Student newspaper ends production season by acknowledging those who help make it possible.
By Courtney Kaiser
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Each semester The Ranger gives out Source Awards honoring the people student journalists have interviewed.
The awards have been given as a “thank you” to sources since their induction in 2006.
Awards this semester predominantly went out to faculty members, but students are also eligible to receive them. Sources around campus provide student reporters the opportunity to gain field experience doing real news reporting.
“I just think it’s wonderful what you do,” history Professor Mike Settles said at the ceremony this morning in Loftin Student Center. “You do a great job every year.”
Settles received two awards during the ceremony recognizing him with Defender of Free Press and Big Tipper.
He won Defender of Free Press for recognizing the importance of the First Amendment rights of a reporter and defending The Ranger’s right to publish stories. He received Big Tipper for consistently providing The Ranger with campus news tips.
Music business Chair Donnie Meals received honorable mention for Defender of Free Press.
The Ranger staff nominates sources from their stories for different categories, and vote to determine the winners.
The two awards garnering a great deal of nominees were The Informant and The Sure Thing.
The Informant was awarded to Carrie Hernandez, senior student success specialist, for always having information that a reporter needs. Hernandez was a source many reporters interviewed because of her active role in student organizations and events planning. The Ranger credits her in 10 online stories this semester.
The Sure Thing went to kinesiology sophomore Roel Gonzalez as the most reliable source who responded to reporters quickly and provided accurate information.
Ranger photographer Daniel Carde spent a significant amount of time with Gonzales training and preparing for a 223-mile run the veteran was going on to bring suicide awareness. Gonzales also received a new award, Most Embedded, for the access given Carde.
The staff recognized four theater students as honorable mentions for the Sure Thing.
President Robert Vela won the award for Patience is a Virtue, honoring him for his polite and efficient responses to repeated requests, with Hernandez receiving an honorable mention.
Astronomy and physics Professor Alfred Alaniz won Mother Hen for taking a reporter under his wing and nurturing their learning process.
Reference Librarian Celita Avila received an honorable mention.
Communications Professor Denise Barkis Richter at Palo Alto College received the Booster Club award for being the biggest supporter of The Ranger, including recruiting new journalism students, providing news tips and offering encouragement.
The Overexposed award for a source photographed and written about many times went to the men’s and women’s basketball teams, while Underexposed was presented to multimedia specialist Aaron Ellis.
Reporters even reach out to sources who have been wronged by The Ranger, but have not held it against the paper. Forgive and Forget went to women’s basketball coach Haley Capestany.
Reporters nominated almost 50 sources for different categories. Sources were recognized by more than one reporter, or in more than one category.
Ranger editor Cynthia Herrera thanked all the sources “for helping us grow.”