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Vol. 92, No. 48 Monday, April 7, 2014
Newspaper wins state awards
Steps toward satisfactory salaries JMU faculty rank less satisfied with pay than state average By Kyle hightower contributing writer
The Breeze receives Virginia Press Association awards, wins best mid-sized non-daily in Va. The Breeze, the twice-weekly student newspaper, has been named the top mid-sized, non-daily newspaper in the state by the Virginia Press Association. The newspaper, the only student publication in a category of professional, community newspapers, received the association’s grand prize sweepstakes for overall excellence in news and advertising. The grand prize sweepstakes was the staff ’s most significant honor at Saturday’s VPA annual meeting held outside Richmond. The Breeze competed in a division that includes nearly four dozen non-daily newspapers with circulations of 5,000 to 9,999. In addition to the grand prize sweepstakes, The Breeze received three best-in-show honors among all 100-plus non-daily newspapers. These awards are chosen from among the first-place winners in each of the VPA contest’s core competition areas: writing, art, photography, presentation and advertising. The entire Breeze staff received a best-in-show honor for its general makeup, or design, of the newspaper. “For a student-produced publication, The Breeze shows a very impressive consistency of style and sense of relative play,” the judges wrote. “These people are doing excellent work.” Two staffers also won bestin-show honors. Tori Smith, the newspaper’s newly named advertising creative director, won a non-daily best-in-show award for her advertisement campaign design for Macado’s restaurant. Smith’s ads were then deemed “best of the best,” making them the judge’s choice for best-designed entry among all bestof-show winners, which included major daily publications, non-dailies and specialty publications. Spencer Ward received a bestin-show honor for his editorial cartoons. The winning art was a cartoon about the constant use of social media and the rapid rise and fall of social-media outlets’ popularity. A judge called Ward’s work a “good illustration of how quickly the social media world changes and also of how little we really communicate with each other.” In addition to these major awards, The Breeze also took home 10 first-place, five second-place and three third-place honors in various news and advertising categories for work completed in 2013. The Breeze competed in the non-daily category with circulations between 5,000 and 9,999. The Breeze circulates 9,500 newspapers on Mondays and Thursdays.
blair rosen / the breeze
4/7 Inside
3 Jean Claude Nkundwa news Escaping violence
tells story of his escape from genocide.
6 North Korea is
opinion Kim Jong uh-oh
getting a little too big for its britches.
7 The new app Yik life Say what?
Yak brings a new meaning to gossip.
9 In a three game series
sports Dukes sweep Tigers
vs. Towson, the Dukes outscore the Tigers 30-2.
see pay, page 4
THE ROCK DOESN’T STOP The Breeze’s photographers take on Macrock XVII. See photos of this past weekend’s festival on PAGE 9 and online at breezejmu.org.
matt schmachtenberg / the breeze
Come one, come all
-staff report
For more information and a rundown of individual honors The Breeze received check out page 5.
Out of 10 professors randomly questioned at JMU, none knew that JMU topped its category in the state for its faculty pay, according to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia’s Joint Legislature and Review Committee report on academic spending and workload at Virginia’s public colleges and universities. Thirty percent of JMU’s faculty seem to be “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their salary, though when confronted with the facts about their pay, none of the professors would comment on whether or not it altered their degree of satisfaction. Considering the Virginia statewide average of professors satisfied with their payis around 40 percent, according to the same report, the low numbers from the JMU faculty could raise some concerns. The report also states that the overall statewide satisfaction rate among Virginia faculty members is on the rise for the first time in a few years, and may be the result of a recent and statewide raise. “It’s moving in the right direction,” David McGraw, the speaker of JMU’s
faculty senate said about the JLARC report. What goes into professors’, coaches’ and other faculty and staff salaries all around Virginia public colleges can vary widely by discipline, location, professional standards and market demand. Virginia colleges are categorized as doctorate-granting, master’s-level or baccalaureate (granting bachelor’s degrees). JMU is a master’s-level university, as are Norfolk State, Radford University, University of Mary Washington, Longwood University, Christopher Newport University and Virginia State University. The six doctorate-granting universities, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Tech University, College of William & Mary, George Mason University and Old Dominion University, typically pay their faculty more on average than the other public colleges in the state, roughly ranging from $76,000 to $96,000 per year based on appropriated average salary. In its master’s category, JMU has the highest appropriated average
Football program invites student body to take part in practice on Saturday By Wayne epps jr. The Breeze
The football team makes up less than half a percent of the general student body — the disparity is obvious. But what is also fairly obvious is the importance of the 20,000-strong student body supporting the 80-some players on Saturdays during the fall. With head coach Everett Withers in his third full month on the job and the Dukes in the heart of their spring practice period, JMU held its first football Student Appreciation Day at Bridgeforth Stadium on Saturday, and more than 820 students checked in. Beginning at 11:00 a.m., students filed in Gate C at the stadium. But instead of taking the turn into the stands, they could grab a spot on the sidelines to watch warm-ups and the stretching portion of practice. Students gathered around players on the field for a brief one-on-one circle blocking drill, with Withers and his assistants hyping up the crowd as they picked players to match up with one another. As the
day progressed, students had the opportunity to directly participate in drills. From holding blocking bags, to running routes and directly interacting with players and coaches, attendees got the full team experience throughout the early afternoon. “I’ve always wanted to stand on the football field, so that was really cool,” sophomore nursing major Kaicee Klock said. “And then just being so close to the football players is just kind of surreal.” Students also toured the locker room, taking pictures and trying on helmets and pads. The club level of Bridgeforth was open for tours as well. Free T-shirts as well as hot dogs and wings were given away at Gate C, and senior philosophy major Ryan “DJ Ryan Clark” Slocum provided a live music mix to pump through Bridgeforth’s speakers. The event may have fostered a stronger bond between students and the football program. It’s a connection that could potentially pay off in attendance and support in the fall. see football, page 10
danielle epifanio / the breeze
Students had the opportunity to watch a one-on-one circle blocking drill and participate during Saturday’s first football Student Appreciation Day.