MACE & CROWN ONLINE RATED ONE OF BEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER SITES IN NATION

The online version of Old Dominion University's student newspaper, the Mace & Crown, recently gained recognition as one of the three best student newspaper Web sites in the nation.

The ranking, which was announced by Student Leader magazine, resulted from the Web site's entry in the magazine's America's Best Student Website Competition, co-sponsored by Macromedia.

A panel of four judges rated the more than 150 entries on such factors as content, design, interactivity with visitors, quality of links, and how the site helps students.

Web master Tom Feist, a senior management of information systems major from Woodbridge, Va., started Old Dominion's online student newspaper, www.maceandcrown.com, in August 2001. He also has served for the past year as Web master for the university's faculty/staff newspaper and alumni magazine.

"This award validates the hard work and dedication that's gone into building this site," Feist said. "With the help of my assistant Web master, John Genthner, it is hard for me to believe that, barely six months from its debut on the World Wide Web, our site is already contending for national recognition."

Genthner, a junior from Rochester, N.Y., is majoring in e-commerce.

The ranking of the three finalists will be published in the spring edition of Student Leader magazine, to be issued in early April.