M.S. GRADUATION AWARD: Leslie Rachel Sander Social Justice Award
Dear Class of 2008:
The Class of 1989 is pleased to announce the Leslie Rachel Sander Social Justice Award, in memory of our classmate who died on her 22nd birthday in June 1989, after a courageous battle with cancer.
We offer a $750 prize to a student at the school whose work carries on the journalism for social justice to which Leslie aspired. The winner will be chosen by some of her former classmates and announced on Journalism Day. All members of the class of 2008 are invited to submit one entry each.
Choice of Subject…
…is yours. Reporting including but not limited to economics, environment, education, health care, housing, politics and transportation may be appropriate. Entries could be a hard-hitting expose or a descriptive feature, an essay or a work of straight reporting. Topics may be local, national or international.
In 2006 the award went to a piece about domestic violence among immigrant Arab women. Past winners have included a story about teenage female criminals falling through the cracks of a criminal justice system designed for an overwhelmingly male population (1997); “One Strike, You’re Out,” a story about a federal immigration law, applied retroactively, that requires the deportation of immigrants who have been
convicted of a felony (1998); our first broadcast winner, “TB: The City’s Silent Killer” (1995); and “Childhood Interrupted,” about children who come to the United States seeking asylum and end up in INS detention (2002).
We leave it to you to define social justice. To Leslie it meant a commitment “to personally make a positive difference in the world around her,” as her father wrote in her obituary. Leslie was special: caring, and compassionate, a good listener and a sharp, critical thinker. The choices she made in her short life–teaching at a multiracial school in Botswana; studying journalism–reflected her ideals.
Entry Requirements
Print pieces should not exceed 3,000 words. Broadcast scripts should be no longer than 10 pages; finished tapes should be no longer than 10 minutes.
Judges, who are members of the class of 1989, will consider choice of subject, originality, reportorial skill and style.
Reporting need not be complete, although it must be more than just computer searches. A work in progress, such as an investigative piece, an unfinished photo essay or a rough edit of a documentary may be submitted if it is far enough along to be judged on its merits. In that case, we hope the award will give a student the finances and encouragement to complete the work so that it may be published or aired.
Submission Process
If you do not follow these instructions your entry may be disqualified.
Submissions must be e-mailed as Word attachments to karyncolombo@yahoo.com by noon Friday, April 4, 2008. Please also include a copy of the entry as text within the e-mail in case there are any problems opening the attachment.
For New Media submissions, please e-mail the URL to karyncolombo@yahoo.com by noon Friday, April 4, 2008.
Entries, which will be judged anonymously, may be sent any time until the deadline; late submissions will not be accepted.
Audio and videotapes must be postmarked by Friday, April 4, and mailed to:
Karyn Colombo
News Desk
The Palm Beach Post
2751 S. Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, Fla. 33405-1233
Please note that e-mailed transcripts of the tape also must be received by the noon deadline or the tape will not be considered.
Questions? Please contact Karyn Colombo at karyncolombo@yahoo.com or at (561) 659-9880.
Regards,
Class of 1989
