Collegiate Times staff wins 20 Virginia Press Association Awards

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 17, 2009 – The Collegiate Times, the independent student-run newspaper that serves the Virginia Tech community, received 20 awards from the Virginia Press Association's (VPA) College Newspaper Contest. The awards, presented for work published in 2008, were announced April 8 at the VPA headquarters in Glen Allen, Va.

“In the rush of the everyday production of the newspaper, it is easy to lose track of the great work that our student journalists do day in and day out,” said 2008-09 Collegiate Times Editor David Grant, of Burke, Va., a senior majoring in religious studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “To be on the receiving end of these awards is a testament to hard work and great skill as well as a challenge to both the winners and their successors to do great things in student media.”

The following awards were made by the VPA to the Collegiate Times:

• Art/illustrations, 1st place, Amie Steele of Fredericksburg, Va., a 2008 graduate in apparel, housing and resource management in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Art/illustrations, 2nd place, John Kayrouz of Salem, Va., a sophomore majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Art/illustrations, 3rd place, Mina Noorbakhsh of Vienna, Va., a freshman majoring in international studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Excellence of front page design, 2nd place, Collegiate Times staff
• Excellence of general makeup, 3rd place, Collegiate Times staff
• Excellence of headline writing, 2nd place, Grant
• Excellence of page design, 3rd place, Sharon Pritz of Woodbridge, Va., a 2008 graduate in English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Photo illustration, 2nd place, Shaozhuo Cui of Changchun, China, a graduate student in business administration in the Pamplin College of Business
• Picture story or essay, 1st place, Sally Bull of Chesterfield, Va., a senior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Sports photo, 1st place, Mark Umansky of Fairfax, Va., a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering
• Column writing, 2nd place, Daron Williams of Christiansburg, Va., a graduate student majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Critical writing, 1st place, Jonathan Yi of Woodbridge, Va., a junior majoring in management in the Pamplin College of Business
• Editorial writing, 1st place, Collegiate Times Editorial Board
• Feature writing, 1st place, Taylor Shapiro of Middleburg, Va., a senior majoring in English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Feature writing, 2nd place, Shapiro
• Sports writing, 1st place, Thomas Emerick of Herndon, Va., a junior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Sports writing, 2nd place, Brian Wright of Springfield, Va., a senior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Sports writing, 3rd place, Wright
• Spot news writing, 2nd place, Gordon Block of Charlottesville, Va., a junior majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences; Caleb Fleming of Warrenton, Va., a sophomore majoring economics in the College of Science; Meg Miller of Roanoke, Va., a junior majoring in English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences; Ashley Oliver of Fredericksburg, Va., a sophomore majoring in classical studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences; and Zach Crizer of Midlothian, Va., a freshman majoring in communication in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences
• Spot news writing, 3rd place, Grant and Fleming

The Collegiate Times, Blacksburg's oldest newspaper, was established in 1903 at Virginia Tech. It began as a sports-oriented newspaper but has grown into a student-run, daily publication covering campus news, features, sports, and opinions. The newspaper stopped receiving university funds in 1979 and has since supported its operations with advertising and subscription revenues. The online version of the Collegiate Times officially launched in August 1995.

The Collegiate Times is the recipient of numerous awards. Most recently it won the 2008 Best of Collegiate Design Award presented by College Media Advisors and the 2009 Virginia Press Association First Amendment Award. A complete list of the Collegiate Times’ awards for the 2006-09 is available online.

The Collegiate Times is staffed wholly by students, who have ultimate authority over all content and personnel issues. Faculty advisor for the paper is Lynn Nystrom, director of news and external relations for the university’s College of Engineering. Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech is the nonprofit parent company of student media divisions at Virginia Tech, including The Bugle yearbook, College Media Solutions advertising, Collegiate Times newspaper, Silhouette literary and arts magazine, Student Publications Photography Staff, VTTV33 student television, and WUVT 90.7 FM independent radio.

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