Student newspaper wins 10 awards

NEW PALTZ — The Oracle, the student newspaper of the State University of New York at New Paltz, recently received nine awards from the 2003 Society for Collegiate Journalists (SCJ) college level contest and one award from the New York Press Association (NYPA).

The awards the Oracle won include second place for online newspaper; first place for sports news by 2003 alumna, Erika Busch; first place for a photo essay titled “War and Peace in NYC;” and first place for a column titled, “Plagued with the Seinfeld Syndrome” by senior Chastity Harrington.

“As aspiring journalists, winning these awards is a great honor,” said junior Jessika M. Pasko, managing editor and president of the New Paltz chapter of SCJ. “It is so encouraging to have our hard work recognized and rewarded. I hope we can continue to provide students with a quality newspaper that is entertaining, informative and well written, and to continue to strive for improved quality.”

Other awards received by the Oracle include: a third-place award for continuing coverage of the “Tuition Hike;” a third-place award for an editorial cartoon, a third-place award for layout design; a third-place award for a column by Pasko, and an honorable mention for a sports column.

In addition to the SCJ awards, the Oracle also won first place for best newspaper Web site editorial (Division 2) from the New York Press Association (NYPA) 2003 Better College Newspaper Contest.

The Oracle is fully staffed and produced by SUNY New Paltz students. In addition to covering campus events, the weekly paper reports on community and regional issues.

The Society for Collegiate Journalists is the nation’s oldest honors society for students of mass communication and journalism, with chapters on more than 100 campuses. The contest is judged entirely by professional journalists.