During this year’s annual Eastern Los Angeles Journalism Education Association write-offs competition, Diamond Bar High School’s student journalists managed to secure the second place title in the Super Sweeps—a category determined by the participants’ overall achievements in the competition. 

The contest included various categories including Novice News, News, Opinion, Editorial Cartoon, Sports, Feature, Critical Review, Photography, Yearbook Layout and News Layout. 

During the competition, students were introduced to a guest speaker and, following their presentation, were given the opportunity to ask the speaker questions about their specific topic. After composing their submission, students turned in their work via Google Forms.

Participants in the Novice News, News, Opinion and Editorial Cartoon categories listened to a presentation about community garden regulations given by founder of the environmental initiative Puro Plants, Matthew Ramos.

Sophomore Jianlan Busteed secured her spot as the second place winner in the Opinion category, while junior MK Palaris earned second place for Editorial Cartoon.

Meanwhile, junior Nathan Chu also placed second in the Sports category for his story about analyst and coordinator Nate Ngo’s experiences while working alongside the USA Men’s Volleyball team. 

Juniors Rachel Lee and Edward Kim placed second and fourth respectively in the Feature category of the competition where author and activist Esther Lim not only shared details about her “How to Report a Hate Crime” booklets, but also raised awareness about recent hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. 

“This year’s Write-Offs had a lot less people competing than last year’s. I expected to do decently,” Lee said. “The Feature presentation was on Esther Lim, who printed and distributed booklets used to assist those who have been victim to or have witnessed hate crime.”

For the Critical Review portion of the competition, junior Natasha Chang received first place for her story about artist Benson Boone’s approach in rejecting the pop star lifestyle.

Additionally, seniors Niko Yatawara and Reyna Wan received first place for their first page News layout. 

For their various high placements in the event, The Bull’s Eye took the second place title in the Newspaper Sweeps. 

“As the new adviser, I did not have any expectations at all,” Connie Chen said. “I am pleased at how well they did.”

Award recipients were invited for the Digital State High School Journalism Media Contest on March 12, with Busteed placing fifth, Palaris and Kim placing seventh and Chu tenth.