Belmont students won five awards in the 2009 Best of South competition of the Southeast Journalism Conference, including first place in Best Magazine for Connect, an annual publication that targets an audience of new freshmen and transfer students.
“I found this to be the exact kind of guide students need when they enter campus for the first time,” the judge for Best Magazine wrote. “This is a top-notch job all the way.”
Students Jessica Walker and Abby Sheldon were winners in the onsite competition, where students participate in deadline-driven news, feature and multimedia categories, at the conference Feb. 11-13 at Southeastern Louisiana University.
These winners were chosen from 330 entries from 32 SEJC member schools, which include Auburn, Emory, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and other large universities.
The SEJC contests and the annual conference function as journalism teaching tools. Not only are all entries given a rating, but the judges, chosen from outside the conference region, are encouraged to provide comments and professional advice.
Awards received were as follows:
Best of South Competition:
Best Magazine: Connect, First Place
Journalism Research Paper: Jessica Walker, Third Place
Magazine Page Designer: Kristin Clements, Third Place
Newswriting: Erin Carson, Fifth Place
Sportswriting: Pierce Greenberg, Seventh Place
Onsite Competition:
Health Reporting: Jessica Walker, Second Place
Media Ethics: Abby Sheldon, Second Place
Students Receive Multiple Awards at Southeast Journalism Conference
Alumnus Bob Schatz Publishes New Book
Belmont alumnus Bob Schatz (’77), a commercial photographer, recently released his fifth book, Nashville by Design: Architectural Treasures. The book is the first released under his new publishing company, and it is already getting rave reviews. Among the interesting architecture that is featured is one of Schatz’s favorite places, the Belmont Mansion.
Click here to read a review from The Tennessean, and click here to read a profile of Schatz from NCompass magazine.
Hoogestraat Presents at AAHPERD Conference
Fran Hoogestraat, assistant professor of sport science, presented “Can Sport Teams Solve Social Problems?” at the Southern District of the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) conference, which was held in Myrtle Beach this week.
Jensen Presents Thesis at Sports Medicine Conference
Emily Jensen, Sport Science adjunct instructor, is presenting her thesis, “Prevalence of Childhood Obesity: A Study on Bowling Green, KY Middle School Students,” at the Southeast American College of Sports Medicine conference in Greenville, SC. The conference includes universities and sports medicine professionals from the southeast United States.
Journalism Alumnus Co-hosts Nashville’s New Sports Talk Show
Henry Nichols (Journalism ‘07) is co-hosting a new sports radio talk show on Sports Radio AM 560 WNSR called “Sports XTRA” on weekdays at 6 p.m. Sports XTRA, like AM-560’s other established shows, has a listener-driven format. From the Titans and Predators to Vanderbilt, Belmont, Lipscomb and TSU, all topics are welcomed for discussion. In addition to currently covering the Titans and other NFL teams for CBSsports.com, Nichols has written for Rivals.com, The City Paper and The Tennessean. Nichols has also edited for Athlon Magazine and Global Radio News (London, UK).
Alumnus Troy Senik Guests on ‘Glenn Beck’
Troy Senik, a 2005 graduate of Belmont’s Political Science program, was a guest on the “Glenn Beck” program on Feb. 5. Senik, a contributing editor for the Center of Individual Freedom in California, spoke on California’s current fiscal crisis.
Senik told Beck, “The reality is, in California… the legislature has taken one of the 10 biggest economies in the world and managed to saddle up with some of the highest sales taxes, the highest income taxes, the highest car taxes that are around, and they’ve still driven it to the verge of bankruptcy… Our deficit, what we weren’t able to pay, is the same size of the economy of Croatia.”
When Beck asked if the rest of the country was bailing California out, Senik replied, “Well, it’s getting a certain amount of federal assistance. It hasn’t gotten as much as it would like and hopefully it won’t… I think that it would inspire a popular backlash, not only because we’ve been on display for the entire nation as an example of failed government, but also, California has that cultural thing about it that, you know, we have always given off this vibe that we’re just going to do whatever we want. And in this case, we’ve done it to complete excess. And I think the rest of the nation rightly thinks, ‘You guys need to sober up.’”
Senik has served as a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Belmont University and his master’s degree from Pepperdine University.
Belmont Speech and Debate Team Cleans Up in Border Wars Tournament
The Belmont University speech and debate team won several awards at the “Border Wars” debate and events tournament held at Kansas Wesleyan University last week. Out of the 20 schools competing, the Belmont team was recognized as the overall first place individual events team and the second place individual events/debate team. Eric Schoen, Kate Tully and Nicole Bright were named the top overall individual events competitors. Click the more button below to view all of the awards received by Belmont students.
College of Law Opens Application Cycle for the Charter Class
On Mon., Feb. 15, the Belmont University College of Law will begin accepting applications from individuals who seek to join the Charter Class. The Charter Class will enroll in August of 2011. The College of Law wishes to enroll a highly qualified and diverse student body.
Applicants are required to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and register with the Law School Admission Council’s Credential Assembly Service. Furthermore, applicants can choose an Early Decision option or Regular Decision option. Please review the College of Law Web page for more details about these options and further information about the admissions process.
Leukemia Didn’t Beat Belmont Senior
Belmont women’s basketball senior LaWanna Holiday (Henderson, Tenn.) was the subject of a feature story in the February 11 edition of The Tennessean.
Holiday sat down with reporter Mike Organ to detail her ongoing battle with leukemia and return to the basketball court after her diagnosis last summer.
Click here for the complete story.
‘Fast Food Nation’ Author Eric Schlosser to Speak at Belmont
Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation and co-producer of the award-winning documentary Food, Inc., will speak at Belmont University on Mon., Feb. 15 about the health, security and sustainability of the nation’s food supply. The 7 p.m. event will be held at Belmont Heights Baptist Church (2100 Belmont Blvd.) and is free and open to the public.
As an investigative journalist, Schlosser tries to give a voice to people at the margins of society. His aim is to shed light on worlds that are too often hidden. Schlosser’s first book, Fast Food Nation (2001), helped start a revolution in how Americans think about what they eat. It has been translated into more than 20 languages and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for two years. Schlosser also served as an executive producer and co-wrote the feature film Fast Food Nation (2006), and he was a co-producer of the award-winning documentary, Food, Inc., a film about how complicated and compromised the once simple process of growing crops and raising livestock has become.
Schlosser’s visit is part of Belmont’s ongoing campus-wide academic theme for 2009-10, “A Paradise Lost.” Special events and lectures are being presented to help students, faculty and staff engage a myriad of questions surrounding issues of sustainability, broadly defined. Issues covered throughout the year include exploration in topics such as the environment, ecology and interactions between and among organisms and their surroundings.
Click here to read an interview Schlosser did last week with Chapter16.org, which previews his Belmont University visit.
