2015 Story of the Year Finalists

NEWS STORY

Madie Whalen
Following – and watching
Eye of the Tiger
Roseville HS, Roseville, California

Joseph Kim, JoyAnne Ibay
New online state testing brings technical difficulties, turning three days into four weeks
The Lowell
Lowell HS, San Francisco, California

Alli Baden, Joshua Lee
Flirting with disaster: A public look at a private life
The Booster Redux
Pittsburg HS, Pittsburg, Kansas

Hailey Pecic
Sex ed debate goes viral
The Viking Longboat
Haslett HS, Haslett, Michigan

Emma Censky, Abby Schilly
Homelessness in Rockwood: Rockwood students defy sterotypes of homelessness
Marquette Messenger
Marquette HS, Chesterfield, Missouri

Faith Harron
Secondhand smoke: E-cigarettes and the proposed legislation
Century Star
Century HS, Bismarck, North Dakota

Annabel Thorpe
Students, Teacher Witness Collapse of Framework for New Indoor Athletic Complex
The Talon
Argyle HS, Argyle, Texas

Bryce Newberry
Bus trip assault chaos caught on video
The Apple Leaf
Wenatchee HS, Wenatchee, Washington


FEATURE STORY

Chris Roussell, Josh Jean-Marie
No Home for Homework: Examining child homelessness within JCPS
The Crimson Record
duPont Manual HS, Louisville, Kentucky

Sarah Asch
Curing our culture
The Tam News
Tamalpais HS, Mill Valley, California

Anna Nakai, Gabriela Rossner
Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Exploring the dynamic between police and race
Verde
Palo Alto HS, Palo Alto, California

Trisha Vasquez
The Fosters
El Camino Real
San Gabriel HS, San Gabriel, California

Morgan Carothers, Alice Koltchev, Jonathan Kay, Ewan Whittaker-Walker, Gillian Weatherford
Trickle Down Tales
Ink
Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School, Santa Cruz, California

Julia Poe
A New Rhythm
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kansas

Mariam Jiffar
Free minds: The healing brotherhood of a book club behind bards
Silver Chips
Montgomery Blair HS, Silver Spring, Maryland

Colleen Grablick
One year later, mom not found
The Stinger
Emmaus HS, Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Nyssa Kruse
Dark side of the rainbow
The Hawk
Hendrickson HS, Pflugerville, Texas

Antonija Antunovic, Kennedy Huff
Kindness Matters
Panther Prowler
Pflugerville HS, Pflugerville, Texas


SPORTS STORY

Sophie Tulp
In a heartbeat
The Harbinger
Shawnee Mission East HS, Prairie Village, Kansas

Becca Meyer, Dominic Balesteri-Fox
Running with Edward
The Little Hawk
Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa

Josh Lee, Miranda Moore
The weight of success
The Booster Redux
Pittsburg HS, Pittsburg, Kansas

Nathaniel Bolter
Gay athletes still battle locker room culture
The Lion’s Roar
Newton South HS, Newton Centre, Massachussetts

Andrew Kalmowitz
The other half
Pilot’s Log
Hasbrouck Heights HS, Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey

Nina Brillhart
For the love of the game
Spark
Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio

Ned Weingart
Will Shaker ever let there be light?
The Shakerite
Shaker Heights HS, Shaker Heights, Ohio

Alex Nicoll
Athletes face pressure on, off the field
The Sidekick
Coppell HS, Coppell, Texas

Kylie Ruffino
The most dangerous games
The Hawk
Hendrickson HS, Pflugerville, Texas

Irvin Zhang
‘Old Man Pete’
Hawkeye
Mountlake Terrace HS, Mountlake Terrace, Washington


EDITORIAL/OPINION

Staff
District let down Lomond students
The Shakerite
Shaker Heights HS, Shaker Heights, Ohio

Lucy Tantum
Parental drinking inadvertently influences teenagers
Redwood Bark
Redwood HS, Larkspur, California

Joslyn Carrell, Haley Guardino, Seiénna Papini, Carlie Reader
Royalty selection process full of flaws
Eye of the Tiger
Roseville HS, Roseville, California

Ophir Cohen-Simayof, Danielle Flores
What’s right and wrong with the anonymous Facebook page ‘Lowell Confessions’
The Lowell
Lowell HS, San Francisco, California

Staff
We the students
The Standard
American School in London, London, England

Akash Borde
Securing our school with a student resource office
West Side Story
Iowa City West HS, Iowa City, Iowa

Anne Rogers
School policies misleading
Black & White
Johnston HS, Johnston, Iowa

Breanna Cooper
Change can be good
Spotlight
Ben Davis HS, Indianapolis, Indiana

Staff
Why arguments against gun control are flawed
Hawkeye
Mountlake Terrace HS, Mountlake Terrace, Washington

Greta Rainbow
Teaching the arts
The Talisman
Ballard HS, Seattle, Washington


DIVERSITY

Staff
Blurred Lines
Spark
Lakota East HS, Liberty Township, Ohio

Raqshan Khan
I Belong
The Tam News
Tamalpais HS, Mill Valley, California

Erin Woggon
Peering Past the Prejudice: Muslim students face discrimination in school
The Crimson Record
duPont Manual HS, Louisville, Kentucky

Brenda Diazdelvalle
Escape: Central American Teens Flee Violence in Home Country
The Rampage
Rockville HS, Rockville, Maryland

Isabel Ratner
More than a survivor
Communicator
Comm. HS, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jaycie Sabala
Hargis brings home medals
Red and Black
Jefferson City HS, Jefferson City, Missouri

Irene Ryan
McCaskill proposes bi-partisan anti-rape bill
Echo
Webster Groves HS, Webster Groves, Missouri

Laura Yuan
Figuring it out: Sophomore student keeps skating and academics in sync
The Glen Echo
Glen Rock HS, Glen Rock, New Jersey

Joshlyn Thomas
Students needle little something more
Kingwood Park Times
Kingwood Park HS, Kingwood, Texas

Dorrian Murphy, Desiree Castillo
‘Give the kindness people aren’t willing to give you’
Panther Prowler
Pflugerville HS, Pflugerville, Texas


Winners will be announced at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 12-15.