The Torch (St. John's University)

The Torch is the official student-run newspaper of St. John's University in Jamaica, New York. Founded in 1922, the paper has shifted in and out of the control of the University and has been financially independent from the University since 1980. In 1988, The Torch was inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame after being awarded a slew of awards from various collegiate newspaper organizations. During the 2006–2007 academic year, The Torch won several awards from the New York Press Association and American Scholastic Press Association, including Second Place in General Excellence from the NYPA.

After the 2005–2006 academic year, The Torch was awarded four awards from the American Scholastic Press Association, including "Most Outstanding University Newspaper", scoring 970 points out of a possible 1000. It was the first batch of awards the newspaper had won since the early 1990s. Despite the newspaper's apparent success under then Editor-in-Chief Albert Silvestri, Pasqualina and the editors of The Torch felt the need to execute drastic design changes for the upcoming academic year.

In January 2006, The Torch featured a cover asking a then-poignant question on the University's campus: "Would you want St. John's University to host The Vagina Monologues?" The campus remained divided on the question throughout the remainder of the Spring semester and the controversy garnered attention from major New York newspapers, including the New York Post. In April of the same year, The Torch featured a cover story concerning the University's decision to invite rapper Ludacris to perform on campus. Then Editor-in-Chief Stephen Pasqualina criticized the University for the decision in his opinion column, "The Brazen Word", explaining "The audacious hypocrisy of this University's administration is beyond words." The University, perhaps agreeing that the decision was inconsistent with their January one, decided to not invite Ludacris to campus. The Ludacris controversy again garnered major media attention, as several local community newspapers, the New York Post, and XXL featured stories on the University's "rap flap." The decision to renege on the Ludacris invitation immediately preceded the Don Imus-Rutger's women's basketball team controversy, which put rappers like Ludacris under fire for their lyrical vulgarity.

That same month, The Torch won seven awards, including four from the New York Press Association. The awards included 2nd place for General Excellence, 1st place for Design, 2nd place for Sport Coverage, and Pasqualina's column won 1st place among collegiate newspaper columns in New York. The American Scholastic Press Association awarded the newspaper with "First Place with Special Merit", as the newspaper earned 980 out of a possible 1000 points for overall excellence. The Association also awarded the paper "Best Overall Photography" for their 2006 Courtside edition, an annual Torch publication exclusively covering men's and women's basketball at the University. Christopher Lauto's work as Layout Editor also garnered the paper a national cover design award from the prestigious national membership organization for college student journalists, the Associated Collegiate Press.

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