Angela Palacios selected as new S.Texan editor

Angela Palacios, Corpus Christi senior, has been chosen as the editor for The South Texan for the 2009-2010 academic year. Ms. Palacios has served in the university's student newspaper in various capacities and has won more than 20 state or local journalism awards. This past spring break she completed a shadowing internship in Washington, D.C., with the National Hispana Leadership Institute and this summer she will be doing an internship with the publications department of the Dallas Catholic Diocese. Ms. Palacios brings a wealth of experience to the position and we are looking forward to another great year for The South Texan print and online editions. Angela officially assumes her duties as editor on Aug. 1. She is currently finalizing her staff for the coming year. Any one interested in serving on the staff of either the print or online editions of Texas A&M University-Kingsville's student newspaper is encouraged to contact her at 361-593-3700 or apply on line at tamuk.edu/southtexan. Those interested must be enrolled at TAMUK during Fall '09. Journalism, communications and radio-TV students are preferred, but all are welcomed to apply. Congratulations, Angela!

KUDOs May 5 Issue

Well, we made it.

Our last issue arrived on campus May 7, two days late 'cause we missed deadline with our new printer.

It's okay. For the most part, it was a quality issue with good stories, solid reporting and decent art work. We had some busts - headlines on police blotter (again - we never did this right) and index pages were not correct. Still, we managed to produce our 31st "miracle" of the year. In spite of all the problems and the different activities all of your are involved with, we come together Sunday and Monday and produce our little weekly newspaper....it's a miracle, I tell you, but one which is very significant. Are we great or what?

Let me just say that I feel we're good...we're very good and for that Adriana Garza (our South Texan Lab Adviser) and myself are very proud of you. We did many things right this year and the credit goes to the staff and its leadership. Leadership comes in many forms and characters.

There is Juan Carlos Reyes, our editor, a pearl of a young man with a loving heart and incessant giggle that personifies him as a big teddy bear. But JC can be tough when he wants too and without that stern side of him, we would not have been as good as we are or had the "pockets of excellence" that Adriana often refers to when discussing our newspaper. JC was a good leader and he got us to where we are today - one of the most awarded student newspapers in Texas. Thanks, JC, for a great job.

Leadership, too, comes from the quiet, resolute and passionate mindset of Jaime Gonzalez. He is like a beacon there to light the way when stories falter or assignments or missed. He picks up the load where no one else cares to do the job and when it is essential someone step up. If you ever are in a battled - the real kind where people are being hurt or shot at like some of have - you would want someone like Jaime O. Gonzalez by your side. He would make sure you would be safe. He did that with class and dignity for us.

Leadership also comes in the quiet "Let's get the job done" attitude of Bob Pena. Without his leadership, many of the things that make The South Texan very, very good, would not have happened. Bob is like the seasoned old veteran who listens intently and then, when he speaks, every one pays attention. Thank you, Bob, for your patience with all of us and for providing quiet and unassuming leadership.

Leadership comes also from unexpected places as young people grow up into becoming young men and women and understand that they have it within themselves to step up and be counted on. Angela Palacios grew up a lot this year. She became a quiet leader, willing to train others and passionate about her role with The South Texan and with our department. Because of that, she will become editor next year and now has two solid internships under her belt. She did well and we are very happy for her. In one way or another. all staff members (those who were here part-time or full-time) showed leadership capabilities.

But, where there is only leadership and no one wants to do "the dirty work," the paper won't get done. These leaders, and others, made sure we worked as a team. The result was a solid university student newspaper with a good online edition that touched not only the students, faculty and staff of TAMUK, but alumni statewide and nationwide. We made a difference.

Those who helped us make a difference included reporters and staffers like Erika Hernandez, Kristie Vela, Edwin Vasquez, Amanda Marcum, Tania Garcia, Adrian Trevino, Claudia Garcia, Katrina Alejandro, Lorraine Rodriguez, Sabrina Reyna, Sabrina Salinas, Mark Molina, Colton Williams, Lorraine Rodriguez and others.. You are too many to mention but be aware that we know who you are. These students were the lifeblood of our reporting.

You see, we had many stories to report and we reported them well this year. This last issue is a testament to that dedication. From the "Size Does Matter" concluding series on retention by Kristie Vela, to the "Swine Flu" story by Edwin to the A&I/AMK controversy on pi, this was about us (The South Texan) staff reporting on the issues that mattered to our readers. Good job, very, very good job. Thanks.

Page 2, too, was a synopsis of our work this year. From Erika Hernandez's controversial column to the stead but significant "Green Tips" report, this was a solid page and told as much about our staff's commitment to our community as it did about us.

Page 3 covered three very important areas to our university: The Student Government Association, The Campus Activities Board and the TAMUK Engineers. These three areas of TAMUK are often in the news and more often than not we are there to report their activities. Good stories, all.

Page 4 was our final opinions page. It had three letters to the editor and two solid columns along with an excellent cartoon. JC and Bob...good job and some solid words of wisdom and reflection.

Page 5 had a review of the year....well, it shows why the heck we've been so busy.

Pages 6-7 point to the future of our university....there is lot of construction going on and it reflects the future. Are we ready for it?

Page 8 was sports and it was fitting conclusion to our sports coverage, which was, for the most part, excellent this year. Good job Jaime. And, hey Jaime, great, great farewell column. Thanks for the kind words and right back at you, okay?

Page 9 had the BSM feature. This was good because it showed a part of the campus we don't often cover. Also, it was good because it showed there is new blood coming to our staff. Amanda Marcum seems ready to step up and take the lead, here. Wow. Katherine Robinette remains solid in her classes and may be ready to step up. Still, it's good to see new names on the byline. Thanks.

Page 10 talks about the coming blockbuster movies for the summer....it's an excellent last page for a very interesting academic year we at The South Texan had. We had a blockbuster year with a whole lot of news and we covered most of it fairly, objectively and with class and dignity. We did a good job, a very, very good job. Thanks and God Bless all of you....
bueno bye
Dr. Flores

KUDOs - April 28 issue

A very solid issue and good job of chasing down the Senate vote story on the A&I name change. We also witnessed, thanks to the hard work of Adriana and JC, a story progress from a bottom of the page selection on the front page to a top of the strip page on pi. Thanks to modular layout, this was not as difficult as it has been in the past. This was also a good experience for our editors-for-a-week students. We actually were a "real" newspaper there for a while. Well done. In spite of that hard work, we still could have had a stronger story on the Senate. but it got the job done and we managed to scoop everyone else on this. The paper was being scooped up almost as soon as Edwin put it out there. Another provocative story was Kristie's second story on retention. The lead bothered many administrators and faculty members and had them emailing me about lack of vigilance on my part. Oh well....the truth hurts sometime. Kristie is doing an excellent job on this series, but we need to finish it out strong with an editorial and some solid graphics. We also did a good job on the Relay for Life story on pi and inside. On Page 2 we had a solid review...good job Claudia...and Erika's usual strong column. Page 3 had some good campus news. My only dissapointment here was the lead art and story on the Sigma Delta Pi student presentations. The editorial page had some good columns by Tania , JC and Mark and a solid editorial that should have been played next to the cartoon. A cartoon should be linked to the editorial. JC, you have to monitor this. Claudia did a good job on the photo essay. Story was "good" - not great - and photos adequate. Katrina had a solid sports feature on the the shot putter, but sports lacked substance and we had some head busts. Guys, it's too late in the year to be having head busts. Our second campus news page was a catch-all, but it had good info. Finally, good job on sports rewind. Thanks. KUDOs...well, this time it goes to the editors-for-a-week: Claudia and Mark. Congrats.

KUDOs April 21 issue

This was a solid 8-page issue with a good, crisp lead art on the front page of the new Miss TAMUK. But, hey guys, now that we have a new printer, let's make our lead art big and to the top so that it will on top of the fold. How about it? Let's try it at least once before the semester is over. Special recognition on pi goes to Edwin, who took time to do the first part of the "Wrestling With Retention" series. Edwin worked very hard to get proper quotes and to investigate story. His reporting was excellent and, with some editing, his story was solid. Thank you Edwin. One thing, the graphic was good but I can't read the letters on "Wrestling With Retention." For next week, let's make this white type with blue outline, or something like that. Okay, Angela? JC did a good job with the layout and design and the Miss TAMUK story led people into the inside of the newspaper. Good job. As for disappointments, there was one big one which I am just embarrassed by - the SGA I'ts a Tie story. It wasn't a tie and we had no numbers on votes. Why? We have to be more dogged reporters - dare I say be more like Edwin - when stories like this arise. Page 2 looks very crisp and solid and Page 3 had some good local stories from the cheerleaders by Katherine Robinette to Unity and opera. Wow. Nice mix. Photos, however, are still lacking and we misspelled "tophey." Page 4 is nice and modualr but does not have that newsy loook t o it......we can do better. Page 5 design on Miss TAMUK is nice, but could have been better. A photospread such as this has one "BAP" and a scene setter. The photos are much to the same size to make this layout sparkle. The Ed-Ops page had some good columns and a solid cartoon. "Hoggie, I am your father!" Wow!. Sprts is its usualy solid self with the exception of credit lines on sports, which were also a problem on page 8. Let's try to resolve this prior to the next issue. This issue was very good. There were some things that could have been better, but overall we should be very pleased. KUDOs this week go to Edwin. Thanks.

KUDOs April 14 issue

Wow...a good-looking print job. Finally. Gold was gold and not puke brown and blue was blue and not passion purple. What a change. And, in spite of this just being a 4-page issue, it looked good. The print job makes a big difference. And, also, the stories were newsy and decent. The "A&I Day" story was very well done and, with our usual exception of not having quality photos, carried the layout. Ericka, too, did a good job with the SGA presidential election story. We probably could have done a better job here but space limitations hurt. Katrina's Miss TAMUK story also looked good and we had sharp, clear, mugs of all of them inside. On page 2, the BSM story by Angela was excellent and probably deserved more play. Good quotes, good story. We probably need a folo on this. Page 2 is a good page except for "TAMUK Week at a Glance." We can do better with this. Not much to say about Page 3 - it's the Miss TAMUK candidates along with JC, Jaime and Edwin in photos...wow! Enough said! Sports is solid and a good page. KUDOs any one? This week we would like to feature the staffers who did stories while the main staff was gone. KUDOs go to Katrina Alejandro, Angela Palacios and Colton Williams. Thanks for your help. Because of it, we had a solid four-pager.

KUDOs April 7 issue

This 8-page issue had much potential. It had a very nice teaser, some good inside stories, and a couple of good lead items that should have attracted much student readership.

Unfortunately, the reproduction was just terrible. It was so terrible in fact that it was embarrassing. This was especially true for our layout and design on the Legacy Ball. The reproduction was horrible and left many who attend the event wondering what the hell we were doing. Well, it was not our fault. It is the printing company's fault. It's very poor reproduction. We have stayed with the current printing company as long as we could. We were not allowed by Student Development to change printers, unless there was a breach of contract. Poor quality and the inability to heed our cries for a better print job led to my decision to change - immediately. Next week we will print elsewhere and we will see where that ends up.

As for this issue, there were some good and bad things. Good things first.

Good: It was nice to see the staff scramble to come up with clear and well-written articles on the AMK and A&I vote both for the student vote and the South Texan poll. It was also nice to see the summer school schedule on the front page, but I was disappointed we didn't write it...WE WRITE ALL OUR STORIES!

The "Relay for Life" story on page 3 was excellent. The history of the university was a nice touch on page 4. Ed-Ops was super. Sports decent. The Legacy Ball feature on page 8 was a lot of hard work and we had some good photos but, because of the poor print job, we missed the mark. Katrina, good job on this assignment.

Angela's teaser was beautiful. Too bad no one could see it on the print job. Are you kidding me?

We had several good columns and editorials throuhout. Good job Erika, JC and Jaime and others who contributed.

Bad: Our photography was poor, at best, overall. The best pictures were of the Legacy Ball and sports. Other than that, a 3rd grader could have snapped the shots with a auto focus camera. We can do better. Also, the summer school schedule story which was assigned three weeks ago turned out to be staff reports. Why?

Jav-A-Style is one of the fresh new features on our paper. This Jav-A-Style was very weak. It was just a guy with t-shirts and jeans. He has no style. JC has more style. Perhaps we should feature JC or, as several of you have suggested, some professors in town. This feature must single out what is "different" about the subject we are interviewing. It can't be some one's friend or acquaintance. It must be a student with a singular dressing style.

The layout on page 3 was too horizontal modular. We can do better if we plan ahead.

KUDOS: Well, who gets KUDOs. My vote is for Staff Reports, who had three front-page stories. What do you think? Any suggestions? Of course not. Few of you will read this blog. If you do, please post a suggestion on the comments section of this blog or see me personally.

KUDOs March 31 issue

Well, we came back from Spring Break 2009 with a bang. What a wonderful edition of The South Texan Juan Carlos Reyes' and his staff produced for our March 31 issue. It was EXCELLENT! More importantly, we worked very well as a staff. In my three years at TAMUK, this is truly the first time that the staff work this well and this close, together. Congratulations J.C. We had a very good looking front page...nice graphic...nice refers to the online vote...well-written stories....what can I say? All of the pages were nice. Carlos did a wonderful job with his I love Paris story and Lorraine did a great job with the story on Angela and Tania. The Spanish page by Edwin was solid, well-written and, may I say, provocative. Erika was her usual self, Angela had an excellent story on Chavez, ed-ops page had letters to the editors and more So, who gets KUDOs? When an issue is as solid as this...it's a true team effort. All of the staffers who worked on this get KUDOs, all of them, even JC. Way to go JC...thanks