Student newspaper honored with six awards

March 11, 2019 - The Student Voice newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls picked up six awards, including three first place honors, at the Collegiate Newspaper Contest during the annual convention of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association March 8 in Madison.
 
Zach Dwyer, a senior from New Hope, Minn., earned honors in news and sports reporting. He took first place for his November 2017 sports story, "Rick Bowen court dedication reflects how far UWRF basketball has come." The story told about the legacy of Falcons basketball coach Rick Bowen. Dwyer also earned second place in the category with a December 2017 story, "National anthem protests raise questions nationally, within UWRF football team." Dwyer reported on reaction on campus to football players protesting by refusing the stand for the national anthem.
 
Dwyer, editor of the Student Voice during the 2017-18 academic year, received first place in public affairs reporting for his May 2018 story "UWRF faces challenges of compression, inversion in professor’s salaries." The story examined how the salaries of senior faculty fall behind pay for junior faculty.
 
Current Student Voice editor Brooke Shepherd took first place for her December 2018 feature story, "Fitness influencer Amelia Skye tells her story." The story looked at the success Skye has had since graduating from UW-River Falls with a degree in marketing communications.
 
Lauren Simenson, a 2018 graduate with a journalism major, earned honorable mention in column writing for her April 2018 piece, "Danger and harassment can be around any corner for women." Simenson's piece argued that for women, the simple act of walking along the street should not lead to harassment and intimidation.
 
The Student Voice also continued a consistent record of receiving awards for staff-written editorials. The newspaper took third place for a February 2018 editorial, "Gun violence is horrible, but will only change if we demand it." The editorial suggested faculty, staff and students should join national protests against gun violence.
 
A total of 283 entries from 11 campus newspapers across Wisconsin were entered in the contest.
 
The Student Voice has been published since 1916. The student run news organization now produces a monthly print edition and a frequently updated website, uwrfvoice.com.
 
For further information, contact Student Voice faculty adviser and Associate Professor Andris Straumanis at andris.straumanis@uwrf.edu.