Countywide : Students Receive Journalism Awards

The 1993 Times Orange County High School Journalism Awards were handed out this week to the best and the brightest of the county’s young journalists and included a special award to the newspaper staff that covered the murder of honor student Stuart A. Tay.

A first-time Editor’s Prize for Special Merit was presented to editor Elizabeth Bangs and the staff of Fullerton’s Sunny Hills High School newspaper, Accolade, for their coverage of the arrest of their classmates in connection with the December killing of Tay, a student at Foothills High, Santa Ana. A check for $500 for the school’s journalism program accompanied the award.

Fullerton High’s Brian Singer won $500 for the best news story for covering the death of another student. Singer’s story about the murder of Angel Gonzalez was cited by judges for its solid reporting and attention to detail.

Amy Suarez of Troy High School in Fullerton was awarded top honors in the feature writing category and $250 for her story on teen abortion, which judges said displayed strong use of relevant statistics and informative sources.

Judges unanimously selected the column submitted by Yvonne Chiu of Sunny Hills High as the best staff editorial. Chiu was awarded $250 for her editorial exploring the school district’s unwillingness to promote AIDS awareness. Judges said her controversial piece presented a strong, clear argument in a professional manner.

Villa Park High’s Oracle won best single issue honors among papers of more than four pages, with the judges citing the quality of its editorials and school news coverage.

The New Cavalier of Santiago High in Garden Grove won the same honor among papers with fewer than four pages and was commended by judges for its strong coverage of school and district news in a relatively small space.

Checks for $1,000 were presented to the staffs of both the Oracle and the New Cavalier for the benefit of the schools’ journalism programs.

The best feature photo and $250 went to Samantha Feldman of Foothill High for her photograph of a wrestling match. Judges cited the facial expressions captured during peak action.

Peter Lythgoe of Sonora High in La Habra won best sports story and $250 for his offbeat profile of an up-and-coming sports announcer, an article that the judges said contrasted well with the usual athletic fare.

The dramatic design of an illustration of Malcolm X by Bin Weng of Woodbridge High in Irvine won him first place in the best cartoon/illustration category, an award accompanied by a $250 check. Weng’s use of contrast and the strong, immediate message it conveys were praised by the judges.