Video by Kiki Griffin and Kelly Fulford.
By JURNEE LOUDER – News Editor
Members of Clarke Central High School’s iliad, ODYSSEY Newsmagazine, and ODYSSEY Online attended the Southern Interscholastic Press Association convention for the tenth year.
For a three-day weekend, 39 members from ODYSSEY Newsmagazine, ODYSSEY Online, and iliad Literary-Art Magazine attended the 2016 Southern Interscholastic Press Association’s “Let the Truth Unfold” convention in Columbia, S.C. from March 4-6.
iliad Editor-in-Chief and senior Emily Watson has attended the SIPA convention for four years.
“It’s been pretty emotional, but it also feels good to come back again and to be with my sister (iliad staffer and freshman Alice Watson) this time. I feel closer to everyone,” Watson said. “I know more people this year, and so for me, it was really pleasant to actually have more friends and stuff like that.”
Before arriving to the convention, staff members followed the tradition of eating at Lizard’s Thicket, a Columbia-staple meat and three eatery. Online writer Bria Echols was a first-time visitor.
“It was interesting to really sit down and talk to people without having to go on your phone. You really got to know more about the people you know, but don’t really communicate with,” Echols said.
(From left to right) Freshman Bria Echols, seniors Emily Watson and Ella Sams and sophomore Hannah Gale order food at Lizard’s Thicket on March 3. This was the first trip to Columbia, S.C. for Echols and Gale. “The restaurant had more of a homey feeling to it with all of the pictures on the wall,” Echols said. “The service was good and they were very friendly.”
On opening night, Print Editor-in-Chief, SIPA Vice President and senior Kevin Mobley gave a speech on the weekend’s festivities. 2017 SIPA President candidate and junior Sara Goodie also gave a speech on her plans for next year, if elected.
“We have had 700 people here and it’s just a little daunting standing up and trying to sell myself off to so many people,” Goodie said. “Really what I am trying to sell is the vision I have for SIPA and it is interesting because a lot of the things I want to implement are already starting to take effect.”
For the entire weekend, students attended classes ranging from “Creating free, easy and effecting infographics” to “Journalistic Snapchat”.
“(The classes) were actually more beneficial than I thought they would be. I thought they were going to be the same as last year, and they weren’t,” ODYSSEY Newsmagazine Copy Editor Jordan Rhym said. “One of the classes I went to was “45 ideas in 45 minutes”, and I walked out of there with more than 60 ideas for articles I might want to try.”
Students and adviser not only attended sessions, but were also able to present at their own. Adviser David Ragsdale facilitated a four-hour pre-convention workshop on leadership with seniors Tierra Hayes, Tiernan O’Neill, Kevin Mobley and Ella Sams. Ragsdale also facilitated the Mobley and Rhym session “Going Beyond the Box Score” regarding innovative sports coverage, Watson presented with junior Maddie Rose Hall, iliad editor, on crafting genres of poetry and Digital Managing Editor Aneesa Conine-Nakano, Web Master Suncana Pavlic and Online Writing Coach Hannah Gale presented on multimedia.
(From left to right) Digital Managing Editor Aneesa Conine-Nakano, Writing Coach Hannah Gale and Web Master Suncana Pavlic present to SIPA attendees. Gale made her presentation debut on the trip and Conine-Nakano hopes to grow more new session leaders. “I’m excited to hopefully be able to have new people presenting next year,” Conine-Nakano said.
“I think we did really well. We had a new presenter. Suncana and I had both presented at GSPA before, but Hannah Gale presented with us. I think that was a great experience for her and for us because every time presenting, even if you’re doing a similar presentation, is a new experience,” Conine-Nakano said. “We had a good turnout, and so, I was really excited. I think everyone left there knowing a little bit more about multimedia, which is all I really asked for.”
SIPA also holds on-site competitions for students. Four teams participated in Quiz Bowl–a lightening round competition with questions on Associated Press style, current events and politics. The Clarke Central High School Red team, consisting of sophomore Conine-Nakano, Print Viewpoints Editor and junior Sara Goodie, seniors Mobley and O’Neill, won First Place – a first for a Clarke Central team, which has attended SIPA since 2006.
“It was so exciting to work with my team this year. We really just studied the magazine terms and Supreme Court cases to prepare,” O’Neill said. “I’ve been vying for the trophy for three years and finally winning it my senior year felt appropriate.”
(From left to right) Junior Christina Kurian, and sophomores Lucia Bermudez, Olivia Ripps and Suncana Pavlic prepare for Quiz Bowl qualifiers. “(Participating in Quiz Bowl) was new, and it was an experience worth being a part of,” Kurian said. “It was frightening at first, but I just decided to enjoy the experience and have fun.”
Staffers also participated in the Team Onsite Production competition for newspaper writing, review writing and for broadcast. Print Variety Editor Lucia Bermudez, Conine-Nakano, and staff writers Clare Wislar and Coles Ehlers wrote a story on rape culture.
“We talked to students and advisers at SIPA. We asked them about how they covered sensitive issues and we tied it back to what happened at Cedar. It was really fun,” Bermudez said. “It was kind of stressful, but it was a good kind of stress. I was really proud of the spread that we had because to me, it looked worthy of being in our magazine. I thought it was really cool.”
On Sunday afternoon, students attended the awards ceremony. There, it was announced that Goodie would be serving as the 2017 SIPA President.
“I could not have done it without the entire team working together and supporting me. It was the most incredible feeling to be so supported by everyone on staff. (PR Manager Delia Adamson) and (Rhym) designed stickers for me,” Goodie said. “Everyone was tweeting and hashtagging and getting it out there. That’s really the most gratifying part of this– knowing that I was so supported and so loved by the team. I really really feel galvanized to do everything that I can for SIPA and for (ODYSSEY) as well.”
The iliad won the Scroggins Award, SIPA’s top honor. The literary-magazine also won an All-Southern Award and had a handful of individual winners.
“(Winning) was fantastic. Every year, I’m always kind of concerned, ‘What if we weren’t good enough?’ or something like that,” Watson said. “I’m really happy that all of the hard work that we put into it last year and that (Ethan Crane) put into it last year paid off. We did so well. I was really proud.”
ODYSSEY Online won the Scroggins Award for Online Media and received an All Southern title. ODYSSEY Newsmagazine won the Scroggins Award for Newspaper for the first time and was also declared All Southern. The ODYSSEY Newsmagazine was again named Best in State title – a reign that started in 2006.
“This SIPA was definitely my best yet, which was largely due to the fact that I got to plan it myself as student Vice President with an amazing group of fellow student officers and SIPA staff,” Mobley said. “Winning the first Scroggins Award in the magazine’s history were all fantastic accomplishments that I’m all very proud of, but SIPA means nothing without the people.”
Ragsdale has continued advocating for staffers to attend SIPA since his first trip in 2006. He finds the conference experience vital to development as a journalist and good citizen.
“During this trip you have to learn to be accountable to your roommates, your chaperons, staff leaders, presenters and to the community of high school journalists,” Ragsdale said. “Rarely do I see such growth during such a short period of time. The awards can be validating for students, but for the adults on the trip, the sense of connection and pride in the program and in Clarke Central is most rewarding.”
Staff awards:
Scroggins Award: ODYSSEY Newsmagazine, Best magazine at SIPA
Scroggins Award: ODYSSEY Online, Best website at SIPA
Scroggins Award: the iliad, Best literary-art magazine at SIPA
Best in State: ODYSSEY Newsmagazine
All Southern: ODYSSEY Newsmagazine
All Southern: ODYSSEY Online
All Southern: the iliad
Individual Awards:
Best in Show: Ethan Crane, Cover
Best in Show: Ethan Crane, Gallery Spread
Best in Show: Kevin Mobley and Ella Sams, Newsmagazine Cover/Front Page
Best in Show: Kevin Mobley, Op/Ed Page
Best in Show: Sophie Fernandes, Environmental Portrait
First Place: Phineas Alexander, Lucia Bermudez, Aneesa Conine-Nakano, Kieffer Farber and Clare Wislar, Alternative Storytelling
First Place: Gemma English, Prose Fiction and Narrative
First Place: Andrew Caldwell, Entertainment/Feature Column
First Place: Katy Mayfield, Personality Feature
First Place: Kevin Mobley, Sports Column
First Place: Kevin Mobley, Center Spread
First Place: Christina Kurian, Features
First Place: Sophie Fernandes, Investigative Story
First Place: Zoe Peterson, Sports
First Place: Ana Aldridge, Sports
Second Place: Louise Platter, Poetry
Second Place: Grace Polanezcky, Features
Second Place: Jurnee Louder, Reviews
Second Place: Staff, Staff Editorial
Second Place Jordan Rhym, Sports Story
Third Place: Pamela Affolter, Prose Non-Fiction
Third Place: Staff, Staff Editorial
Third Place: Amelia Delamater, Entertainment/Feature Column
Third Place: Violet Merritt, Feature Story
Third Place: Kevin Mobley, News Story
Third Place: Violet Merritt, Alternative Storytelling
Third Place: Ana Aldridge, Blog
Third Place: Katy Mayfield, Investigative Story
Third Place: Kennae Hunter, Sports
Award of Merit: Ethan Crane, Table of Contents
Award of Merit: Katy Mayfield, Headline Package
Award of Merit: Sophia Fernandes, Academic Photo
Award of Merit: Julie Alpaugh, News Photo
Honorable Mention: Ethan Crane, Fiction Spread
Honorable Mention: Kevin Mobley, Op/Ed Page
Honorable Mention: Sophie Fernandes, Club Photo
Competitions:
First Place: Emily Watson, Review Writing
First Place: CCHS Red: Tiernan O’Neill, Kevin Mobley, Sara Goodie and Aneesa Conine-Nakano, Quiz Bowl
Second Place: Maddie Rose Hall, Review Writing
Grammar Guru First Place: Valeria Garcia-Pozo
