The Forge, an award winning student newspaper. So says the staff box on the Perspectives page.
On April 18, six members of The Forge proved once again that statement to be true. I congratulate this year’s newspaper staff as a whole and especially six outstanding journalists who have proven they can be successful in one of the most competitive atmospheres of journalism.
At the national spring convention hosted by Journalism Education Association / National Scholastic Press Association, the six students pitted their skills against more than 1500 students (just a portion of the 4500 students who attended) who participated in the competition phase. Seniors Wendy Echeverria (Voice editor), Zac Estrada Rosales (News and Photo Editor), Danny Langhorne (Editor in Chief), James Yee (Entertainment editor), and juniors Minerva Peralta (Sports Reporter), and Maria Vallejo (Sports editor), attended the convention and competed.
Individual recognition was given to three of them: Danny Langhorne and James Yee earned honorable mentions in commentary and editorial writing, respectively. And Zac Estrada Rosales won an excellent award in news writing.
It takes a great deal of courage to walk into a room full of up to 300 people and pit personal writing skills against other. These Forge staff members did just that.
To sit there, to try to write a perfect story by hand, completing the story and not giving up makes each Forge member who attended and competed an awesome journalist.
Within the three day conference were competitions in every aspect of journalism / media / communication. The structure of the writing contest is a timed, two hour long writing experience. Each competitor needs to listen to a speaker for about 30-40 minutes. Questions are allowed for about 15 minutes to supplement the fact sheet that each student is given. All writing is by hand and must be finished in the time allotted. No breaks are given and if instructions are not followed, the entry is disqualified. The judges are a mix of journalism advisers, professional journalists and college graduate students and professors. There are moderators who, as in any writing test, monitor the situation
This competitive tradition dates to the earliest beginnings of The Forge, as evidenced in our archives. The Southern California Journalism Education Association has a writing and scholarship competition every year. On that organization’s permanent Sweepstakes Trophy, The Forge is listed many times as the winner.
Individual recognition is not the only criteria for being “award winning” Forge. Every year, The Forge sends six representative issues are selected and submitted to the be critiqued and judged by The National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia (University) Scholastic Press Association. Once again, The Forge was awarded a Gold Medal from the CSPA and First Place from NSPA.
I am so proud of them.
-Ruth Bartz
Adviser to The Forge since 1985.
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Congratulations to yet another group of award-winning Forge writers!
I served as Forge editor during my junior year at SBHS, 1966-67, and as Page One editor during my senior year, 1967-68, under the guidance of Mrs. Dorothy Brubeck (yes, she was the sister-in-law of the great jazz artist, Dave Brubeck, whose also musical older brother, Henry, was Dorothy's husband). One of my fondest memories is the day I had to drop off the Forge page proofs at Dorothy and Henry's home. She invited me in to meet Dave and his wife, Ione! Another memory is meeting Martha Graham, the great dancer, an alumna from the class of 1916.
The skills that I learned during those two intense years on the staff have served me well during the last 40 years. I have always been proud to have been a member of The Forge staff.
Congratulations to all of you (and to you as well, Ruth) on keeping the fine tradition of The Forge alive and well! The old saying is true: "One a Don, always a Don!"
I'll be in Santa Barbara the first weekend of October this fall for our fortieth Class of 1968 reunion for which I am serving as editor of our Bio Booklet. For the first time this year it is a "virtual," online production.
Best wishes,
Beccy Cole, Class of 1968
(now Rebecca Cole-Turner, Ph.D.)
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