Pioneer Times named winner of press association awards

The Pioneer Times has won four awards in the annual Better College Newspaper Contest sponsored by the New Jersey Press Association.

Robin Kavanagh, the paper’s online editor, won first place award for opinion writing and second place for layout and design. In the opinion category, Kavanagh topped the list of 24 entries for two editorials, one criticizing the university for refusing to make the campus police log available, another urging members of the campus to make winter graduation as big a celebration as the one held in May.

Under state law last year, the university was not required to release police log material because it was considered part of an ongoing investigation. In July 2002 the state adopted changes to the law and a campus reporter recently successfully petitioned the university for similar material using the Open Records Act.

Kavanagh also won second place for the layout of two front pages, the March 27, 2002 issue, and the May 8, 2002 issue; there were nine entries. Kavanagh is a senior majoring in communication.

Dan Diaz, who graduated in May 2002 with a B.A. in communication, won first place in the feature-writing category; there were 28 entries. Diaz was singled out for his profile of David Rothman, the father of Jeffrey Rothman, a William Paterson University student who died during spring break 2001 while on a vacation with members of his fraternity.

Jenifer Petrocca won second place in the Arts and Entertainment/Critical Writing category for two movie reviews, including one that suggested viewers should disregard critics and follow their own instincts when selecting a film to watch. Petrocca is a senior majoring in communication; there were 26 entries in her category.

The contest, which covered the 2002 calendar year, attracted 250 entries from 16 New Jersey college papers and was judged by members of the NJPA, including editors from the Asbury Park Press, the Press of Atlantic City and the Daily News. An awards ceremony is scheduled for April 3 at the Asbury Park Press.

The Pioneer Times is published every other week during the academic year under the auspices of the Communication Department with funding provided by the University. Students from across the University, regardless of their major, are welcome to write, edit and take photographs.

The paper is advised by Dr. Tina Lesher and Prof. Elizabeth Birge, both of the communication department.

March 27, 2003 Issue