‘LieStrong’: Student Columnists React to Lance Armstrong Doping Confession

In a two-part prime-time special late last week, former champion cyclist Lance Armstrong told Oprah Winfrey he used performance-enhancing drugs during the height of his once-renowned career.  Although slightly overshadowed by the Notre Dame Manti Te’o online love hoax, Armstrong’s on-camera confession has still spurred worldwide media attention and a bevy of public reactions since its airing.

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In a slew of commentaries and editorials, student journalists have also been weighing in. The students’ sentiments overall: Apology accepted, but it does not negate the lies.

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As Clayton Fuller writes in The Lantern at Ohio State University, “LieStrong. That’s how you summarize the disappointment of something being too good to be true. . . . And for now it seems, that’s what a once-special message of empowerment and inspiration has been reduced to amid the surging news of Lance Armstrong’s confession to using performance-enhancing drugs.”

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Michigan State University senior Josh Mansour is taking Armstrong’s lies especially personally. Mansour, a men’s basketball reporter for The State News, lost his mother to cancer.

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In a State News piece, headlined “Armstrong’s Confession Insulting to True Heroes,” he writes, “It makes me feel like my mom was manipulated and lied to, taken advantage of in her darkest hour. When you’re immersed in the fight of your life, you need something to believe in. A belief that you could not only survive cancer, but live a thriving, prosperous life, physically stronger than ever before. For my mom, and millions of people around the world, that belief was personified in Armstrong. … That’s tainted now, tarnished. I guess it always was. I’m left with the betrayal my mom isn’t around to feel.”

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Indiana State University student Julian Winborn fully understands the public’s feelings of betrayal. But, in a column for the Indiana Statesman, he reminds readers that “something must be said for Armstrong’s philanthropy.”

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As Winborn writes, “All of us can nod disapprovingly toward his doping saga, but the fact remains that he founded a foundation for people who are and will endure in the same struggle against cancer. The Livestrong Foundation has donated an overwhelming amount of money to cancer patients and research. And the Foundation has taken up the task of supporting each person who is willing to accept their help through a myriad of resources for cancer patients and survivors. Aside from his legacy that is the Livestrong Foundation, Lance Armstrong also serves [as] a prominent beacon of hope to millions.”

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For John Russett at St. Cloud State University, Armstrong’s confession ultimately just begs more questions. As he asks in The University Chronicle, “[W]ho is the real Lance Armstrong? Is he the guy who wanted so badly to help the people who could not help themselves, or is he the guy who wanted to bring down people who were correct in their assertions of Armstrong being a cheater and a liar? It seems these two personal philosophies cannot exist within the same person, can they? … He admitted what he did was wrong. He admitted he was a ‘bully’ and did some things which he regrets. But overall, is he really sorry?”

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‘Best of Collegiate Design’: Ideas for Student Newspapers, Magazines, Yearbooks, Websites

The winners of CMA’s annual “Best of Collegiate Design” competition have been announced and are now featured in all their colorful, creative glory in a nearly 150-page booklet.  Now in its 19th year, BCD honors student editors and designers on campus newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, and online outlets in 23 categories– from info graphics, editorial illustrations, and photo spreads to front page, cover page, and headline presentation.

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Screenshots of three of my favorites from the winners’ list are below:

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Ibis Yearbook at the University of Miami earned an honorable mention in the information graphic category for this creative word cloud highlighting some of the key buzz terms and phrases from the past decade.  (As you can maybe see, Facebook, iPhone, Harry Potter, Obama, September 11, and American Idol are among the largest.)

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The State News at Michigan State University earned second place in the headline presentation category for this playful color scheme/wordplay on a header announcing a day off due to inclement weather.

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ALT at Iowa’s Grand View University earned fourth place in the magazine feature spread category for its splashy visualization of a report on body painting.

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Princeton Review Names Best College Newspapers

The Princeton Review has released its annual listing of the biggest and best at colleges and unis nationwide.  Along with rundowns of the top party schools, school athletic facilities, and student radio stations, the Review has named the best U.S. college newspapers.

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The top 20 sways heavily toward indie pubs at large state schools that publish just about daily and still enjoy large print circs.  One heartening name to see on the list: The Hilltop at Howard University, which went through a rough financial patch back in 2008.

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The full list is below.  By the way, the Review only names the schools on its site (free registration required to access it), not the student papers affiliated with them.  So before scrolling down this post, a fun game for the j-geeks out there: the student newspaper knowledge test. How many student papers can you name from the Review’s list of schools, without Googling?  (I nabbed 19 out of 20.  Sorry Battalion!  Brief mental block. Oh, and WVU, yes, I needed a spell check on Athenaeum.) :)

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1. The Yale Daily News, Yale University

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2. The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina

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3. The Diamondback, University of Maryland

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4. The Hilltop, Howard University

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5. The Battalion, Texas A&M University

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6. The Daily Collegian, Penn State University

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7. The Harvard Crimson, Harvard University

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8. The State News, Michigan State University

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9. The Chronicle, Duke University

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10. The Daily Reveille, Louisiana State University

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11. The Daily Athenaeum, West Virginia University

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12. The Daily Texan, University of Texas at Austin

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13. The Daily Bruin, UCLA

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14. The Independent Florida Alligator, University of Florida

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15. The Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University

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16. The Badger Herald, University of Wisconsin-Madison

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17. The Daily Northwestern, Northwestern University

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18. The Daily Mississippian, University of Mississippi

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19. The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell University

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20. The Pipe Dream, State University of New York at Binghamton

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