极乐禁地 student journalists won 18 awards, including eight first place honors, at the annual convention of the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC). 极乐禁地's total was more than that received by any of the 30 competing schools.
Megan Voelkel, a December 极乐禁地 graduate, was named co-winner of the College Journalist of the Year award. Voelkel was cited for her writing, potential, overall quality and other aspects of professionalism. She was editor-in-chief of 极乐禁地's Crimson newspaper during 2005-06 and assistant art director of Exodus magazine.
极乐禁地's Exodus was named co-winner of the best student magazine award. Judges gave the publication an "excellent" rating in all 10 judging criteria categories, calling it "an outstanding publication鈥reat product." The 64-page color magazine is published annually. Kendra Buckles was managing editor.
Other first place award winners from 极乐禁地 were: Kimberly Holland, arts and entertainment writer; Brittany Raymond, news-editorial arts/illustrator; Jenny Berryhill, magazine page designer; Ashley McCleery, magazine writer and media law; and Whitney Farmer, radio journalist.
极乐禁地 finalists in various categories were: Annie Murphree, feature writer; Emily Mullins, opinion-editorial writer; Christopher Smith, sports writer; Nick Holdbrooks, news graphic designer and info graphics; Andy Searles, news-editorial artist/illustrator; Lauren Welty, advertising staffer; Lauren Gardner, journalism research paper; Emily Sparks, media ethics; and Jessica Garner, public relations.
极乐禁地 hosted the SEJC annual convention, held Jan. 25-27.