2011 Edition of Be a T.I.G.E.R! Newspaper Now Available

March 2, 2011

The 2011 edition of the Be a T.I.G.E.R! Newspaper is now available. The newspaper is one of four components of the Be a T.I.G.E.R! character education initiative sponsored by Clemson Athletics’ Community Relations department. The aim of the program is to incorporate specific character traits into a comprehensive educational program that highlights Clemson’s student-athletes and traditions.

Click on the link below to view the complete newspaper in PDF format.

2011 Be a T.I.G.E.R! Newspaper

Read comments from the editor, Alyssa Kulik, a member of the Clemson women’s cross country and track & field team, about her experience editing the newspaper.

My Reflections as Editor of the Be a T.I.G.E.R.! NewspaperBy Alyssa Kulik

When I started my junior year as a student-athlete at Clemson, I told myself that I was going to get more involved this year. Why I thought that I needed to add more activities onto my workload of double majoring, cross country & track practices, traveling for competition, and free time, I’m still not sure. However, when Chad Holt, the director of S.O.S. approached me, asking if I would be willing to head up the Be a T.I.G.E.R.! newspaper this year, I readily agreed without looking too far into it. Little did I know how much work it was going to be! However, I also came to find out what a rewarding experience it was as well.

The Be a T.I.G.E.R.! newspaper is one of the 5 components in the Be a T.I.G.E.R.! character building program. It is used as an educational tool, as well as a follow-up, after S.O.S. members make appearances at school assemblies. It is geared towards elementary school kids, to teach them the qualities of teamwork, integrity, gratitude, education, and respect. This year’s newspaper is the 5th edition to be made for the program, and it is uniquely written, edited and produced entirely by student-athletes!

I worked with a small staff of 4 other members: Elyse Borisko (XC/Track), Kate Borowicz (XC/Track), Rachel Hurd (Soccer), and Brannon Sulka (XC/Track). They really helped out with planning the spread of pages, and actually writing the content pages. Without their help, I couldn’t have done this! I worked as the editor after all of the pages were written (and wrote a few of them myself) to make sure everything worked together in the paper. Besides editing, I used my love for art to make cartoons for each T.I.G.E.R. trait page, as well as a new logo and cover design.

This year’s theme was “If you take The Tiger to school…” and each T.I.G.E.R. trait page followed this storyline, where the Clemson Tiger goes to school, and learns how to be a real T.I.G.E.R. He goes though many experiences while attending school, from joining the football team, to studying with friends, to thanking his teacher for helping him in school, to aspiring for a college education and a career, and to respecting all of those around him. The newspaper staff brainstormed for this storyline together, and everyone had a part in writing it, which really made it special.

Overall, working on this newspaper has been a very rewarding experience. It was hard work, but also a lot of fun to do, and I know that once it comes off of the printing press it is going to look amazing. Besides the actual work, it will be great to see how much other people enjoy it as well; I really think that the kids are going to love reading this paper and learning even more about being a T.I.G.E.R.! It’s great to know that something that I did is going to make a difference for many so people!