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Student journalists win awards

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Contributed by: Michael Hoffman on 5/31/2007

When Ricardo Gomez was tardy for first period at Channel Islands High School, the system kicked in. Under the school's policy, when you miss the start of class, you cannot join the rest of the student body until the start of second period.

Gomez, a senior, had an outlet, though. As a member of the campus newspaper, he wrote a first-person opinion piece criticizing the policy that kept him out of class.

"I got a lot of positive reaction from students and faculty," said Gomez, who will start in the fall at the University of California at Berkeley.

The policy hasn't changed. It remains part of the school administration's tough stance against getting to class late. But the opportunity to criticize the way things work, a basic tenant of our democratic nation, gave him a chance to react.

Gomez was among about 80 Ventura County high school students, teachers and family members attending the Ventura County Star's Journalism Awards presentation Thursday. (A complete list of the winners is below.)

As part of its efforts to promote journalism and its values in the community, the Star hosts an annual journalism contest for the area's high school students. The categories range from news to photographs to design.

Star editor Joe Howry reminded the students about the important of a free press in a free nation. Journalists help the nation govern itself, he said.

"You are protecting our democracy," he said. "Democracy doesn't exist without a free press."

At our area high schools, journalism is challenged. Some programs that were strong when the Star started its journalism awards no longer exist. It takes a combination of several things to make a student newspaper happen. You need a good instructor, a supportive administration and students who are ready to be challenged.

At Channel Islands High School, a former Star reporter oversees the student newspaper. John Grennan, who covered sports for the paper, was among the teachers at the ceremony. Four of his students, including Gomez and two others who attended, were among the winners. While the students do not spend a lot of time on the history of journalism, they get the idea, he said.

"One of the things they are not afraid to do is to challenge the establishment," he said.

Like other student newspapers, not everything at Channel Islands is serious. Cartoonist Danniel Ramirez, who will start at UC Santa Cruz in the fall, won first place for an illustration showing a boy asking out a girl. Photographer Eric Castaneda won first in the feature photo category for shot of a friend making a skateboard jump. Castaneda will report to Camp Pendleton on July 2 for Marine Corps boot camp.

But even with those lighter materials, these young journalists have joined a tradition that has a vital role in our nation. The free flow of information and images helps keep our nation strong.

Here's the list of the winners of the Star's Journalism Awards.

News
First, Westlake High School, Chelsea Ma. Anatomy Visit to Houston Inspires Aspiring M.D.s; Second, Newbury Park High School, Devon Lysenstoen, Bomb Threat Closes School; Third, Westlake High School, Kelsey Kaehler, Students United to Support U.S. Troops; Honorable Mention, La Reina High School, Alexa Shaw, Patient wings Flies; Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Chloes Holmes, The Hillary Question: We ready for a Madame?

Series
First, Thousand Oaks High School, Danielle Erb, Every Lancer Has a Story Senior Dario Leekam; Second, Buena High School, Myrna Reynoso, Shoes on Campus; Third, Pacifica High School, Raquel Esparza, Genesis Fernandez, Looking at Other Schools; Honorable Mention, Pacifica High School, Nadia Rodriguez, A Day in the Life of: A Chimney Sweep.

Sports
First, Westlake High School, Tiffany Loh, Swim's Versatility May Win League Finals and CIF; Second, Newbury Park High School, Kylie Foo, They Just Keep Runnin'; Third, Newbury Park High School, Mark Alphonso, Volleyball Aims for a Striking Season; Honorable Mention, Buena High School, Megan Jackson, Dogs Fly High; Honorable Mention, Newbury Park High School, Daniel Santos, Boys baseball take first base .

Sports Feature
First, Westlake High School, Pat Barraza, From Red Zone to End Zone; Second, Rio Mesa School, Daniela Garcia, Cross Country: The Worst Part is the Running; Third, La Reina High School, Natalie Cannon, The untold story of dressage riding; Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Alyssa Kent, Change of pace for Super Bowl XLI.

Opinion
First, Thousand Oaks High School, Alan Yang, Touching the Surface & Foreign Language; Second, Agoura High School, Aviya McGuire, Is it worth it?; Third, La Reina High School, Kristen Miller, Get Informed; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Samantha Elsea, Race for Survival; Honorable Mention, Pacifica High School, Audrey Gonzalez, Love Conquest All and Has No barriers.

Column
First, Westlake High School, Jaimie Li, Help! Im stuck in rehab with Isaiah Washington; Second, Westlake High School, Cory Scholl-Spencer, Forget Hormones! It's All Mental; Third, Buena High School, Myrna Reynoso, Cheating the System; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Bethany Reed, Fox Exploits New Audience; Honorable Mention, Rio Mesa School, Daniela Garcia, Sorry Parsi, Money Still Can't Buy Talent; Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Aviya McGuire, My "comments" on myspace.

Review
First, Buena High School, Alicia Velo, Star Wars: Leave as is; Second, Thousand Oaks High School. Austin Plummer, 300; Third, Thousand Oaks High School, Sean Greene, Recide for Excitement; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Katie Longawa, Reno 911! Is under Fire.

Feature
First, Channel Islands High School, Ricardo Gomez, Academic Cheating Rampant in CI"s Honors/AP Classes, Survey Finds; Second, Thousand Oaks High School, Danielle Erb, Why have such high expectations!; Third, Westlake High School, Spencer Scholoss, Cell phones spell trouble for teens; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Janet Rho, The Drumline; Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Josh Nebenzhal, Bringing hope to Honduras; Spotlight on Ethank Kuperberg , Honorable Mention, Rio Mesa School, Brent Merrill, Spartan Gaming Champion Seeks More Victories.

News Photo
Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Brittany Fels, Students photo; Honorable Mention, Westlake High School, Jackie Borowski, Football; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Matt Stevenson, Students playing football.

Feature Photo
First, Channel Islands High School, Eric Castaneda, Defyin Gravity; Second, Channel Islands High School, Ricardo Gomez, Dr. Jackson Resigns; Third, Thousand Oaks High School, Matt Stevenson, Drummers; Honorable Mention, Pacifica High School, Dustin Riley, Trash Can.

Sports Photo
First, Channel Islands High School, Geralynn Gonzalez, March Madness; Second, Westlake High School, Paolina Bartolucci, Lacrosse Club; third, Thousand Oaks High School, Matt Stevfuson, Swimmer; Honorable Mention, Westlake High School, Robert Iezza, Tennis en Route to Win League Title.

Cartoon
First, Channel Islands High School, Danniel Ramirez, First Crushes, Second, Rio Mesa School, Daniela Garcia, Slang Dictionary; Third, Westlake High School, Monica Simonds, Students Remember; Honorable Mention, Buena High School, Katy Coene, Comics.

Graphics
First, Thousand Oaks High School, James Lock, Beck Gives us the Information; Second, Westlake High School, Jaimie Li, Did You Know That...; Westlake High School, Ellen Wang, You Tube Mania; Honorable Mention, La Reina High School, Belinda Lai, Bringing in the New Year Chinese Style.

Design
First, Westlake High School, Jaimie Li, Chelsea Ma and the Arrow Staff; Second, Rio Mesa School, staff; Third, Channel Islands High School, Ricardo Gomez and Staff; Honorable Mention, Newbury Park High School, Staff.

General Excellence
First, Rio Mesa School, Staff; Second, Westlake High School, Jaimie Li, Chelsea Ma and the Arrow Staff; Third, Buena High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, Agoura High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, La Reina High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, Pacifica High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, Thousand Oaks High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, Channel Islands High School, Staff; Honorable Mention, Newbury Park High School, Staff.

Online Website
General Excellence Online
Moorpark High School, Staff.

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