Borough College Students Win Journalism Awards

Two local residents who are on the staff of Bergen Community College’s student newspaper, the Torch, won awards at the annual New Jersey Press Foundation Contest.

New Milford resident Ruwan Mahayage won first place for layout and design and Jeff Carbone won third place for biography/personality profile.

Carbone won his award for a feature story on a BCC student who set a Guinness World Record for playing the longest recorded tennis match.

“The College is very proud of the jobs the Torch and Professor Lew Wheaton have done. This newspaper has a real presence that sometimes drives issues on campus,” said Bergen President Dr. G. Jeremiah Ryan.

The Torch won a total of 18 awards for their work in the 2010-2011 academic year.

“I am honored to be part of such a hard working team of writers and photographers who clearly take pride in their work. I am especially proud of my layout and design team, which strives to keep the paper looking as eye-catching as possible with every issue published,” said Editor-in-Chief Perpetua Romain, of Englewood. “Our awards are due to pure passion for our paper, and my Torch team and I are very appreciative of our awards. We have truly ignited many students to make a difference."

Eleven editorial staff members produce the monthly newspaper with a list of contributing writers that varies from issue to issue, according to the Torch advisor, Professor Lew Wheaton.

“They are a terrific bunch of young journalists. I think these awards really reflect the incredible amount of hard work this very diverse team of aspiring journalists has put in,” Professor Wheaton said. “They’re all talented and creative individuals.”

He credited the staff for being willing to cover topics that are important to students.

“They’ve made a real effort to make it more newsy and more relevant to all aspect of the college community,” the Torch advisor said.