Journalism Students Win Citywide Newswriting Awards
Argus writers took home three first place awards. Photo: Catherine Kaczmarek
By THE ARGUS STAFF
Several Argus staff members and journalism students received New York Scholastic Press Association awards on March 10 for Argus articles they wrote as juniors. The winners were announced at the NYSPA’s annual Journalism Conference at Baruch College.
In all, six Hornets took home first place in three categories. In the National/World News with a Local Lens category, Alika Awan, Ciara Verneige, and Tammy Chan won for “Secret Company Documents Reveal the Not-So-Perfect Side of Instagram.” In the Illustration/Comics/Political Cartoon category, Faizah El-Gamasy won for her comic “My Friend from Mars,” and in Sports Writing, Lucas Paschke and Manuel Lozano-Velez won for their feature “Beyond the Finish Line: Life Lessons and Brotherhood in Outdoor Track.”
Student journalists from all over NYC attended the conference.
“Overall, I’d say it was a very successful conference. We not only took home awards but lessons as well,” said editor-in-chief Michael Onysko ‘23. “We were able to cherish the successes of our newspaper but also learn what made other papers unique and the school culture behind them.”
Argus staff take notes and jot questions during State Senator John Liu’s address. Photo: Casey Levinson
“It was cool to see the other schools' newspapers and to be able to exchange with them and compare the differences our papers have,” said Lozano-Velez.
Students at the conference also attended newswriting workshops and got to interview John Liu, an influential New York State Senator and chairman of the New York City Education Committee. El-Gamasy said the senator was “surprisingly very funny and down-to-earth.”
Onysko was among the first of the many student reporters to pose a question to Senator Liu, who sponsored a successful bill last year that will lower NYC’s maximum high school class sizes over the next five years from 34 to 25.
Onysko asked about how in-demand, overcrowded schools like Midwood would accommodate the smaller class sizes.
Liu said, “We might have to build an additional wing so that we have more space.” For schools that don’t have any extra space, Liu said, “we should build another [school]. If Midwood or other schools have models that work, we shouldn’t limit it to just that one building.”
Senator Liu also discussed high schools moving away from lottery-based admissions and back to merit-based admissions.
“We need exams to provide measurements,” he said. “I think grades matter. I don’t think the pursuit of equity means the sacrifice of excellence.”
Michael Onysko reads his question for Senator Liu. Photo: Manuel Lozano-Velez
Each student at the conference attended two workshops, which focused on interviewing skills, photojournalism, ethics, and more. Speakers included employees at Business Insider and Google.
“The conference was very educational,” said Paschke. “I learned a lot from the workshops. I enjoyed meeting a former New York Law journalist and a professor at Columbia.”
“It was a fun experience,” said Argus editor Ilana Verhalyuk ‘23. “I enjoyed it when Myles Miller spoke about his work as a news reporter. He really knew what he was talking about. He actually kind of got me to think about if I want to pursue a career in journalism because of the way he described his job.”
If you’re interested in writing for the Argus, the first step is to take Midwood’s Journalism course as a junior. Talk to your guidance counselor or Argus advisor Mr. Casey Levinson in Room 343 to find out more.