`DP' holds annual banquet

Awards were given, speeches were made and drinks were spilled on several innocent bystanders as the Daily Pennsylvanian inaugurated its 118th Board of Editors and Managers on Saturday night.

The DP's annual banquet, held this year at the Inn at Penn, marked the occasion when the 117th Board of Editors and Managers stepped down and officially handed over their positions to members of the 118th Board, led by incoming Executive Editor Matthew Mugmon.

The event, attended by 250 DP staff members, alumni and guests, kicked off with an address by University President Judith Rodin, who congratulated the outgoing board members on their successes throughout the past year, specifically noting their professional response to the tragedies of Sept. 11.

"You reacted to many challenges," Rodin said. You "had the responsibility to practice mature journalism."

Rodin added that she expects another successful year of coverage of dining hall debacles, construction controversies and administrative problems and closed her speech with a quote that any DP reader can appreciate.

"I'm meeting a candidate for John Fry's job at the movie theater," she joked.

The DP's laundry list of achievements this past year included the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Best Designed Broad Sheet Newspaper, as well as the prestigious Pacemaker Award, given to the nation's top college newspapers. But outgoing Executive Editor Michael Vondriska claimed that it's not the awards, but the commitment and perseverance of the staff that truly matters.

Keynote speaker Stefan Fatsis, a Wall Street Journal reporter and renowned author who graduated from the College in 1985, spoke to those gathered about his memories at the DP.

"My life literally changed the moment I walked into the building," he said. The DP "taught me how to be a reporter and much, much more."

He went on to offer some words of wisdom to current staffers, advising them to "report carefully, write stylishly, design gracefully... take stands, chase story after story and have fun doing it."

Fatsis also eloquently captured the essence of the journalistic experience by quoting Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

"Journalism isn't a trade or profession," he said, quoting Thompson. "It's a cheap catch-all for fuck-offs and misfits."

If Fatsis believed that this quote embodied journalism, it certainly described the party that followed his speech -- a catch-all for excessive drinking and random hook-ups.

Sebastian Stockman, who walked away with the DP's Alumni Association Writing Award and was certainly the most vocal DP staff member in attendance, took time away from his 8th beverage of the evening to comment on his prize.

"I am very grateful for this award," Stockman said. "Everybody is a sucker."

According to sports writer Ryan Kelly, during the celebration later that evening, Stockman reportedly consumed "a heroic amount of alcohol," a claim Stockman called "categorically false." Stockman maintained that he was there not for the alcohol, but for his sheer love of the DP.

"I wouldn't miss [the banquet] for all the booze in China, because all the booze [here] is free," Stockman said.

Outgoing Campus News Editor Stacy Humes-Schulz, who received the Editor of the Year Award, also appeared to be enjoying herself after double-fisting gin and tonics all night long.

"The DP staff are hoping that [outgoing Managing Editor] Rod Kurtz and Stacy will hook up and breed a race of news super-children," outgoing Copy Editor Andrew Armstrong commented.

Other awards handed out included the DP Alumni Association Photography Award, which went to Will Burhop, and the Photographer of the Year Award, which was given to Ben Rosenau. The Reporter of the Year Award went to incoming 34th Street Managing Editor Samantha Melamed.

And for the second year in a row, the Random Hook-up award went to the notorious Jesse Spector, who one staffer described as a "stallion" on the dance floor. After his escapades with a former reporter, the award will be officially renamed the J. Gordon Spector Random Hook-up award next year in his honor.

Managing Editor Tristan Schweiger, however, went home alone.

But perhaps the highlight of the evening was when outgoing Design Editor Paul Gulessarian performed his rendition of the song "Believe."

His obsession with Cher "started in eleventh grade when I got the song 'Turn Back Time' stuck in my head,"Gulessarian said. "If only I had the voice, I would be the next N'SYNC."

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