUMAN. IT’S TIME TO EMBRACE DIVERSITY. LET’S PUT ASIDE LABELS IN THE NAME OF LOVE. (music is now at a point in the choral singing and clapping “in the name of love, once more in the name of love” held out as the Legal is read) THIS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY LOVE HAS NO LABELS AND THE AD COUNCIL. (music stops cold) ####
3rd Place: Print Sports Writing
By Bodey Cooper (Trinity Valley Community College)
The UT San Antonio Roadrunners got a huge effort from starting pitcher Aaron Burns with an 8-2 victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs. This victory came on the second game of a doubleheader after the Roadrunners defeated the Monarchs in a thrilling 13-inning walk-off just hours prior. Burns, the junior starting pitcher from Jarrell, Texas, went 7 1/3 innings against Old Dominion giving up only two runs on nine hits. Burns lowered his earned-runs average to 1.65 with a great performance against the Monarchs, while racking up 10 strikeouts with only one walk and moving his season record to 6-2. Burns also sent down 10 straight batters at one point during the game. “I just tried to work ahead and let them get themselves out,” Burns said after the victory. Freshman third baseman Skyler Valentine got the offense set up when he lead off the bottom of the third inning with a double off the left field wall. Two batters later, junior second baseman Jesse Baker deposited a two-run home run into the netting behind the UTSA scoreboard to give the Roadrunners an early 2-0 lead. “I wanted to play with a lot of confidence and get the ‘W’. I had a man on third with less than two outs and tried to move him home. It helped that he grooved me a curveball over the middle of the plate,” Baker said about his effort. The Monarchs answered UTSA in the top of the fifth inning with runners on second and third base. Freshman left fielder Justin Hayes ripped a base hit through the hole at shortstop to cut the UTSA lead to 2-1. That was about all the offense that the Monarchs would receive in route to their 17th loss of the season overall, and 10th in Conference USA. The Roadrunners handed sophomore pitcher Nick Hartman his third loss of the season. Hartman gave up five earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings of work. He also added six strikeouts and two walks. The Roadrunners tallied up five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a nail-biting 3-2 game and turn it into a bashing. John Bormann, the senior catcher for the Roadrunners, got the offense started with an RBI double off the left field wall. Next it was the junior left fielder Matt Hilston who added an RBI single under first baseman Taylor Ostrich’s glove. Both UTSA centerfielder Kevin Markham and shortstop C.J. Pickering added an RBI each to end a debilitating five-run eighth for the Monarchs. Left-handed senior closer Cody Brannon came in and shut the game down by giving up one hit, one walk and then striking out the side to the end the night. With the victory, the Roadrunners swept the weekend doubleheader, and improved their overall record to 21-14, while pushing their Conference USA record to 9-5 on the season. UTSA head coach Jason Marshall when asked about the long eventful night, had only this to say. “It was a long game, but it felt good to get the win.”
Video News
1st Place Joey McReynolds (TCU) 2nd Place Gerardo Martinez (UT-Tyler) 3rd Place Catherine Blakemore (Abilene Christian University)
3rd Place: Feature Writing
By Amanda Castro-Crist (Amarillo College)
Joe Lopez never thought he’d own an art gallery. Born with one hand, he said he just wanted to fit in like everybody else. “I guess I was bitter because of it,” he said. Raised on the north side of San Antonio, he said his lack of left hand didn’t make growing up in a rough neighborhood any easier. He was an easy target for the bullies ‑ until the day he got mad enough to do something about it. “I was scared to death, but I was angry,” he said. “And I beat that bully up. It changed my life.” The fight wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the Barrio Escondido, or “hidden neighborhood.” Though he’s teased about growing up on the “rich” side of town now, it was very different 60 years ago. “We grew up very Mexicano, very raza,” Lopez said. The neighborhood he remembers was made up of dirt roads, sparse electricity and outdoor bathrooms. It was made rougher by the fights the residents used as a way to earn respect. Still, he’s proud of his story, one that he shares with many, he said. “This isn’t the ‘Joe Lopez story;’ a lot of us, we grew up like that, rough,” he said. “We’re no angels; we had some wild, crazy years and became decent, good people.” The life he lived and the things he experienced helped shape who he became as an artist. The watercolors that line the walls at Gallista Gallery depict migrant farmworkers, Chicanos at festivals and children cooling off at the “pompa,” a water pump. “I paint about life,” he said. “I stuck with Chicano themes because that’s what I am, that’s what I know.” Lopez’ grandparents on both sides migrated to the United States to get away from the revolution. His parents were migrant farm workers. He and his wife met at St. Anthony’s Catholic School. He was a year older than her, his wife, Frances said, and just like everyone else, in love with her older sister, Lupita. When they started dating her in the eighth grade, she said he told her he was glad he had gotten over her. “He says, ‘I fell in love with the right girl,’” she said. Times weren’t always easy. A lawsuit one year, financial problems along the way. Now, after almost 49 years of marriage, three spaces and 17 years at the Gallista, the Lopez’ are ready for some time off. They’ve sold the gallery to Sergio Martinez, another native San Antonian who hopes to use the space as a cultural hub. “My plan is to take the legacy of Gallista and carry that on to the next 20, 30 , 40 years,” Martinez says. For Joe Lopez, that’s just fine. Regardless of the struggles he faced and the life he endured before emerging on the other side, he’s happy with what they’ve created. “I’m very proud of this vato loco from the barrio that ended up doing something positive,” he said “I wanted to show the world that us Chicanos have class, too. And I think we did.”
1st Place:TV News Writing
By Sabrina Corsiga (North Lake College)
Video Anchor in studio
Audio STANDUP: A police chase in San Antonio Friday afternoon ended with a car crash and fire that spread to a house.
B-roll – firefighters extinguishing car on fire, address shown as 300 S. Callaghan Rd. cut to firefighters carrying out female victim on gurney.
V.O. (:03) The driver of a Cadillac was fleeing from police on CAL-uh-HAN Road and hit a utility pole near the home. A female victim was rescued inside by San Antonio firefighters while the driver fled the scene.
Sound bite -- San Antonio Fire Department Battalion Chief Wesley West at press conference B-roll of firefighters extinguishing fire in house
Sound bite – Bennie Marberry outside of scene surrounded by reporters
Sound bite – West at press conference B-roll – 3 fire engines surrounding charred home and car, firefighters walking
(in) (:10) – West: “The source of the fire in the house was actually the vehicle fire, so when the vehicle caught on fire, enough radiant heat exposed the garage to where it caught on fire.” V.O. (:15) Because of the intensity of the flames, firefighter and fire instructor BEN-EE Marberry said at the scene that responders’ first priority is life safety. (in) (:20) – Marberry: “Our first priority is life safety; not only ours but all of y’alls [sic]” (in) (:22) West: “The operation went very smoothly. You can always improve, but I thought we did a good job.” V.O. (:26) BUH-tal-YUN Chief West added that the victim was transported to University Hospital in serious condition while no firefighters were injured. -------------------end (:30) --------------------
Division 1 Best of Show First Place The University Star (Texas State University)
3rd Place: Feature Photo
By Erin Hicks (UT-Tyler)
Modern day drifter Michael Portugal is waiting on the bus to take him to the next town. “I choose to live this way,” Michael says, “I want to befriend the homeless, the addicts, and the outcasts.”
2nd Place: Critical Review
By Morgan McGrath (Stephen F. Austin State University)
The animated film, “Home” is a colorful movie for children filled with adventure, touching moments and an incredible theme that makes the viewer realize where their real home lies. Based on a book by Adam Rex, “The True Meaning of Smekday” and directed by Tim Johnson, the movie captured the heart of the audience with it’s surprising plot-twists and its edgeof-your-seat action. After fleeing their previously occupied planet from an evil species of aliens that destroyed it, the “Boovs” take over earth and inhabit it, relocating the humans to Australia to live the rest of their lives. The plot follows a certain Boov named “Oh”, voiced by Jim Parsons, who in his accident-prone life style, mistakenly sends an invitation to his house-warming party to the entire universe, including the alien race who attempted to previously kill them off. Running from the law, Oh meets a young girl, Gratuity Tucci or “Tip”, voiced by Rihanna, who evaded capture and relocation to Australia because of her cat named Pig. However, this separated Tip from her mother, Lucy, voiced by Jennifer Lopez, who she had recently moved with from Barbados into the big city. Tip was on a mission to find her mother, and Oh, now a fugitive, ended up being her partner for the adventure. As a whole, the movie is incredibly enjoyable from the beginning to the end. However, the movie started out a bit slow, explaining why this alien species had to inhabit the earth, and such, but once we met Tip, it raced as if the audience was aiding in saving the universe. Many times, as the viewers thought the movie was coming to an end, a plot-twist would suck the audience back into the story because the earth needed saving once again. The limited number of main characters that were introduced in the film caused an intimate relationship to be formed with them. Viewers got to fully understand the emotions that each character was feeling at that exact moment and the colors within the movie truly captured the emotions of the characters in a way that no movie has done before. The “Boov” species are normally purple, but depending on what emotions they felt, or what was happening to them at the moment, changed their skin color, which was a very interesting thing to see and was amazingly animated. When Oh would get scared,
like when the captain of the Boov ship, Captain Smek, voiced by Steve Martin, accused him of sending his invitation to their enemies, he would turn a sickly shade of yellow. When he would get angry, he would turn bright red, with rage. Tip was able to use this to her advantage a few times because Oh would turn an electric green when he lied to her. He would turn a beautiful color of peachy- pink when he was happy, which the audience was able to see a lot of towards the end of the movie. Other wonderful things about the movie included the songs in the movie, chosen by Lorne Balfe, and the comical moments. The soundtrack was very youthful and accentuated the movie extremely well. One of the songs that was played twice in the movie created a funny moment when the Boovs started to dance with their many feet. There were several moments of hilarity throughout the movie that made the audience laugh. For parents that take their children to this movie, there are a few jokes that are geared towards the older crowd, though more comedy of that nature would have been appreciated. What truly stuck out was the title of the movie. Home can mean a lot of things to different people, but after Oh was forced to work with a human, he learned a lot about himself and that running away from your troubles would not get him to where he truly belonged, which was with people that truly cared about him. He found his home on earth, but that can be debated in whether his true home was materialistically on earth, or in the heart of Tip. All in all, this movie is very entertaining for children and adults, as it is rated PG and is only 94 minutes long. It teaches children to always have hope and to take chances, even if the negatives outweigh the positives. But most of all, it will teach them how to find their true home within themselves.
3rd Place: TV News Writing
By Jamil Oakford (Tarrant County College)
(0.00-0.05) (ANCHOR IN STUDIO) A CAR CHASE WITH SAN ANTONIO POLICE ENDS WITH A CRASH CAUSING A HOUSE FIRE THIS AFTERNOON. (0.06-0.20)
(V/O WITH A-ROLL FOOTAGE) (ANCHOR IN STDIO) LOCAL DISPATURES RECEIVED A PHONE CALL ABOUT A FIRE AT JUST BEFORE ONE-30 FOR A SINGLE-STORY HOUSE.
THE SOURCE OF THE FIRE WAS CASUED BY A POLICE CHASE THAT ENDED WITH THE DRIVER CRASHING HIS CAR INTO A LIGHT POST. IT THEN SET ON FIRE, SPREADING TO THE HOME NEARBY. (0.21-0.26)
(VIDEO INSERT TO PRESS CONFERENCE) (CHIEF WESLEY WEST) “THE CAUSE OF THE FIRE WAS FROM A SINGLE VEHICLE THAT LOST CONTROL DURING A COP CHASE.” (0.27-0.40)
(ANCHOR V/O WITH A-ROLL FOOTAGE) (ANCHOR IN STUDIO) THE DRIVER FLED THE SCENE AFTER THE CAR CRASHED AND HIS WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN.
MEANWHILE THERE WAS ONE VICTIM, WHO REMAINED IN THE BUILDING ELEVEN MINUTES AFTER FIRE FIGHTERS ARRIVED ON THE SCENE. SHE WAS TRANSPORTED TO UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AFTER SHE WAS FOUND.
(0.41-0.50) (BACK TO STUDIO) (ANCHOR IN STUDIO) THE CAR CHASE BEGAN WHEN THE POLICE ATTEMPTED TO SERVE A WARRANT TO THE DRIVER. HE TOOK
OFF AFTER THE CAR CRASHED AND POLICE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR THE HIM. MORE DETAILS TO COME AS THEY’RE MADE AVAILABLE.
2nd Place: Newspaper Design By Nick Friedman (University of North Texas)
2nd Place: TV Advertising By Brianna Kessler (Texas Wesleyan University) 10 second story board Scene 1: Actor portrayal: Two kids of different ethnicity and gender swinging in the park and holding hands. (Chinese girl and African American boy) Voice over: Before anything else, we are all human. Scene 2: A mother walks to the swings and grabs the girl as she tells her it is time to leave. As they walk off the mom scolds the girl for playing with the boy. Scene 3: The boy sitting on the swing alone sad. Voice over: It’s time to embrace diversity. Then fades to scene four. Scene 4: Love has no labels logo with hashtag. Voice over This public service announcement is brought to you by love has no labels and the ad council. 30 second story board Scene 1: Black screen with white words: one in five LGBT people feel there is little acceptance of their community. (Emotional music) Scene 2: actor portrayal: Woman walking through her community with her head down. People stare. Scene 3: Black screen with white words: Six in 10 Latinos report that discrimination is major problem. (Emotional music) Scene 4: actor portrayal: A Latino woman walking through her community with her head down. People stare. Scene 5: Black screen with white words: And a majority of African Americans report that they are not satisfied with the way they are treated in society. (Emotional music) Scene 6: actor portrayal: An African American woman walking through her community with her head down. People stare. Scene 7: actor portrayal: All three women enter same Hospital. Scene reveals they are doctors. Scene shows them saving lives. Scene 8: Black screen with white words: It is time for us to stop making snap judgements based on what we see. Scene 9: Black screen with white words: Love has no labels logo with hashtag. Voice over This public service announcement is brought to you by love has no labels and the ad council.
As TIPA convention attendees enjoyed the San Antonio activities and attractions, they never knew who might be just around the corner. Photo by Patricia Dillon, A&M-Commerce
2nd Place: Radio Sports Writing By Eddie Miller (Midwestern State University)
Time
Script
:00-:06
The University of Texas San Antonio Roadrunners defeated Old Dominion Monarchs 8-2 Friday night.
:06-:08
SFX: Bat makes contact noise with baseball and crowd cheers.
:08-:14
Roadrunners second baseman, Jesse Baker started things off early cranking out a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.
:014-:019 (Jesse Baker sound byte)
“I was just trying to hit the ball and bring my man on base home,” Baker said.
:019-:22
The Roadrunners continued to run down the Monarchs, scoring five more runs in the eighth inning.
:22-:26
Jason Marshall, UTSA head coach, knew the team had Old Dominion right where they wanted them.
:26-:28 (Coach Marshall sound byte)
“Their pitcher was getting worn down. We finally got to him.”
:28-:32
With two out of three wins in the bag for the Roadrunners, they are looking to take home another win Saturday against the Monarchs.
:32-:34 (Coach Marshall sound byte)
“It’s like a feather in your cap to have a chance to sweep.”
3rd Place: TV Sports Writing
By Israel Cano (TCU)
[TRT: 00:48.00]
The U-T-S-A Roadrunners are looking to sweep after a double header against conference foe Old Dominion this evening.
[CUE VO]
After 13 innings, the Roadrunners squeezed out a 7 to 6 win in game 1. Hoping to keep the momentum going, the Roadrunners would make the first run of game 2 in the third inning. With the score up 2 nil, the Monarchs would try to stay competitive coming within 1 at the top of the eighth. But, the Roadrunners would prove too strong--capitalizing on errors to top the Monarchs 8 to 2.
[CUE SOT] [CG= COACH JASON MARSHALL] “To come back out and be able to tack on those runs late, I think that was really encouraging.” [CUE SOT] [CG= AARON BURNS PITCHER] “We want to get the sweep of this series and move up the rankings in Conference U-S-A” [ON CAM]
The Roadrunners will head to Texas State on Tuesday before taking on Rice in Houston next weekend.
3rd Place:Radio Sports Writing
By Daniel Zepeda (Abilene Christian University)
Total Running Time: 52 seconds ANNOUNCER
A five-run, eighth inning paved the way for the UTSA Roadrunners win against Old Dominion University Friday night. The Roadrunners 8-2 win moves them to 9-5 in conference and 21-14 overall, with a chance to sweep Saturday morning.
AUDIO CLIP UTSA HEAD COACH JASON MARSHALL
“To be able to come out and tack on those runs late was really encouraging. You don’t get many chances to sweep opponents in college baseball, tomorrow we get that chance.”
ANNOUNCER
Aaron Burns picked up his sixth win of the season, going 7.1 innings and giving up two earned runs on nine hits while striking out ten.
ANNOUNCER
Jesse Baker led the way offensively, driving in two runs on a home run in the third inning. Old Dominion fought back into the game to make it 3-2 UTSA, before the Roadrunners opened things up in the bottom of the eighth.
ANNOUNCER
Geonte Jackson and Skyler Valentine each went 2-4. Every UTSA player recorded a hit and all but three players drove in a run in the overall team effort.
Critique sessions at the San Antonio Convention.
(Photo by Bradley Wilson, Midwestern State University
1st Place: TV Sports Writing
By Jeremy Villanueva (Sam Houston State University)
Cut to anchor
GOOD FRIDAY MIGHT HAVE BEEN LAST WEEK, BUT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO ROADRUNNERS CELEBRATED ITS GOOD FRIDAY TONIGHT.
VO: Cue footage of Roadrunners’ eighth inning batting, John Bormann’s RBI double
U-T-S-A CLINCHED A SERIES WIN OVER THE OLD DOMINION MONARCHS WITH AN EIGHT TO TWO VICTORY IN GAME TWO OF THE DOUBLEHEADER FRIDAY.
Cue footage of Matt Hilston’s RBI single
THE ROADRUNNERS SCORED FIVE RUNS IN THE EIGTH INNING TO SECURE THE VICTORY.
Cue footage of Kevin Markham’s RBI single
U-T-S-A HEAD COACH JASON MARSHALL SAID HIS SQUAD SEPERATED FROM THE OPPONENT WITH THE LATE INNING RUNS.
SOT :05 (CG): Josh Marshall UTSA head coach
“Anytime you can add a run or another run, you’re fortunate to get five. We had a lot of good swings there.”
VO: Cue footage of Jesse Baker’s home run
SOT :06 (CG): Jesse Baker Second Baseman Ten homeruns for the season VO: Cue footage of Old Dominion’s error
ROADRUNNERS’ SECOND BASEMAN JESSE BAKER OPENED THE SCORING WITH A THIRD INNING TWO-RUN HOMER TO NOTCH HIS FIFTH BLAST IN SIX GAMES. “Luckily, he left me a hanging curveball, and I hit it over the fence. It was a good feeling.” FOUR ERRORS DUG THE MONARCHS INTO A HOLE THEY COULDN’T ESPCAPE AS STARTING PITCHER NICK HARTMAN TOOK THE LOSS. Cue footage of Aaron Burn’s strikeout
Cue footage of UTSA celebrating after the game
Cut back to anchor
AFTER WINNING GAME ONE OF THE DOUBLEHEADER SEVEN TO SIX IN THIRTEEN INNINGS, UT-S-A HEADS INTO TOMORROW’S TILT SEARCHING FOR THE SERIES SWEEP. THE CONTEST IS SLATED FOR ELEVEN IN THE MORNING.
2nd Place: Radio Advertising
By Courtney Gilder (Midwestern State University)
30 Seconds One male and one female reader over the music Fade into Beautiful by Christina Aguilera (Up to 45% volume only) Starting at 0:52- Fading out at 1:22 (Both readers make heartfelt and deliberate) Male reading:
Words can cut like a knife. They make me feel empty inside.
Woman reading:
Whether it’s about my race, age, gender, sexuality or disability, you judge me before you know me.
Male reading: Woman reading: Both reading: Legal announcer reading:
Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love. This is public service announcement is brought to you by Love Has No Labels and the Ad Council.
News competition press conference at San Antonio Fire Academy. (Photo by Bradley Wilson, Midwestern State University)
3rd Place: Yearbook Design
By Jaitin Lulakanti (UT-Dallas)
2nd Place: Magazine Design
By Marissa Jones (Abilene Christian Un
A DRY Drastic drought conditions could mean trouble for Califronia winemakers. By Toru Hanai REUTERS
W
WINE
hile California continues to struggle with conserving water during a historically bad drought, winemakers have actually been producing tastier wine. With the drought well into its fourth year, though, the industry may be reaching the end of the vine. This week, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed an executive order requiring cities and towns to dramatically cut down on their water usage. The mandate calls for a 25 percent cut in water use over the next nine months as communities look to survive a drought that’s affected more than 98 percent of the state.
WOMEN’S HEALTH / p. 72
The order didn’t specifically target commercial efforts such as oil exploration, water bottling or agriculture – omissions that have sparked backlash from local activists – but vineyards are nonetheless finding themselves in a difficult situation. Grapes have proven to be extremely resistant to droughts, but water supplies continue to slip. Already, water supplies are delivering “a fraction” of their usual amount to some vineyards, NBC News reported. The San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts are delivering 35 percent of the water they normally do, at best, while the State Water Project, which manages water across California, is sup-
niversity)
plying just 20 percent. For some winemakers, the dwindling water supply has been manageable, especially since dry weather can produce more delicious grapes. When grapevines receive less water, they begin producing smaller grapes, and that means more flavor heavily concentrated in each one. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal last year, vineyard owner Stephanie Honig said the dry climate means vines will look deeper into the soil for water, and that process adds different flavors to the fruit. The better-tasting grapes have been a boon to wine drinkers and higher-end producers in California, but for vineyards that produce cheaper wine – about $7 a bottle or cheaper – fewer, less juicy grapes mean fewer bottles on the market, and that raises their costs at the same time as competing beverages like craft beer and sake lure customers away, NBC reported. “The scarcity of water will likely push up prices for wines, especially some of the cheaper ones,” Rowan Gormley, founder of the online retailer NakedWine, said to Fortune earlier this year. Financial consequences aren’t the only thing on the minds of winemakers, though. Grapevines may be able to withstand droughts for a certain period of time, but they cannot carry on forever – and they may reach their limit soon. Even though the plants can reach up to 100 feet below the ground to get water, the lack of precipitation could cause salt levels to rise and damage the vines. It might take a while for the plants to become severely damaged, but if they do it will take a long time to nurse them back to health. “They will shut down and save themselves, and stop producing fruit to save energy,” W. Blake Gray, who helps edit the Wine-Searcher online, told NBC. "It's not like the San Joaquin Valley will shut down overnight. But we will need a torrential downpour for a couple years in a row. In the same sense the vines didn't immediately shut down, they aren't go-
ing to immediately jump and recover.” Since wine’s popularity in America is expected to keep rising, some companies are trying to mitigate the damage by trying out new watering techniques. A company called Fruition Sciences told NBC that farmers can reduce the amount of water they use on grapevines by 40 percent without damaging them. By monitoring water intake via sensors and
Community members worry about drought conditions as the San Joaquin Valley irrigation districts are delivering 35 percent of the water they normally do. photo by John Smith
other technology, this method would also recreate the types of flavorful grapes that grow in dry weather. Whether or not this idea is viable, though, remains unclear, with some experts saying that the plants need water one way or another. If California keeps running dry, that will stay a problem going forward.
WINES BETTER DRY: Pinto Grigio White Zinfandel California Rosé Dareia Champagne
WOMEN’S HEALTH / p. 73
1st Place Magazine Design
By Belen Casillas (Stephen F. Austin State University)
3rd Place TV Advertising
By Bennett Levine (Tyler Junior College)
3rd Place: Newspaper Design By Mandy Derfler (San Antonio College)
1st Place Yearbook Design By Taylor Griffin (Baylor University)
2nd Place Yearbook Design
By Lauren Huston (Texas State University)
2nd Place TV Sports Writing
By Taylor Raglin (Stephen F. Austin State University)
Division 1 Best of Show 2nd Place Baylor Lariat (Baylor University)
3rd Place Magazine Design
By Taylor Griffin (Baylor University
y)
2nd Place Radio Advertising
By Courtney Gilder (Midwestern State University)
2016 TIPA Convention March 30 - April 1 Dallas Sheraton Hotel 400 North Olive Street Dallas
Division 2 Best of Show 2nd Place The Pine Log (Stephen F. Austin State University)
Division 3 Best of Show 1st Place The Apache Pow Wow (Tyler Junior College)
Division 3 Best of Show 3rd Place The Eagle (Northeast Texas Community College
Division 3 Best of Show 2nd Place The Rambler (Texas Wesleyan University)
Division 2 Best of Show 3rd Place NTDaily (University of North Texas)