Student Voice wins six awards

MADISON -- The Student Voice at UW-River Falls picked up six awards during the annual convention of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, including three first place honors.

The 2018 Collegiate Newspaper Contest awards were announced Friday, March 8, in Madison.

Zach Dwyer, a senior from New Hope, Minnesota, earned honors in news and sports reporting. He won a first place award 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, who served as editor of the Student Voice during the 2017-2018 academic year, won first place in public affairs reporting for his May 2018 story "UWRF faces challenges of compression, inversion in professors salaries." The story examined how the salaries of senior faculty all behind pay for junior faculty.

Another first place winner is Brooke Shepherd, this semester's editor, who earned an award 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 UWRF 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 winning awards for staff-written editorials. The newspaper won 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.