Mister Claflin Mendel Rivers and Miss Claflin Arteria Gibson have been crowned 2023 Mister and Miss CIAA.
The Mister & Miss CIAA Scholarship Competition recognizes two individuals who stand out in the areas of professionalism, academics, school involvement and public service. On Feb. 25 during “Super Saturday” in Baltimore at the Central Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, seniors Mendel Rivers Arteria Gibson were crowned and presented with $2,500 scholarships.
“I was in complete shock,” Gibson said. “I was so happy to bring these titles home and put Claflin even higher on the map.”
Rivers’ win signifies the second ever Mister CIAA and Gibson is Claflin’s third Miss CIAA. “It was a moment of relief that all our hard work has paid off,” Rivers said
This is the first time that one university took home both titles.
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While defining Gen Z is complicated, it may be even harder to understand the generations complex relationship with news and media. Lee Banville is the director of the University of Montana School of Journalism. He worked alongside Jim Lehrer on PBS Newshour for 14 years as the internet revolution came online. “Getting a student to believe stuff is actually really hard these days,” Banville said. “I remember Jim used to have a thing where it’s like, ‘all I got to do is convince the guy watching TV to yell out to his wife, ‘hey, Mable, come in and watch this.” And that’s how we knew we got a good story, is if he yelled that, and it was like, that is a different. It’s a different world, right?” A different world is right. SCRIPPS NEWS’ MARITSA GEORGIOU: Where do you get most of your news? GRACE BINTZ: Definitely social media unfortunately. GEORGIOU: Is there a specific site? BINTZ: Probably Snapchat. Shes typical. A 2022 poll shows the favorite news source for Gen Z is social media with 50% reporting daily use. Network and cable TV news came in fifth and sixth place with newspapers dead last. And theyre using sites like Youtube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat not Facebook or Twitter. “They think of news differently than we did when you grew up in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s,” Banville said. Erin Sargent looks at this from many viewpoints. Shes part of Gen Z served as editor-in-chief of the University of Montana student newspaper and now handles social media for Girls Life magazine. Gen Z is her target audience. “We grew up with podcasts, and like Youtube documentaries, and all of these different things that I think for me, journalism is learning all of those skills, and then seeing where can I put it,” Sargent said. “I would say optimistically, that media has always evolved. This is just another evolution.”Remember, this is the first generation born after the widespread adoption of the internet. SEE MORE: How ‘Gen Z Slang’ Connects To Black Culture Appropriation”We’re not used to scheduling a time to watch anything. I mean, you go on Hulu to get news you go on Hulu to get everything,” Sargent said. They also grew up with an over abundance of news sources legitimate and, well, not. “The democratization of publishing that anybody can publish anything anywhere at any time has led to like news sources that used to be seen as the source are now just one of a bazillion sources,” Banville said. A 2022 AP-NORC poll highlighted Gen Zs complicated relationship with the news with low trust in the press and a high worry about misinformation.”There’s so much misinformation that’s happening, especially because there’s a lot of polarization among the political spectrum,” said Mason Rusek, a student at the University of Montana. You dont have to look far to see evidence of widespread falsehoods on platforms like TikTok. Take the investigation into the murders of four college students in Moscow, Idaho. Amateur detectives used social media platforms to openly speculate who was to blame and what happened. Some named innocent people as suspects. Officials scrambled to put a stop to it as the investigation played out. Newsrooms and journalists have had to shift with a big focus on digital and social media. Also, clearly labeled sources and media literacy. “I’m so passionate about that. I wish that was something that we taught more frequently in school. I mean, for me, it was a required course. I wish that it was a required course for everyone,” Sargent said. “You really have to focus on like core principles of like, is it verified? Is it sourced and care less about like, where did you get it?” Banville said. “Your credibility is everything and it’s not even your organization’s credibility. It’s like your credibility.”Theres one more thing we learned from these young people. “I think there’s something fun in things that are retro,” Sargent said. Whats old is new again and as we learned especially if it has the right endorsement. “If the Kardashians, for example, were to like endorsing a newspaper or something, I think a lot of people would be out there,” Rusek said. “I love the habit of sitting down and watching the local news and seeing the weather and everything. It sounds awful, but it’s like novel, which is so ironic,” Sargent said. Hey, if flip phones, cassette tapes and even Crystal Pepsi can make a comeback why not the morning newspaper or the evening news?
“It’s a big accomplishment. We don’t know the odds of this happening again,” royal court adviser and Claflin Assistant Vice President for Student Development Dr. Denver Malcolm Key said.
The titles are determined by a combination of various judged and non-judged components – one of which is voting. Before arriving in Baltimore, contenders had to submit an essay, transcript and resume, plus a video shedding light on sponsor Food Lion’s initiative against hunger.
At the CIAA tournament, they participated in interviews with Food Lion executives, community service initiatives, and a royal reception to engage with the other 11 institutions in the competition. A new addition to the selection process was a business plan proposal for a Food Lion pantry initiative.
Gibson’s platform is “A better You at CU,” which focuses on students’ physical and mental well-being. “How can you be your best if you don’t feel your best?” Gibson said.
Rivers’ platform is “Boys to Men,” which promotes leadership, mentorship and excellence among his peers and youth within the community.
Upon graduating, Gibson, a senior from Columbia, plans to attend graduate school and earn her master’s degree in business administration. Her advice to aspiring Misses is to “stay positive throughout the week and be yourself.”
Gibson encouraged future Misses to not get wrapped up in the title and the crown and the sash. “Just be as authentic and as genuine as possible. As long as you’re your best self, that is what the judges want to see.”
Rivers, also a senior from Columbia, is currently working co-op with Dominion Energy and Transportation. After graduating, he hopes that will turn into a full-time job.
His advice to aspiring Misters is to “look around your campus and look at what’s going on and what needs change. Find ways that you can bring that change to the campus and find different ways to touch individual lives as well.”
Jaliah Robinson, editor of The Panther, Claflin’s student newspaper, is the 2021 S.C. Collegiate Journalist of the Year for institutions with under 5,000 enrollment.
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