March 16, 2010 | The University
The City University of New York has announced the winners of the Murray Kempton Award competition for journalism. Named for Murray Kempton (1917-1997), the famed columnist who captured the soul of the city while often serving as its conscience, these awards honor the contributions of outstanding undergraduate student journalists. Each winner will receive $500.00 in recognition of this achievement. The winners, who all were seniors when they entered and have graduated, are:
Commentary: Hannah Levine, Hunter College, “I’m Drinking Red Bull ’Cause I Want Your Body: Diatribe of a Disgruntled New Yorker,” which appeared in the Hunter Envoy April 22, 2009.
The judges wrote: “In this passionate, engaging piece, a woman describes what it’s like to suffer the indignities of wolf whistles and cat calls, tells how she decides to stand her ground and relates what happens next. Levine keeps it light and sparking, making this commentary a delight to read.”
News: Tiffany Charbonier, Brooklyn College, “When Army Recruiting Gets Personal,” which appeared in The Excelsior Sept. 8, 2008.
The judges wrote: “Tackling an issue of broad significance on campus and beyond, she looks at all sides of the hot topic of military recruitment. She doesn’t belabor the most telling line – one that implicitly recognizes the differences in class, race and economics that separate CUNY from other colleges and universities in New York City – when an Army recruiter says, “A lot more people go through the CUNY system than anywhere else, and that’s why we would target it more than other city schools.”
Features: There were two winners:
Jaillan Elgallad, Brooklyn College, “Heart of Glass: Suzanne Glass,” published online at www.associatedcontent.com.
The judges wrote: “This personality profile gets to the essence of a Brooklyn College teacher, novelist and playwright. While stories about writers aren’t rare, those about great teachers are harder to find, especially those depicting how they operate in the classroom and relate to their students. One can only admire a teacher who starts her class by asking students to “[rip] her story apart” before submitting it to the Financial Times and then accepts their suggestion that she change a subhead. The insight that Elgallad brought to this profile of a dedicated teacher gives it heft and significance.”
Jessica Lawson, CUNY Baccalaureate Degree, “Bushwick: Ethnographic Profile of a North Brooklyn Neighborhood,” published in The Word (Hunter College) June 15, 2009.
The judges wrote: “This is an ambitious piece involving extensive on-the-street reporting. It explores what happens to a neighborhood as it plummets from middle-class safety to the dangers of urban decay, crime and drugs, and then rises again on the double-edged sword of gentrification. Although some long-term, low-income, Latino residents are being pushed out by wealthier, hipper newcomers, she makes clear that Bushwick remains very much a work in progress.”
The judges were Anthony Marro, formerly editor of Newsday and New York Newsday; Ronald Howell, associate professor of journalism at Brooklyn College; and Neill S. Rosenfeld, a staff writer at CUNY’s Office of Communications and Marketing. All worked with Murray Kempton at New York Newsday.
The City University of New York is the nation’s leading urban public university. Founded in New York City in 1847 as The Free Academy, the University’s 23 institutions include 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E. Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, the Graduate School and University Center, the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, the CUNY School of Law, the CUNY School of Professional Studies and the CUNY School of Public Health. The University serves 260,000 credit students and 269,808 adult, continuing and professional education students. College Now, the University’s academic enrichment program for 32,500 high school students, is offered at CUNY campuses and more than 300 high schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City. The University offers online baccalaureate degrees through the School of Professional Studies and an individualized baccalaureate through the CUNY Baccalaureate Degree. More than 1 million visitors and 2 million page views are served each month by www.cuny.edu, the University’s website.