The Weekly Scroll for April 20, 2018

News, tips and advice from the Quill and Scroll International Honor Society
Compiled and written by Quill and Scroll journalist Caitlyn Martin

The Lede:

Quill and Scroll members among JOY honorees

Congratulations to the honored winners of the Journalism Education Association’s 2018 National High School Journalist of the Year! The Quill and Scroll Honor Society is pleased to announce that the national winner, six national runner-ups, and all state winners are all members of an active charter school with the Quill & Scroll. Winners were recognized at the JEA/NSPA Spring National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco. For a complete list of winners and their bios click here.

Seven state Journalists of the Year — including a national runner-up — are already Quill and Scroll members, though others will be honored this spring, we’re certain:

• COLORADO: Lauren Irwin, Mountain Vista High School, Highlands Ranch (Mark Newton, MJE, adviser)
• FLORIDA: Jack Rummler, William R. Boone High School, Orlando (Bridgette Norris, adviser)
• KANSAS: Daisy Bolin, Shawnee Mission East High School, Prairie Village (Dow Tate, adviser)
• KENTUCKY: Zach Combest, Bullitt East HS, Mount Washington (Larry Steinmetz, adviser)
• NATIONAL RUNNER-UP MARYLAND: Sarah Elbeshbishi, Watkins Mill High School, Gaithersburg (Sara Cofino, adviser)
• MISSISSIPPI: Alyssa Dean, George County High School, Lucedale (Leona O’Neal, adviser)
• OHIO: Julianne Ford, Lakota East High School, Liberty Township (Dean Hume, adviser)

Investigation of Syrian chemical attack delayed

UN Investigators for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons were met with gunfire and opposition in Douma, where they planned to begin a serious investigation into the allegations of chemical attacks from the Syrian government.  Members of the UN are concerned about the delays in investigation, knowing that Syria has used chemical attacks before and will likely try to destroy any lingering evidence before the investigation.

Desiree Linden makes history with 02:39:54

Linden made history with a time of two hours, 39 minutes, and 54 seconds, finishing first at the Boston Marathon on Monday. Linden is the first American woman to win the marathon since 1985. Linden’s hard-earned victory comes after years of training and dedication, taking a narrow second place at the 2011 Boston Marathon. Weather for the event was dreary, with a high in the 30s and a strong wind.

It’s An Honor:

Yearbook contest is open

Quill and Scroll’s Yearbook Excellence Contest is online and open for business, about five months earlier than normal. Quill and Scroll successfully migrated its 2018 Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest online, and now the yearbook contest is following suit. We have the same 18 categories, the same two class divisions and the same rules and pricing as last year. But now you enter online. Go to our Yearbook Excellence Contest webpage to check out the new format so you can begin preparing entries before the school year is done. Fall-delivery book? No worries. You still have until Oct. 10 to get your entries in.

McCallum High School (Austin, Texas) students celebrate their Gold Keys from the 2018 Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest. McCallum also won the Blue and Gold Award for Staff Excellence.

Scholarship application deadline approaches

If you are a senior and you won a Gold Key in either the 2017 Yearbook Excellence Contest or in the 2018 Writing, Photo and Multimedia Contest, you are eligible to apply for Quill and Scroll scholarships. In addition, the Richard P. Johns Award is available to all Quill and Scroll seniors, including those who did not enter contests. Scholarships can be used for tuition, room and board at any college or university in the United States that offers a major in journalism or related areas of communications such as multimedia, broadcast, graphic design, strategic communications, and photography. Get thee to this webpage and start your application. NOW!

Need some constructive feedback?

The News Media Evaluation provides media staffs a one-of-a-kind self-assessment, thorough analysis and rating of your publication(s), with constructive comments and suggestions for improvement from qualified evaluators. The evaluation exercise and feedback are instructive and developmental. The ratings are motivational. High schools and junior high schools may enter their newspapers or news magazines during the submission period — April 1 through June 15, 2018. Entries and ratings are returned in September 2018. This service is open to non-member schools as well as member schools. Here’s the link to get started!

The magazine is online

Quill and Scroll, the Magazine, has moved to a digital-only publication after 92 years in print. The 2018 Spring edition is ready, and you can find it here.

What’s Viral?:

Standardizing vehicle safety

Since its release in 2002, more than 50,000 Volvo XC90s have been sold and zero deaths have been associated with Thatcham Research’s “safest car ever tested.” Researchers credit this feat to Volvo’s early inclusion of Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) systems. Other companies and models are moving towards standardizing AEB systems to standardize and increase vehicle safety.

The Washington Post wins 2018 Pulitzer Prize

The Washington Post’s intense dedication to transparency and bulletproof reporting in the story regarding senate candidate Roy Moore and Project Veritas makes it a well-deserving winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism. The series of articles and the award can be found here.

Just A Thought:

Starbucks shutdown for employee racial bias training

After the unjust arrest of two black men waiting to meet someone in a Philadelphia Starbucks, Starbucks is working to please protestors and decrease racial bias in the workplace.  On the afternoon of May 29th, more than 8,000 company owned branches and corporate offices will close for employees to receive racial bias training. The closure could result in losses totaling $20 million in sales, but Starbucks maintains their position on the importance of fostering a welcoming environment for all patrons.

Bracott: Students push for destigmatization of natural bodies

When school officials at Braden River High School harassed female student Lizzy Martinez for justifiably choosing not to wear abra, claiming she posed a distraction to other students, Martinez organized a protest calling for the destigmatization of natural bodies. The protest comes among a host of others calling for less discriminatory school dress codes across the nation.

Government cuts to teen pregnancy programs ruled illegal

Back in February, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cut grants to four agencies funded by the government’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program. On Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge said those cuts were made illegally.