By Jessie Hethcoat
Last weekend, the Associated Collegiate Press honored The Beacon and several other collegiate newspapers at the National College Journalism Convention in Phoenix, Ariz.
In the "Best of Show" contest, The Beacon placed seventh out of the schools in attendance in the category of weekly newspapers at four-year colleges and universities.
Student newspapers from approximately 80 colleges from throughout the country attended the convention, which included three days of journalism workshops aimed at college journalists.
Events at the convention ranged from professional critiques to seminars on reporting techniques to workshops aimed at multimedia issues.
According to the ACP convention brochure, entries were "judged for general excellence, which includes the quality of reporting, writing, editing, design, photography and examples of special project reporting and editorial leadership."
In the competition, each school submitted one issue to be judged.
The Beacon chose its Jan. 21, 2010 issue, which covered UP's connections to the devastating Haiti earthquake on Jan. 12.
The front page featured articles about Molly Hightower and Rachel Prusynski, UP alums who were volunteering in Haiti when the earthquake hit.
Hightower did not survive the quake. The front page story was headlined "Celebrating Molly."
The issue also had articles about student criticism of the University's "no excused absences" policy during the MLK Service Day, the new Chinese program in UP's curriculum, UP's men and women's basketball team coverage, album reviews and a section about student media at UP.
Beacon editor-in-chief Andy Matarrese, a senior, attributes this award to the dedication of his entire staff.
"The award is just further proof of the staff's enthusiasm," Matarrese said. "It's thanks to their hard work and dedication that we have been able to make such a good newspaper."
