For the sixth year in a row, The Boiling Point has won multiple honors in the annual Quill and Scroll International Writing and Photography Contest. Out of the 3,039 entries – 43 from Shalhevet – in 12 different categories, three Boiling Point stories won awards.
“We submitted a lot of stories that I think were award-worthy and I’m surprised we didn’t get more,” said Editor-in-Chief Leila Miller. “But I’m really happy that new people who have never won anything before won this year. It’s always encouraging to everyone when people win awards.”
Leila, a senior, won for her front-page preview of Shalhevet Drama’s production of Pride and Prejudice earlier this year. Titled “Drama holds up an unexpected mirror,” the story compared the characters in the play to Modern Orthodox teenagers, and was one of 37 winning stories out of 384 entries in the Feature category. It’s Leila’s second award in this category, and her third total.
Sophomore Sarah Soroudi, Torah Editor, won for her report on Shalhevet’s kaparot ceremony. The article, “Ancient ritual for ‘transferring’ sins debuts on the Sport Court,” was one of 36 winners in the News Story category, where 335 were submitted. The award is Sarah’s first.
Junior Rose Bern, who has been Opinion Editor for two semesters, won for her unsigned editorial “When the work isn’t yours.” This piece about plagiarism and other forms of cheating was among 27 winners chosen from 301 entries in the Editorial category.
The editorial began:
It creeps into all classrooms and plagues students everywhere. It’s socially accepted and practiced in smaller and larger doses. The phenomenon is cheating. Don’t gasp, because whether it’s copying a friend’s homework or cheating on an exam, this exists in all schools, including ours.
“It’s a major shock,” Rose said about winning an award for the first time. “That was probably one of the hardest editorials I’ve ever had to write, and I’m proud of the Boiling Point for its other awards.”
Shalhevet competed against the top student newspapers across the nation and in English-speaking schools around the world. Schools are limited to five entries per category.
The Quill and Scroll contest is judged by the American Society of News Editors (ASNE), which most recently also awarded The Boiling Point an International First Place Award for the 2010-11 school year. All award-winning stories can be read online at www.shalhevetboilingpoint.com.
