The Society of Professional Journalists announced its 2008 Mark of Excellence Awards National Winners this morning–and a familiar name is on the list.

Nate Hulings, a senior at Pacific Lutheran University and the SPJ student chapter president, received top honors for Online Opinion and Commentary. His work can be viewed on PLU WEBNEWS.

Hulings also had an Online Feature article compete in the national comeptition, but it failed to place.

The recognition is a result of  PLU’s strong showing at last month’s Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards in Missoula, Mont. Along with Hulings’ two first-placed regional awards, Morgan Root placed second for the PLU WEBNEWS feature article on sex in high school; Ted Charles recieved a second and third place award for his photography; and KCNS, PLU’s on-campus broadcast news station, won second place.

To view all the national SPJ winners, visit here.

Watch what happens when a couple of reporters from The Kitsap Sun are approached by a man claiming he is a lawyer for Westsound Bank in Bremerton, Wash. The bank closed down Friday and the man in the video is upset with the media’s presence. The reporters claim they were on public property and had every right to be there as a citizen.

Keep up the good work, media. We need to tell these stories from every angle.

Here’s a link to the video:

Reporters confronted over pictures, video

Just got word from the Society of Professional Journalists that two PLU WEBNEWS reporters will receive awards at the upcoming Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards ceremony.

Congratulations to:

Morgan Root for her Online News Reporting article on “Reporting about sex in high school” ;

Nate Hulings for his Online Feature Reporting article “Tacoma family rejoices, reflects after historic election” and for Online Opinion and Commentary.

Also, congratulations are in order for PLU first-year Ted Charles, who will receive awards for breaking news photography and general news photography.

KCNS, PLU’s television station, has won a staff award for its News at Nine TV newscast.
GO LUTES!

The globe atop the P-I building will continue spinning despite the demise of the P-I's print edition. Photo from the Washington State Library.

After 146 years of providing news to the region, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceased publication today and has gone online. Please post your reactions to the closing of the P-I as well as any comments you have about the state of print journalism.

Tell me, is the cartoon below racist?

Depending on who you believe, your answer will probably be:

1) Yes, it’s comparing Obama to a monkey.

2) No, it’s a reaction to the chimp who mauled its owner and was soon after shot by police.

3) Wow, what terrible timing.

It’s easy to see why people can’t help but feel this cartoon is racist: Obama is our first black president, he wrote the stimulus bill, and comparing blacks to monkeys is a racial slur that has existed for generations. The NAACP along with the Rev. Al Sharpton have called for a boycott of the paper and for the New York Post to fire its cartoonist. Sharpton was quoted as saying, “The cartoon in today’s New York Post is troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synanomous with monkeys.”

Here’s Al Sharpton’s reponse as seen on Keith Olberman’s MSNBC show:

Reaction from the New York Post is short and sweet, seen here:

Wednesday’s Page Six cartoon – caricaturing Monday’s police shooting of a chimpanzee in Connecticut – has created considerable controversy.

It shows two police officers standing over the chimp’s body: “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill,” one officer says.

It was meant to mock an ineptly written federal stimulus bill.

Period.

But it has been taken as something else – as a depiction of President Obama, as a thinly veiled expression of racism.

This most certainly was not its intent; to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.

However, there are some in the media and in public life who have had differences with The Post in the past – and they see the incident as an opportunity for payback.

To them, no apology is due.

Sometimes a cartoon is just a cartoon – even as the opportunists seek to make it something else.

After a short break from the blogosphere, PLU WEBNEWS is back with a vengeance.  Most of our reporters from last semester remain on staff  but we do have a few new faces…Amanda Clancey and Anna Holzemer.

Our goal this semester is two-fold: Produce news that is timely and relevant to our community and use multimedia to tell stories in a fresh, enjoyable way. While print is the glue to most news, we will also be using video, audio and photography to make sure information is transmitted in the best medium possible.

Also, we’ve set up a gmail account to field all questions, comments and story ideas. You can now reach us at: pluwebnews@gmail.com.

We intend for this blog to be consumer driven, since the stories you care about are the stories that need to be told.

Look for daily blog posts from here on out. Get ready, here we come!

Dear President-elect Obama:

First, I would like to offer congratulations on your upcoming inauguration as the 44th President of the United States of America. Your road to this moment was long and challenging, but you persevered and inspired a nation to trust your judgment as we enter a new phase of our national history.

Nevertheless, the party is over. Time to get down to business.

As a college student looking at the world around me, I have mixed feelings about my future. On one hand, I have faith that you can restore the America many of us remember: One of dreams, aspirations and the belief that anything is possible.

On the other hand, I have huge concerns about the current job market.

College is a shelter from the real world. I rarely leave campus since everything I need is within walking distance. Currently, I feel somewhat immune to the tsunami of issues pounding our country’s economy.

But not for long.

In six months, I leave my university comfort zone and enter a job market that is in peril, as well as an economy that’s seeing its toughest days since the Great Depression. Job loss hasn’t been this bad in decades and one economist says unemployment could reach 8.5 percent by the end of next year. Those numbers scare me, Mr. Obama. My confidence in your vision of change and hope is quickly altered by the reality that I could be unemployed after graduation.

As an aspiring journalist, I will make about $25,000 right out of college, so your ideals on restoring the middle class and giving them tax cuts have my attention. With a journalist’s wage, I will need government assistance to stay afloat once I start paying for rent, insurance, student loans and all other necessities.

My support for you began when I was a sophomore in college, when finding a job was the last thing on my mind. I did not care about the job market and did not have to pay bills or worry about loans. However, your inspiring rhetoric left me optimistic. I continue my support of you two years later but my outlook on life has changed. I am now looking for actions, not just words.

What I and other college students are asking from you, President-elect Obama, is to keep your promises. People like me donated to your campaign because you speak to the issues that matter to my generation. Now live up to your promises and give hard workers the tax cuts they deserve. Also, do not give up on your ambitions of renewable energy and education reform. New jobs and an educated populace are the cornerstones that will restore America’s power in the global economy and help create a new generation of educated and prosperous Americans.

I hope your words become actions and you turn our beloved country around. More so than ever, we all need a president who works hard for the people.

Sincerely,

Nate Hulings

Here’s some snow shots taken at my SeaTac residence. We received about 5 inches of snow last night and our dog is having a great time navigating through the winter wonderland. If anyone wants to submit photos from their neck of the woods, hop on the blog and throw them up so we can all see how much/little snow you’re getting!

Nate and Bandit check out the latest snow totals.

Bandit, amateur weatherdog, reports live from SeaTac.

The percentage of students who admit to cheating and stealing is at all-time high. Photo by National Louis University

We all remember the kids who cheated in high school and the ingenious ways they got away with their acts.

The Pythagorean Theorem scribbled on the hand. A peek over another classmate’s shoulder. And for the technologically savvy, the surreptitious use of calculators to solve all those impossible trigonometry problems.

However wrong or bad we thought those kids were, a new study from the Josephson Institute finds that 64 percent of high school students admit cheating on at least one test during the past year.

Before you conclude the news could not get any worse, consider more than 90 percent of the nearly 30,000 students surveyed reported being “satisfied” with their personal ethics.

America, we have a problem.

Blame it on poor parenting, apathetic teachers or the pressures of getting good grades, but regardless, a major issue remains: These cheating students represent the future leaders of our nation, yet almost all of them see no problem peeking over shoulders or having answers written on their desk.

And how are we going to shake the familiar business model of stealing and manipulating when the same study found that one-third of our country’s high school students admit swiping something from a store over the past year?

Students who cheat on exams and steal with no remorse could grow up to be CEOs who have no problem with embezzlement, evasion and obfuscation.

But it’s okay, everyone is doing it.

For the sake of our country, our schools cannot allow rampant cheating to continue.

My proposed solution? Get tough.

Zero tolerance policies at our universities provide a stark warning to any student who feels the urge to cheat. Let’sintroduce that rule at the high school level.

Instead of the harshest punishment being a zero on the assignment, let us make that the low bar. Suspension and expulsion should not be out of the question if students cheat habitually.

However, such a tough approach must be coupled with increased education and awareness about cheating and its damaging repercussions.

Across the curriculum, teachers need to start discussing ethics in classrooms by addressing the dangers of cheating. Educators must let students know that in the “real world,” cheating on taxes or in business won’t get you a zero, it’ll get you jail time.

Parents, start become more involved in your students’ academic lives. Many high school students may cheat because of intense pressure they feel to get into good colleges. Help them with their applications and test preparations; and do not be afraid to confront children whose grades are slipping.

As for students, I haven’t forgotten about you: Start valuing your own work and learn to accept the grades you earn.

I know cheating is easy and can lead to better grades. And it’s true that some habits are hard to break.

But unlike some habits, a history of cheating can prevent students from attending college, or landing that dream job.

The cheating habit must be broken by collectively deciding to value ethics and integrity over dishonesty and apathy.

Let’s not cheat our future just so we can get a better grade now. It’s not worth it.

I found some YouTube videos on ways students cheated on tests. Here are some of the most interesting/entertaining ones:

“Rubber Band Cheater”

“Coke Bottle Cheater”

And of course, the best way to cheat..Not at all!

Astrik Price, 22, helps her cousin Jaquan Price, 7, with his homework. Photo by Nate Hulings.

Astrik Price, 22, spent election night anxiously watching television at her Tacoma home while her BlackBerry buzzed with friends updating her on all the latest polling numbers.

Her father, Lee “Mitch” Mitchell, was in a different room but shared his daughter’s butterflies; and his wife, Ethel Price Mitchell, soon returned from work with her two nephews and niece.

Then they waited.

As states began to fill in red and blue, cautious optimism filled the Price-Mitchell residence.

Jaquan, Jalondre and Marisha, ages 7, 5 and 4 respectively, ran to Astrik every time she let out a scream of anger or excitement.

“How many points does he need now?” Astrik recalls Jaquan asking.

Then it happened.

They heard the words: Barack Obama will be your next President of the United States of America.

And like countless other black families across the country, the Price-Mitchells shed tears centuries in the making.

The Price-Mitchell family is part of the black minority that makes up 13 percent of the United States population. That number is nearly identical in the Tacoma area, where the family has lived for the past 17 years. Blacks delivered overwhelmingly for President-elect Obama, with 95 percent of their vote.

Amongst the screams and hugs, each member of the Price-Mitchell family began to realize that being black in America would never have the same meaning.

It’s the issues

Being black was never a campaign issue for Obama, and Mitch respected that about him. When Obama originally emerged as a presidential candidate, Mitch, 52, asked the same questions a 52-year-old white man would ask: Who was this guy? What does he stand for? What are his values?

Lee “Mitch” Mitchell

Mitch said Obama’s promise of reform, not merely the historical implications of a minority president was what sold him to the young senator from Illinois.

“If a white person would have run on the same issues, I think they would have been elected,” Mitch said. “It wasn’t necessarily his goal to be the first black president.”

The belief a candidate must run on of issues first crossed generational lines in the Price-Mitchell household. His daughter Astrik said Obama’s stance on education was what led to her support.

And while no one in the family neglects the fact that Obama is biracial—they believed he was the best person for the job and that is all that matters.

Racism takes new form

The Price-Mitchell family also sees the election of Obama as a huge step in the right direction for race relations.

Steps that began in an enslaved South, marched through the streets of Birmingham, and now stand at the steps of the White House.

Mitch remembers when being black meant subservience to whites. But now he says Obama’s election provides motivation to blacks and all other races to claim their stake in politics and power.

“We have a new generation with fresh ideas and fresh concepts,” Mitch said. The “old guard” of powerful, white men is waning, he added.

But those days of the “old guard” and shattered dreams still remain fresh in Mitch’s mind.

His generation saw the assassination of civil right’s leader and peace advocate, Martin Luther King, Jr. The death dashed the hope of progress and equality and Mitch soon found himself resigned to the fact he may never see a black president.

However, King’s dream was fulfilled through Obama’s election, Mitch said. The content of one’s character finally trumped skin color.

So as the former slave state of Virginia turned blue on Election Day, all Mitch could think about was how far this country had come.

“It was amazing to see the most racist people in the country decide to do something not because of the candidate’s skin,” Mitch said.

Ethel Price Mitchell

Racist whites were not the only demographic that kept previous generations from progressing beyond skin color, Ethel said. Personally, the 55-year-old’s daughter, Astrik, was the key to unlocking her own hesitations about other races.

“I came out of it along time ago once Astrik had friends of all races, color, creeds,” Ethel said. “That brought me out of racism a long time ago. I don’t see color, I just see people.”

Seeing her daughter’s generation place less importance on race is a “breath of fresh air,” she added.

However, fresh air is occasionally polluted.

Multiple death threats toward Obama during his campaign for presidency instilled old feelings of fear and uncertainty in the black community.

“People that don’t like blacks are going to be just as open about their bigotry,” Mitch said.

Bigotry that gestured a gun-shape hand toward Astrik’s Obama t-shirt.

Bigotry that Mitch says “pretends to be your friend but would not even let you clean out their doghouse.”

Bigotry that keeps the black community on edge despite the historic success of this election.

Hope for the new generation

The age group that might benefit most from Obama’s election was too young to vote.

Ethel Price (far right) helps her nephew Jalondre Price, 5, with his homework as his sister Marisha Price, 4, helps him spell his name. The family spent the night of the election watching television and celebrating Barack Obama’s victory. Photo by Nate Hulings

Astrik’s three cousins, ranging from 4 to 7 years old, may not know much more than the President-elect’s name but being black in America will take on a whole new meaning for their generation, Astrik said.

“Right now they can only see that this is a black man that’s doing something big,” Astrik said.

That something big is partly becoming their generation’s ethnic role model. Jaquan, Jalondre and Marisha may not remember Election Day down the road but they will forever benefit from growing up with a minority president, Astrik noted.

She believes this particularly rings true for the male black population.

Current role models for the young black male demographic are generally rappers, Astrik admits.

Many young blacks relate to the rapper narrative of living in poverty and making it big through speaking their mind. Now those same blacks see a biracial president that shares their story of struggle and overcoming the odds.

That is the story that Astrik’s father thought died with King and an ideal her mother thought improbable.

“We can tell our children, ‘Look, you can be president,” Astrik said. “Before how could that possibly be? But now, they will actually believe it.”