The Torch, St. John's University

"The Torch" is the official student-run newspaper of St. John's University in Jamaica, New York. Founded in 1922, the paper has shifted in and out of the control of the University and has been financially independent from the University since 1980. In 1988, "The Torch" was inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame after being awarded a slew of awards from various collegiate newspaper organizations. During the 2006–2007 academic year, "The Torch" won several awards from the New York Press Association and American Scholastic Press Association, including Second Place in General Excellence from the NYPA.Fact|date=November 2007

Recent history

2006–2007

After the 2005–2006 academic year, "The Torch" was awarded four awards from the American Scholastic Press Association, including "Most Outstanding University Newspaper", scoring 970 points out of a possible 1000. It was the first batch of awards the newspaper had won since the early 1990s. Despite the newspaper's apparent success under then Editor-in-Chief Albert Silvestri, Pasqualina and the editors of "The Torch" felt the need to execute drastic design changes for the upcoming academic year.

On July 3, 2006, "The Torch" debuted its new masthead, which features a "T" written in Hoefler text font with two flames located in the top right corner of a red box. The masthead was designed by Nick Nisco, who was, at the time, a graphic design student at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In addition to the masthead changes, the newspaper made changes regarding paper stock and printing services, employing the services of Five Star Printing located in Jamaica, NY. The newspaper also debuted a completely revamped layout, featuring more color photographs, more student-produced cartoons, and an apparent emphasis on white/negative space. Central to the improvement in appearance was, according to Pasqualina, tighter kerning rules, making the text on the page take up less space than it had in years past.

Controversies

In January, "The Torch" featured a cover asking a then-poignant question on the University's campus: "Would you want St. John's University to host The Vagina Monologues?" The campus remained divided on the question throughout the remainder of the Spring semester and the controversy garnered attention from major New York newspapers, including the New York Post.

In April, "The Torch" featured a cover story concerning the University's decision to invite rapper Ludacris to perform on campus. Then Editor-in-Chief Stephen Pasqualina criticized the University for the decision in his opinion column, "The Brazen Word", explaining "The audacious hypocrisy of this University's administration is beyond words." The University, perhaps agreeing that the decision was inconsistent with their January one, decided to not invite Ludacris to campus. The Ludacris controversy again garnered major media attention, as several local community newspapers and the New York Post featured stories on the University's "rap flap." The decision to renege on the Ludacris invitation immediately preceded the Don Imus-Rutger's women's basketball team controversy, which put rappers like Ludacris under fire for their lyrical vulgarity.

Awards

In April 2007, "The Torch" won six awards, including four from the New York Press Association. The awards included: 2nd place for General Excellence, 1st place for Design, 2nd place for Sport Coverage, and Pasqualina's column won 1st place among collegiate newspaper columns in New York. The American Scholastic Press Association awarded the newspaper with "First Place with Special Merit", as the newspaper earned 980 out of a possible 1000 points for overall excellence. The Association also awarded the paper "Best Overall Photography" for their 2006 Courtside edition, an annual Torch publication exclusively covering men's and women's basketball at the University.

April 2007–present

Leporati was elected during March 2007 and formally brought on board in April. His managerial board consisted of mostly fresh faces, which made the first two issues of their reign a learning process. Leporati, a Junior English major at St. John's, began his career at "The Torch" during the second semester of his freshman year (2005–2006), during which he became a staff writer.

Former and current staff

2006–2007 Managerial Board

* Stephen Pasqualina – Editor-in-Chief
* Jennifer Peters – Managing Editor
* Bryan Burtner – News Editor
* Christopher Lauto – Graphics
* Kristina Lopez – Editorial Editor
* Allison Cerra – Features Editor
* Stephen Pinto – Sports Editor
* Amadeo Plaza – Entertainment Editor
* Casey Tolfree – Online Editor
* Courtney D'ne Brown – Photo Editor
* Lulaine Compere – General Manager

2007–2008 Managerial Board

* Gregory Leporati – Editor-in-Chief
* Elizabeth Jalonschi – General Manager
* Christina Heiser – News Editor
* Omer Shahid – Editorial Editor
* Kevin J. Su – Photo Editor
* Jenny Wilkins – Entertainment Editor
* Diana Castaldini – Features Editor
* Mr. Christopher King – Sports Editor
* Sir Chris Lauto – Graphics Coordinator
* Caitlyn Nolan – Online Editor
* Rachel Smith – Business Manager
* Pasquale Passarella – Copy Editor

Links

* The Torch Online [http://www.torchonline.com/]
* St. John's University [http://www.stjohns.edu]