Spectator earns state recognition

The Spectator, Valdosta State University's student newspaper, received eight awards from the Georgia College Newspaper Association (GCNA) at its annual meeting in Macon on Jan. 26. Twenty-five colleges participated in what was one of the largest GCNA meetings in recent history.

The Spectator received second place in the following categories: Best Campus Community Service - Features, Best Website and General Advertising and won third place in Best Campus Community Service - News and in General Photography.

The Spectator staff received three individual honors. Mary Dabbs was awarded second place for Best News Article Based on Interpretive or Investigative Reporting. Michelle Taylor received second place for Best Feature Story and Leah Cassorla won second place for Best Editorial or Editorial Series.

?The fact that we have a smaller program and are still able to compete with larger institutions like Emory and Georgia Tech says a great deal about our staff and our program,? said Patricia Miller, English professor and Spectator adviser. In her 12 years as adviser for the Spectator, Miller said this year's performance at the GCNA meeting was one of the newspaper's best showings.

?Every individual on the staff works extremely hard to make the paper work,? said Leah Cassorla, Spectator editor and chief. ?These awards are a pat on the back and they show that our program can compete with the best.?

The paper was third in terms of number of awards, behind Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern, respectively. In terms of points, the Spectator came in fourth, behind Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern and Emory, respectively.

The GCNA is an organization dedicated to assisting in the betterment of Georgia collegiate journalism and providing a reciprocal flow of information between its member colleges.