MACON – Mercer University’s student newspaper, The Cluster, won or placed in eight categories of the Georgia College Press Association’s 2011 Better Newspaper Contest. The awards were announced at the Association’s annual conference, held in Athens, Feb. 4-5. The yearly contest honors members of the Association and the conference deals with issues relevant to student journalists today. This is the second year in a row that The Cluster has won awards in the contest and has sent student journalists to the accompanying conference.
The Cluster competed against student newspapers in the category of Four-Year College Division A, which includes the newspapers of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University. The paper placed first in the general categories of Best Campus Community Service – News and Best Campus Community Service – Sports and Layout and Design. The staff was also awarded second place in General Excellence and third place in Best Campus Community Service – Editorial and Best Campus Community Service – Features.
“The newspaper continues to get better each year, and it’s an amazing feeling to see everyone’s hard work rewarded and recognized by the GCPA,” said senior Morgan Riley, co-editor-in-chief of the paper. “I’m incredibly proud of the newspaper staff and honored to be a part of it.”
Individual winners included Eric Brown, entertainment editor, who won first place for Best Entertainment story, and Kathleen Quinlan, news editor, who won third place for Best Column. As part of the conference, officer and board member elections for the GCPA were held. Junior Elizabeth Bibb, co-editor-in-chief of The Cluster, was elected vice president for the upcoming year.
The Cluster is Mercer’s student-run newspaper and has been published bi-weekly since 1920. It is committed to reporting on issues and events that are relevant to Mercer students, both on-campus and off.
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,200 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah and at three regional academic centers across the state. Mercer is affiliated with two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. The University operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
— 30 —
