The Hawk Style Manual

Revised Santilli Edition, 2024 (1/15)

This manual is intended to supplement The Associated Press Stylebook by highlighting important
issues within the Stylebook, divergences from the Stylebook, and the application of principles in
the Stylebook specific to the Saint Joseph’s University community. If a style issue is not covered
in this manual, refer to The Associated Press Stylebook.

Abbreviations/Acronyms
abbreviations/acronyms academic departments ✦ Lowercase department titles in all instances.
On first reference, use the full name of the department, such as the “department of biology.” On
second and subsequent references, an informal name, such as the “biology department” may be
used. Referring to a department as “the department” should only be done when the reference is
clear. Department disciplines that are languages — German, English, Spanish — should be
capitalized, as in the “department of German” or the “German department.” Use periods to
separate the letters in an abbreviation in which each individual letter is pronounced, as in the
case of “U.S.” See AP Stylebook for other nation’s abbreviation guidelines. Do not use periods
to separate the letters if the abbreviation is an acronym, an abbreviation that is pronounced as a
single word, as in “NATO.” Also, for acronyms that are more than four letters, capitalize the first
letter and lowercase the rest, as in “Unicef.” However, note that these are general rules and there
are numerous exceptions to them. Ex. ROTC (no periods). See campus buildings and
departments, college names, computer, GPA, information technology, OK, RA, and TV.

A.D. ✦ Because this is an abbreviation for “in the year of the Lord,” “A.D.” precedes the year, as
in “A.D. 96,” not “96 A.D.”

a.k.a. ✦ Use this abbreviation a.k.a., rather than aka or a k a, to stand for “also known as.” Note
that this is an exception to AP style. Also, note that the abbreviation “a.k.a.” should be reserved
for features writing only; use “also known as” in all other sections.

A.T.M. ✦ Acceptable in first reference for “automated teller machine.” “A.T.M. machine” is
redundant and should not be used.

B.C. ✦ Because this is an abbreviation for “in the year [43] before Christ,” “B.C.” follows the
year, as in “43 B.C.”
Academic Degrees, Departments and Titles
academic degrees ✦ Separate a person’s degree from his or her name with commas, as in “John
Jones, Ph.D., spoke.” If the person has multiple degrees, only reference the doctorate degree
unless they are an alum with multiple St. Joe’s or USciences degrees. See

academic/administrative titles ✦ In general, use abbreviations, as listed below:

· bachelor/master of arts (BA/MA)
· bachelor/master of science (BS/MS)
· master of business administration (MBA)
· master of education (M.Ed.)
· master of occupational therapy (MOT)
· doctor of philosophy/doctorate (Ph.D.)
· doctor of education (Ed.D.)
· doctor of arts (DA)
· doctor of business administration (DBA)
· doctor of pharmacy (PharmD)
· doctor of occupational therapy (OTD)
· doctor of physical therapy (DPT)
· doctor of psychology (Psy.D.)

Use apostrophes in “bachelor’s degree,” “bachelor’s,” “master’s degree” or “master’s.”

Only terminal degrees (Ph.D., Ed.D., M.F.A., J.D., M.S.W., PharmD, etc. ) should be used in
attributions.

academic/administrative titles ✦ for first references to faculty members, use the following
format: “Jenny Spinner, Ph.D., professor of English” (preferred) or “Professor of English Jenny
Spinner, Ph.D.” Note that the title is NOT capitalized when it immediately follows the name but
IS capitalized when it immediately precedes the name. Also, the courtesy title of “Dr.” is never
used before the name. This rule only applies to academic doctorate degrees –– when referring to
a medical doctor, the attribution Dr. can be used before the name.
❖ When necessary for clarity on subsequent references, use the department title, as in
“Jenny Spinner, Ph.D., of English, said.”
❖ When referring to department chairs, use the following format: “Paul Aspan, Ph.D., chair
of theology and religious studies.” While AP style requires gender-specific titles, we
choose to simply say “department chair.” Only use chair title, along with academic title,
when chair role is relevant to the story. Otherwise, academic title is sufficient.
❖ For first references to administrative staff members, place those that are two words or
less before the name and those that are three words or longer following the name,
 separated from the name by commas. So, “University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D.”
but “Cary Anderson, Ed.D., vice president of Student Life.” Note that the title is
capitalized when it appears immediately BEFORE the name but not when it appears
immediately after the name.
❖ On second and subsequent references, use last names only and without courtesy titles.
So, “Scola said” or “Shih watched.” See also religious titles.
❖ If a person possesses more than one title, select the title most relevant to the article.
❖ Refer to the university directory for faculty and administrative titles.
❖ Information about faculty and staff titles, as well as the names of specific offices, can be
found in Saint Joseph’s University’s campus directories, located online on the Nest
homepage, or in the printed campus directory. Please note that many departments do not
regularly update their web pages, so department websites are not always accurate.
Reference resource list for commonly used administrators and professors and titles in correct AP
style can be found here.

academic departments ✦ Lowercase department titles in all instances. On first reference, use
the full name of the department, such as the “department of biology.” On second and subsequent
references, an informal name, such as the “biology department” may be used. Referring to a
department as “the department” should only be done when the reference is clear. Department
disciplines that are languages — German, English, Spanish — should be capitalized, as in the
“department of German” or the “German department.”

academic programs ✦ Capitalize the full name of the academic program on first reference, as in
“the Honors Program,” “the Gender Studies Program,” etc. Lowercase “program” on subsequent
references, as in “program director Sam Smith, Ph.D.” or “the program aims to encourage
diversity.” Refer to the University’s Web site — www.sju.edu — for the full names of academic
programs. Also note that academic programs do not perform actions in the sense of saying and
doing things. So, write “the director of the program said” rather than “the program said.”
Addresses
addresses ✦ Use the abbreviations “Ave.,” “Blvd.,” and “St.” only with numbered addresses, as
in “5600 City Ave.” See campus buildings for specifics on referring to the “City Ave.”
apartments. Lowercase when alone or used in more than one street name: “City and
Wynnewood avenues.” Words such as “alley,” “terrace,” “circle,” and similar words should not
be abbreviated. Always use figures for address numbers: “7 Chase Circle.” Spell out and
capitalize “First” through “Ninth” when used in street names. Use figures with two letters for
“10th” and above. So, “7 First St.,” but “562 63rd St.”

Ages
ages ✦ Use figures for people and animals, as in “The girl is 14 years old.” Use figures for the
ages of inanimate objects, as in “the course is 3 years old.” Use hyphens for ages used as
adjectives or as substitutes for a noun, as in “the 5-year-old boy” or “The 4-year-old competition
is for 11-year-olds.”

all right ✦ Not “alright.” Hyphenate when used as an adjective: “an all-right book.”

alumnus, alumni, alumna, alumnae, alum ✦ Use “alumnus” (“alumni” is the plural) in
reference to a man and “alumna” (“alumnae” is the plural) in reference to a woman. Use
“alumni” in reference to a group of men and women.

ampersand ✦ Use an ampersand when it is part of a name, such as “Procter & Gamble.” Also,
an ampersand may be used in headlines when appropriate and necessary to reduce space.

Apostrophes
apostrophes ✦ The apostrophe that precedes a student’s class year faces the opposite direction
(left). For example, Nick Mandarano ’18, the sports editor. To create this apostrophe, type a
letter, add the apostrophe after, then delete the letter or (shift-option-right bracket on a
keyboard). So, x’18 becomes ’18. There is no comma before the student’s class year.

archdiocese ✦ Philadelphia is an archdiocese, not a diocese. Capitalize when part of a proper

name, “the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,” but lowercase when used alone, “the archdiocese.”
Asian American ✦ Acceptable for an American of Asian descent. When possible, refer to a
person’s country of origin or follow the person’s preference. Note the capitalization of Asian.

athlete titles ✦ When naming a specific athlete, use the academic year (freshman, sophomore,
junior, senior) as an identifier, NOT ’14, ’15, etc. “Freshman DeAndre Bembry,” never
“DeAndre Bembry ’14.”

Atlantic 10 ✦ Not “Atlantic Ten” “A-10” is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

attributions ✦ When attributing a quote, use primarily the verb “said.” Only use “says” if the
quote is a repeated position or statement that the person or party has held for some time. Present
tense verb use is sometimes acceptable in feature writing; please check with your editor.

bandmate ✦ One word. Microsoft Word’s spell checker does not recognize this.

B.C. ✦ Because this is an abbreviation for “in the year [43] before Christ,” “B.C.” follows the
year, as in “43 B.C.” See abbreviations/acronyms.

Black ✦ Preferred over African American by AP. Always capitalize the “B.” If a source identifies
as African American or another racial identity, always use the preferred term.

Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) ✦ Note the capitalization. On subsequent
references just use BIPOC. Preferred reference to People of Color.

The Movement For Black Lives ✦ is an international human rights movement, originating from
within the Black American community, which campaigns against violence and systemic racism
towards Black people. Note the capitalization. Preferred over the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Blue Light ✦ Two words, in reference to Blue Light systems typically in place on
college/university campuses. Note the capitalization.

Bible ✦ Note the capitalization.

Board of Trustees ✦ Capitalize in reference to the Saint Joseph’s University Board of Trustees.
Lowercase “the board” and “the trustees” on subsequent references. Lowercase “trustee” in
reference to a single member of the board.

book titles ✦ Use quotation marks around book titles. The Hawk does not use italics in body
copy. See compositions.
1.
Breaks
breaks ✦ Note the capitalization for “Summer Break,” “Fall Break,” “Thanksgiving break,”
“Winter Break,” “Spring Break,” and “Easter break.” “Christmas break” does not exist; instead,
use “Winter Break.” Seasonal breaks are not capitalized while breaks that are solely for the
purpose of a specific, individual holidays are capitalized.

brown ✦ Avoid this broad and imprecise term in racial, ethnic or cultural references unless as
part of a direct quotation. Acceptable in reference to "Black and brown communities." Note the
lowercase "b."

buildings ✦ See campus buildings or addresses.

Bylines
bylines
❖ Listed in alphabetical order by last name, even if the writers of an article are of different
positions. Translators are the only exception to this rule.
❖ If a writer holds a Hawk position within the Opinions section, they are identified as
“columnist.”
❖ If a writer holds a position on The Hawk outside of the Opinions section, they are
identified as such position.

campuses ✦ Refer to St. Joe’s City Avenue campus as Hawk Hill campus. Refer to the West
Philadelphia campus as UCity campus (formerly the University of the Sciences campus). Refer
to Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences (PA College) as Lancaster campus.

Campus Buildings and Departments

Hawk Hill Campus

219 Merion Place (Financial Affairs) Ashwood Apartments
225 Merion Place (Print Services and Barbelin Hall (Hawk Central)
Copy Center) Barry Hall
35 Berwick Road - Maguire Campus Bellarmine Hall
39 Berwick Road - Maguire Campus Bluett Theatre (in Post Hall)
Academic Plaza Boland Hall
AFROTC Program Bronstein Hall
Alumni House Campion Student Center
Campion Food Court (DB on subsequent Manresa Hall (Jesuit nursing home)
mentions) McShain Hall
Center for Inclusion and Diversity (CID on Haub Executive Center in McShain
second reference) Residence Center
Doyle Banquet Hall Merion Gardens
Drexel Library Merion Hall
Drexel Library Terrace Merion Hall Atrium
Duperreault Hall (Office of Morris Quad Townhouses
Development and Alumni Relations) Moore Hall (External Affairs, Govt.
Cardinal Foley Campus Center/Kelly Relations)
Career Development Center Nicoletti Music Studio
Chapel of Saint Joseph O’Pake Fitness & Recreation Center
Claver House (Honors Program) Maguire Campus
Connelly Hall Pennbrook Apartments
ELS Language Center The Perch
Fine Arts East Post Hall
Frances M. Maguire Art Museum Post Learning Commons (PLC)
Gabriel Hall Power Plant
Gabriel Hall Garage Quinn Hall (Office of Development and
Hawks’ Landing Alumni Relations)
Hagan Arena Quinn Track
Hogan Hall Quirk Hall
Human Resources (5600 City Ave) Rashford Hall
Jordan Hall Raynham Hall - Maguire Campus
Kettle Dining Hall (formerly Campion Regis Annex
Dining Hall)1 Regis Hall (President’s Office)
Kinney Center Gillin Boathouse (2200 Kelly Drive)
LaFarge Hall (Center for International Saint Albert’s Annex (Women’s Center)
Programs) Saint Albert’s Hall
Lancaster Court (Weymouth and Saint Alphonsus House (Jesuit
Hastings) Residence)
Landmark Americana Saint Mary’s Hall
Lannon Hall (formerly Borgia Hall) Saint Joseph’s University Bookstore
Loyola Center and Carriage House Science Center
(Residence for Jesuit Smithson Field
Community) Simpson Hall
Mandeville Hall (Haub School of The Kettle at Campion (formerly known as
Business) Campion Food Court or DB)2

1 2
Use “formerly known as” through summer 2025 Use formerly known as DB through summer
2025
The SJU Community Garden Windrim Hall (Office of Marketing and
Sourin Hall Communications, which includes Creative
Student Health Center (can be referred to as Services, University Communications,
health center after first reference) University Marketing, Web Services and
Sullivan Annex Digital Content)
Sullivan Hall Wolfington Welcome Center
Sweeney Field (Undergraduate Admission)
Tara Hall Wolfington Hall (Campus Ministry)
Toland Hall (University Press) Xavier Hall
Villiger Hall

The former City Avenue residences were renamed as Rashford Hall (5200 City Ave.) and
Lannon Hall (5320 City Ave.) and should be referred to as such in all articles. Also see
addresses.
❖ On first reference to a building on campus, use the building’s full name, as in “On
Tuesday, the plumbing in Rashford Hall failed once again.”
❖ On second and subsequent references to a building on campus, an appropriate shortening
of the name may be used. For example, “The concert at Claver was a tremendous
success” or “Sourin residents now have to show identification.”
❖ Note that ROTC is an exception to the abbreviations/acronyms rule and does not have
periods separating each letter.

UCity Campus

Athletic/Recreation Center (ARC)

Griffith Hall

Learning and Living Commons (LLC)

College of Pharmacy
Campus radio

campus radio ✦ The campus radio station is Radio 1851 and is available online through
https://clubs.sju.edu/radio1851/ and also on the Radio 1851 app. The station was formerly called
“Saint Joe’s Radio/WSJR” but was renamed in 2011.

campus record label ✦ 1851 Records.

capitalization ✦ Capitalize all proper nouns, such as “John,” “Mary,” “America,” and
“Philadelphia.” Capitalize common nouns when they are part of the proper name for a noun, but
lowercase them when used as replacements for the full name. For example: “the Democratic
Party,” but “the party,” and “the Delaware River,” but “the river.” Capitalize names of places
and events that do not possess proper names recognized by the dictionary, but have popular
names that essentially function as proper names. For example: “Center City,” “the Main Line.”
Note that this also applies to shortened names of unique events, such as “the Series” for the
World Series or “the Cup” for the World Cup. Names of campus offices should be capitalized
and spelled out fully on first reference, according to what is on the university’s website. For
example:
Office of Information Technology
Office of Residence Life
Office of Inclusion and Diversity
SJU Dining Services
Capitalize words derived from a proper noun that still depend on the noun for meaning, such as
“Marxism” and “Shakespearean.” Lowercase words derived from proper nouns that no longer
depend on the noun for meaning, such as “french fries” or “quixotic.”
❖ For the capitalization of titles, see academic degrees, departments and titles
❖ See committee and compositions.

Cardinal
Cardinal ✦ Capitalize along with a name, as in “Cardinal John Foley” but do not capitalize in
references that do not contain a proper name, as in “The cardinal celebrated Mass last Sunday.”
See religious titles.
Catholic/catholic ✦ Due to the Roman Catholic heritage of Saint Joseph’s University, the use of
the word “Catholic” assumes the Roman Catholic Church under the authority of the pope and
may be used in first references rather than the full name “Roman Catholic.” However, “Roman
Catholic” must be used rather than simply “Catholic” in articles that also refer to other
denominations that consider themselves Catholic, such as Eastern Orthodox churches. The
lowercase “catholic” denotes general or universal, as in the Apostles’ Creed, where the phrase
“the holy catholic church” denotes the entire body of Christian believers.

See Cardinal, celebrant/celebrator, Church, Father, Mass, religious affiliations, religious

titles, and Roman Catholic Church, Scripture, and Virgin Mary.

Celebrant/Celebrator
Celebrant/Celebrator ✦ Use the term “celebrant” only in reference to someone who conducts a
religious rite. Use the term “celebrator” for someone who is having a grand time.

Christmas ✦ Never use the abbreviation “X-mas.”

Christmas break ✦ See breaks.

Church
Church ✦ Capitalize when part of a full name, as in “St. Matthew’s Church” or “the Roman
Catholic Church.” Lowercase in other uses, such as “a church,” “a Roman Catholic church,” or
“he believes in the separation of church and state.” See Roman Catholic Church.

Class designations
class designations ✦ Generally lowercase, except in reference to a specific class, such as “the
Class of 1982.” See also student titles.

clubs/organizations ✦ Capitalize full names of campus clubs and organizations such as “SJU
Theatre Company” (formerly Cap & Bells Society) or “College Republicans.” On subsequent
references, refer to the “club” or “the organization” unless full title is needed again for clarity.
For a complete list of student clubs and organizations, go to the following Web site:
http://www.sju.edu/campus-life/clubs-organizations. See also campus radio, Greek life, RA,
and legislative bodies.
coach ✦ Capitalize when preceding a name as a title, such as “Head Coach Phil Martelli.”
Lowercase when following a name or when not referring to a specific person, as in “Phil
Martelli, coach of the Saint Joseph’s Hawks basketball team” or “the school is looking for a new
assistant coach.” Never refer to anyone as “Coach [last name]” on subsequent references.

College names

college names ✦ Use full names on first references to the College of Arts and Sciences, the Haub
School of Business, Post Learning Commons, the Maguire Campus and the Maguire Wolfington
Welcome Center. On second and subsequent references, the abbreviation “CAS” may be used for
the College of Arts and Sciences; “Haub School,” or “HSB” may be used for the Haub School of
Business; the Maguire Wolfington Welcome Center should be referred to as the Office of
Admission on subsequent references (only in reference to the office, not the building).

commas in a series ✦ The Hawk does not use the serial or Oxford commas, as in “Joe, Jill, and
Mike” thus, “Joe, Jill and Mike” is preferred. Exceptions can and should be made in the need for
clarification and if the meaning of the sentence would be altered without the comma.

Committee
committee ✦ Note the spelling. Capitalize in reference to specific committees on the Saint
Joseph’s campus, such as “the Curriculum Review Committee.” On second and subsequent
references, “the committee” is acceptable, unless the article refers to more than one committee.

Communication Studies, Department of. ✦ Note this major is not called “Communications.” For
the university’s Office of Marketing and Communications, see Marketing and
Communications.

Compositions
compositions ✦ Capitalize and place in quotations the title of books, plays, albums, TV shows,
movies, and songs. Capitalize, but do not underline magazine or newspaper titles.

Computer
computer ✦ Use the words “PC,” “Mac” and “laptop” only when pertinent to the article.
Capitalize both letters in “PC” and do not separate the letters with periods; this is an exception to
the abbreviations/acronyms entry. Capitalize “Mac.” Note the spelling of “laptop.”
corrections ✦ Corrections should be in print under the staff editorial, in the week following the
error and online articles should include the corrections at the end of a piece. The following
format is to be used: the date of the issue with the error is first, the title of the piece where the
error occurred, what the error was, and finally the actual correction. For example, “Correction: In
the March 29 issue of The Hawk, the Opinions piece “The perfect solution: What my post-
graduation plans equate to” stated that Jenny Spinner, Ph.D., helped Sarah Cooney ’17 edit her
personal statement. Jenny Nessel ’19, a tutor in the Writing Center, assisted the author, not
Spinner.” (Taken and adapted from the April 5, 2017 edition of The Hawk)

course titles ✦ Capitalize course titles and do not place them in quotations. Do not use course
numbers. For example, “Literature of South Asia,” not “ENG 2611: Literature of South Asia.”

courtesy titles ✦ The Hawk does not use courtesy titles, such as “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Dr.” (except
in reference to a medical doctor), and uses only last names in subsequent references to people.
These titles are also removed from pieces in the Opinions section, including Letters to the Editor,
as they are still subject to Hawk style. See doctor and academic degrees, departments and
titles and religious titles.

coronavirus/COVID ✦ “covid-19” on first reference, “covid” (note lowercase) on subsequent

references. If in a quote, keep as said by the speaker, but follow manual guidelines by
lowercasing, even if it was written in an email.

covid-19 variants ✦ all variants of covid-19 are lowercase unless starting a sentence

cross-country ✦ Hyphenate.

deadnaming ✦ A deadname is a transgender person’s previous or birth name, and should only be
used if required to understand news or if requested by the person.

Dean’s List ✦ Note the capitalization.

departments ✦ See academic degrees, departments and titles.

directions and regions ✦ When writing directions, such as “north,” “south,” or “eastern,” use the
following guidelines: Lowercase when they denote compass directions; capitalize in reference to
regions. So, “he went west at the street light,” but “I-95 spans the East Coast.” Lowercase when
they accompany the names of nations, unless they are part of the proper name of the country or a
political division in a country. So, “eastern Canada” and “southern United States,” but
“Northern Ireland” and “North Korea.” Lowercase when accompanying states and cities, except
when part of the name. So, “western Pennsylvania,” but “North Dakota.” Capitalize when
denoting well-known sections of a city or state, as in “West Philadelphia” or “Southern
California.” Capitalize when part of the proper name for a region or location, as in “the Middle
East” and “the South Pole.”

Doctor
doctor ✦ For academic doctorates, see academic degrees, departments and titles. Use the
abbreviation “Dr.” on first reference to someone who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of
medicine, doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of podiatric medicine. In subsequent references, use
only the doctor’s last name.

Easter break ✦ See breaks.

earth, moon, sun ✦ Lowercase “moon” and “sun” in all instances. Generally, lowercase “earth,”
except in specific references to the planet. So, “he is down-to-earth,” but “What is the distance
between Mars and Earth?”

wrote in response to written questions from The Hawk ✦ Used when The Hawk reaches out
for an interview and the person requested opts to send a quote over email, rather than during an
in-person interview.

e.g.
e.g. ✦ Stands for the Latin “exempli gratia” or “for example” and is always followed by a
comma. See i.e.

editor ✦ Capitalize only when it is part of an official title. Do not capitalize as a job description.

editor in chief ✦ Not hyphenated, and only capitalized when used as part of a formal title, as in
“Editor in Chief Tom Williams.”

editorial/news ✦ When referring to a newspaper, use the term “editorial” to refer solely to the
department that prepares the editorial page, as well its employees and the articles that appear on
the page. Likewise, use the term “news” only to refer to the news department, its employees,
and its articles.
email ✦ When including email addresses in text, use normal font without quotations. Do not
include email addresses unless pertinent to the article, and, in general, specify the sender of the
email in addition to giving his/her address. Do not hyphenate email, i.e. e-mail.

emeritus, emerita, emeriti ✦ Use “emeritus” to denote a single male who has retired and retains
his position. Use “emerita” to refer to a single female who has retired and retains her position.
Use “emeriti” to refer to a group of “emeritus” and/or “emerita.” In use, write “Bob Jones,
Ph.D., professor emeritus of History.”

executive board ✦ Use executive board in first mention, eboard on subsequent mentions.

faculty/staff ✦ Use the term “faculty” to denote the members of an academic department or
academic program. Use the term “staff” to denote the members of an administrative or
organizational body.

Fall Break ✦ See breaks.

family names ✦ Capitalize words denoting family relationships only when before a name or as a
substitute for the person’s name, as in “I called Grandma Lohr,” or “I called Grandma,” not “I
called Lohr’s Grandmother” or “I called my Grandma.” Rather: “I called Lohr’s grandmother”
or “I called my grandma.” When describing in-laws use a hyphen; also, the plural is added to the
root, as in “mothers-in-law.” Use no space or hyphen when describing steprelations, as in
stepbrother. Also, avoid use of the informal terms “mom” and “dad” unless in quotations; use
“mother” and “father” instead.

Father
Father ✦ Do not use the abbreviation “Fr.” In direct quotes only, spell out as Father. See
religious titles.

Features ✦ Are not exempt from style rules, although exceptions can be made in special
contexts, as in a specialized column devoted to a specific subject or when achieving a literary
effect suitable for the piece. Departures from style rules may include, but are not limited to, the
use of dialect or colloquial writing. Always check with the writer or editor of the section if you
are unsure if exceptions can be made.

fleur-de-lis ✦ Note the proper spelling of this symbol located on the university seal. Do not put in
quotes.
Foreign words
foreign words ✦ Refer to Webster’s Dictionary. If the word appears in the dictionary’s main
listings, do not put in quotes. Otherwise, use quotation marks.

Fractions
fractions ✦ Use words for amounts less than one with hyphens between the words, as in “two-
thirds.” Words are used for mixed numbers under ten, as in “five and a half.” In cases where
either the numerator or denominator includes a hyphen use the form “two twenty-thirds.” Use
numerals where the spelling out would be difficult, as in “three 103rds.” For specific amounts
greater than one, use decimals wherever possible. If fractions must be used, use a whole number
and fraction separated by a full space for ⅛, ¼, ⅜, ½, ⅝, ¾, and ⅞, as in “5 ¼.” For other
fractions, use a hyphen and individual figures separated by a full space, as in “2 6-7.”

gender-nonconforming ✦ This term is used to describe peoples’ gender identities and

expressions that do not follow gender norms. Not synonymous with “transgender.” Do not use
outdated terminology such as “gender-bending” or “tomboy.”

Google ✦ Proper format of the trademark search engine. Note that “Google” is not a verb. A
person “uses Google” or “searches on/by using Google” but may not “Google a subject.”

gospel ✦ Lowercase except when referring to any or all of the first four books of the New
Testament, as in “the Gospel of Matthew,” or referring to the Christian sense of the Christian
message, as in “Moran preaches the Gospel.”

GPA
GPA ✦ Note that this is an exception to the rule regarding abbreviations and acronyms. See
abbreviations/acronyms.

graduate ✦ Students graduate from a school or graduate in a year, but never graduated a school.
Thus, they “graduated from Saint Joseph’s University,” not “graduated Saint Joseph’s
University.”

graduate students ✦ When referring to students in the master program, follow their last name
with a comma, then degree and class year. So for example, Joseph Thomas, M.A. ’17. If they
completed an undergraduate degree at Saint Joseph’s University, refer to them as: Christy
Selagy, ’16, M.S. ’17
gray ✦ The school colors are crimson and gray, not crimson and grey.

Greek life
Greek life ✦ Capitalize Greek but not life.

HawkHUB ✦ Note capitalization. Use with all references.

heaven/hell ✦ Lowercase as an obscenity (“oh, heavens” or “what the hell”); capitalize as a

spiritual destination, as in “God sent him to Hell/Heaven.” See obscenities for acceptable use.

Hispanic ✦ Refers to those from Spanish-speaking countries. Note the capital “H.”

honorary degrees ✦ All references should specify that the degree is honorary, and the courtesy
title “Dr.” is never used.

hormones Do not refer to “male” or “female” hormones, as all people have the same hormones;
it is their levels that vary. If necessary, name the specific hormone.

Indigenous ✦ Capitalize this term used to refer to original inhabitants of a place. Do not use
"Native American." If a source identifies as a different or more specific term, always use the
preferred term.

i.e.
i.e. ✦ Stands for the Latin “id est” or “that is” and is followed by a comma, as in “Justin is a card
i.e., he’s hilarious.” See e.g.

Internet ✦ Capitalize. The Hawk no longer uses the abbreviations “the Net” and “the Web.”
Instead, use the AP Style, as “website.” Note there is no capitalization in this spelling. Web
addresses include “http://” and/or “www.” When writing an Internet address, follow the
capitalizations of the website owner. In writing, break the address before a slash or dot that is
part of the address, and do not add a hyphen. If a story mentions a particular Web site or service,
include the URL. If the URL ends the sentence, end with the period. Add a URL at the end of a
story if it provides additional information, but is not specifically referenced. See URL and Web.

iPhone ✦ The “i” remains lowercase and the “P” is capitalized. Use IPhone only when the word
starts a sentence or headline. Do not hyphenate.
Information Technology
information technology ✦ Spell out on first reference, but acronym “IT” is acceptable on second
reference. Note that this is an exception to the abbreviations/acronyms entry.

it’s/its ✦ “It’s” is a contraction for “it has” or “it is.” “Its” is the possessive form of “it.”

italics ✦ This typeface is not used in newspaper print. The Hawk uses italics only in prescript and
postscript material such as an introduction to a Q&A with a specific individual or something like,
“This is a developing story.” See compositions for other formatting options. For words used as
words, use quotation marks; see words as words. Do not italicize foreign words, and if
necessary, place in quotation marks. See foreign words.

Jesuits ✦ See religious affiliations.

Latin ✦ For Latin words and phrases, see foreign words.

Latina/o ✦ Refers to people in the U.S. with Latin American ancestry. Latino is an ethnic group,
not a race category. Note the capital “L.”

Latinx ✦ An alternative to Latino/a. It refers to people who don’t identify as female or male.
Note the capital “L.”

Legislative bodies
legislative bodies ✦ Consult the Associated Press Stylebook for the United States government.
Use “University Student Senate” on first reference. “Student Senate” is acceptable on second
reference. Note the capitalization. Other universities’ student governments are not capitalized, as
in “The University Student Senate served as a model for the La Salle University student senate.”
The same rule applies for the University Faculty Senate (university council & college councils)
HSB College Council, etc.

Legislative titles
legislative titles ✦ When referring to the United States government, refer to The Associated Press
Stylebook. When referring to the University Student Senators, use the title “Student Senator.” in
first reference only when necessary for identification. On second reference omit the title. For
executive board members, specify that their title is within the University Student Senate. Avoid
use of organizational titles, unless relevant to the article, as in “Student Sen. Lou Gretta, vice
president of Financial Affairs, called the budget ‘appalling.’” See academic degrees,
departments and titles titles for format clarification.

LGBTQIA+ ✦ Used on first reference. On second and subsequent reference, LGBTQ may be
used.

Mail and Package Center ✦ New combination of mail services and packaging center; located in
Lafarge Hall.

Magis ✦ Used in the 2012 advertising campaign, “Live Greater: That’s the Magis.” When not
used as a part of the slogan, lowercase (i.e., “magis”) Refers to the forming of the Society of
Jesus (The Jesuits) and is Latin, meaning “the more” and referring to the Latin phrase Ad
majorem Dei gloriam, meaning “for the greater glory of God.” This is also a Jesuit motto and can
be found around Saint Joe’s campus (Campion dining hall).

Marketing and Communications

Marketing and Communications, Office of ✦ Includes Creative Services, University
Marketing, University Communications and Web Services and Digital Content.

Mass
Mass ✦ Capitalize when referring to the ceremony. Mass is “celebrated,” not “said.”

money ✦ Lowercase “dollars.” Use figures and precede by “$” unless no figure is specified, as in
“Lohr gives me a dollar.” For amounts less than one dollar, use numerals and spell out the word
“cents” lowercase, as in “45 cents.” For amounts greater than one dollar use “$” and the decimal
system. Use a singular verb with specified amounts, as in “$4 is her price.” For amounts over $1
million, use “$” and numerals up to two decimals with no separating hyphen. Be as exact as
possible, as in “I spent $4.25 million.” Or “I spent exactly $4,250,455.”

Months
Months ✦ Capitalize all names of months. Abbreviate months with more than five letters i.e.,
“Jan.,” “Feb.,” “Aug.,” “Sept.,” “Oct.,” “Nov.,” and “Dec.” and only when used with a specific
date. When used without a date, the month should be spelled out. Do not put a comma between
the month and year unless a date is included. Thus “January 2007,” but “Jan.1, 2007.”
non-SJU community members ✦ If a person included in a story lives near campus on the
Philadelphia side: “John Smith of the 4500 block on Wynnewood Avenue.” Everyone else:
“Mary Rowe of Lower Merion.”

The Nest ✦ Note the capitalization of the new St. Joe’s student portal as of November 2014. It is
no longer referred to as MySJU, unless the writer is referring to the portal used before January
2015.

newspaper names ✦ “The” in a name is capitalized when that is how the paper prefers to be
known. Newspaper names have no special formatting beyond capitalization, as in “I write for
The Hawk.” When used as an adjective, as in “the Hawk staff,” “the” is lowercase. Newspaper
names are not placed in quotes. When the location or parent school is not part of the official
name, but is needed, use parentheses, as in “The (Drexel University) Triangle.” Local and
common newspapers include:
❖ Saint Joseph’s University — The Hawk
❖ Temple University — Temple Times and The Temple News
❖ Drexel University — The Triangle
❖ LaSalle University — The LaSalle Collegian
❖ University of Pennsylvania — The Daily Pennsylvanian
❖ Villanova University — The Villanovan (official paper) and Villanova Times (alumni
donation sponsored paper).
❖ Philadelphia Inquirer
❖ The Catholic Standard & Times
❖ The New York Times
❖ Washington Post

nicknames ✦ In news stories, use in place of a given name only when that is how the individual
prefers to be known, as in “Jimmy Carter.” When inserting a nickname into the full name, use
quotes: Justin “God Among Men” Lohr.

nonprofit ✦ No hyphen needed, meaning is clear and unambiguous without a hyphen.

numbers ✦ Spell out one through nine. Use numerals for numbers 10 and higher. The same rule
is applied to ordinals. See addresses, ages, fractions, months, numbers in sports, numerals,
telephone numbers, time, time of day, and vote tabulations.
Numbers in sports
numbers in sports ✦ In general, spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers
10 and above. However, figures must always be used for scores, points, as a unit of
measurement, team records or game numbers, regardless if the numbers are under 10. Also, do
not use Ordinal numerals with st, nd, th, at the end of the word, spell it out. For example, “The
Hawks came in first place for their fourth game of the season.”

Numerals
numerals ✦ Spell out at the start of a sentence. If necessary, change the sentence to avoid
spelling out lengthy numbers. The exception is using a number when a calendar year starts a
sentence. Spell out casual expressions. Use words or numerals in a name according to the
organization’s preference. Spell out “first” through “ninth” when they indicate a sequence in
time or location. Use figures for greater than 10th. Write 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc. for sequences
used for forming names. Generally spell out whole numbers less than 10, and give figures for
numbers 10 and greater. Use commas with no spaces in large numbers (e.g. 4,293 or 1,000,000).
See

fractions ✦ for more clarification. Examples:

❖ Hundreds of hours passed before the book was finished
❖ 1986 was the year of her birth.
❖ A thousand pardons
❖ Third Reich
❖ First, beat the eggs. Stir in the flour second.
❖ 2nd Infantry
❖ Eating one pint of ice cream was easy, but eating 26 pints was impossible.

nuns ✦ See religious titles.

Obscenities

obscenities ✦ Avoid usage unless in a direct quote, and then, only for a compelling reason. If
unavoidable, notify your editor. If the profanity uses the word “god,” lowercase “god.”

offseason ✦ One word with no hyphen. Microsoft Word’s spell checker does not recognize this
word.
OK
OK ✦ Capitalize ✦ Not “okay.” Do not use periods.

Other SJU publications ✦ Use the following formats:

● Saint Joseph’s University Magazine
● HawkEye (note capital "E")
● Greatonian (the Saint Joseph’s University yearbook)
● Library Lines: Francis A. Drexel Library newsletter CA&S Today
● HSB Review
● Hawk Hill Online: The Newsletter for Parents, Alumni, and Friends
● NightHawk
● Intellect (official magazine of the College of Arts and Sciences)
● Crimson and Gray (the university’s undergraduate literary magazine)
● The Avenue (the university’s graduate literary magazine)
● SJU Independent Press (Do not use SJU Indie Press, this is an informal title)
● Hawk Hill Today (faculty newsletter)

Other college names

other college names ✦ On first mention, the entire name of the college/university should be
given (Villanova University, LaSalle University, University of Pennsylvania, etc.). Subsequent
mentions of the school may be shortened (Villanova, LaSalle, Penn, etc.).

panel discussions ✦ All panel discussions should be properly capitalized and placed in quotes.
For example, “We Tortured Some Folks: Due Process and the War on Terror.”

pass/no penalty ✦ This is an option given to students so their specific grade average of a class is
not shown on their transcript. Note the capitalization. On second reference P/NP is acceptable.

passive voice ✦ The Hawk avoids the use of the passive voice and prefers the active voice in
articles to make sentences more concise and clear. For example, “The article was edited by
Milan” is in the passive. However, in the active voice the sentence reads “Milan edited the
article.”
Person-first language

people with disabilities ✦ See this resource.

person of color ✦ Refers to all racial and ethnic groups that are not white/European. This is
preferred over “minority.” However, best practice is to refer to individual racial/ethnic groups.

Photojournalism
bylines
❖ Listed in alphabetical order by last name, even if the writers of an article are of different
positions. Translators are the only exception to this rule.
❖ If a writer holds a Hawk position within the Opinions section, they are identified as
“columnist.”
❖ If a writer holds a position on the Hawk outside of the Opinions section, they are
identified as such position.

photo captions ✦ Describe what is happening in the photo in the present tense along with the
people pictured. “Paul Patterson, Ph.D., shakes hands with shenid bhayroo, Ph.D., in front of
Marion Hall at St. Joe’s in Philadelphia, PA, Sunday Dec. 11, 2022.

photo attribute ✦ In all caps, first and last name of photographer followed by their class year and
“The Hawk” if they work as a photojournalist for The Hawk. “PHOTO: KELLY SHANNON
’24/The HAWK”
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
Student grad years ✦ Use the year they are currently awaiting graduation. If they are in the Doctor of
Physical Therapy program, but they haven’t yet graduated with their undergraduate degree, use their
undergraduate graduation year. Avoid using U1, U2, P1, P2, P3. For example, a sophomore Doctor of
Physical Therapy student may refer to themselves as a U2 student (undergraduate year 2). We would refer
to them as Jane Doe ’25. Always confirm their undergraduate graduation year along with their current
post-undergrad year. For example, if they are in their first year post under-grad, refer to them as Jane Doe
’23 PharmD ’25 because they have graduated from undergrad and are working toward their graduate
degree and will matriculate in 2025. See the chart below to help determine graduation:

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Department:
Physical Therapy
School/College:
School of Health Professions
Program Length:
5.5 years (full time)

207 credits (BS and DPT)

_____________________________
Dr.OT
Department:
Occupational Therapy
School/College:
School of Health Professions
Program Length:
6 years (full time)
Total Credits:
217 (BS and DrOT)
______________________________
Pharm D
Department:
Pharmacy Practice
School/College:
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
School of Health Professions
Program Length:
6 years (full time) - 2 years: pre-professional phase, 4 years: professional phase
Total Credits:
206 (BS and PharmD)

play titles ✦ See compositions.

PIN ✦ Stands for “Personal Identification Number.” “PIN number” is redundant.

postseason, preseason ✦ Both are one word with no hyphen.

Professional and Liberal Studies ✦ Formerly known as the College of Professional Liberal
Studies (CPLS) and University College (UC).

pronouns ✦ In interviews and stories, say, “the pronouns they use” or “whose pronouns are.”
Never use “preferred” or “chosen” pronouns.

protester ✦ Note the “er.” Merriam-Webster declared the “er” spelling preferred to the “or”
spelling.

presidents ✦ When referring to the university, University President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. on first
reference, then Reed on subsequent references. When referring to the President of the United
States, write out U.S. President, then on subsequent references, use President and the last name
of the president. For example, President Joe Biden visited the memorial. President Biden spoke
to veterans. Note, The Hawk does not use Donald J. Trump.

priests ✦ See religious titles.

police officers ✦ Use abbreviations when a military-style title is used before the name of a
firefighter or police officer. Add Police or Fire to the title if needed for clarity: Police Sgt.
William Smith, Fire Capt. David Jones. Spell out titles such as detective that are not used in the
armed forces. For campus security officer titles. See office of public safety & security.

police precincts ✦ When referring to a specific department, always capitalize it, with or without
a jurisdiction's name. Lowercase the department in all uses. Capitalize the districts and divisions:
17th District (not 17th Police District), Southwest Division (not Southwest Police Division),
Ethics Accountability Division. Use a formulation such as Southwest Detectives for the regional
detective divisions.
Office of Public Safety & Security
Office of Public Safety & Security ✦ Use “Public Safety” on subsequent references When
referring to security officers, use titles as designated in the directory. “Michael E. Brown,
certified security officer, said that the matter had been discussed.” Do not write “Officer Brown”
in second and subsequent references, just “Brown said.”

punctuation ✦ Periods and commas always go within quotation marks. For rules concerning
colons and semicolons, see the AP style manual.

SJU Safe ✦ When writing about the SJU Safe Emergency Notification System, put a space
between “SJU” and “Safe.” It is not “SJUSafe.”

RA
RA ✦ This abbreviation may be used on first reference to a “Resident Assistant” and is an
exception to the abbreviations/acronyms entry. Please note that this rule is the same for RHM
and RAM.

Red Shirts ✦ since this is not the official name for the students associated with the orientation
program, it should not be used in articles, except in quotes. Use “Orientation Leaders” (note the
capitalization) instead. Do not confuse this term with the sports term “to red shirt,” meaning to
sit out of competitive play, generally for one year.

Religious affiliations

religious affiliations ✦ Capitalize the name of all orders as well as terms related to members,
such as “Augustinian,” “Jesuit,” and “Society of Jesus.” See religious titles for how to format
individual names.

religious movements ✦ Generally do not describe an individual as a member of a religious

movement within a particular affiliation unless the individual is self-described as such. For
example, a religious individual or group should not be called “fundamentalist” unless they refer
to themselves that way, as such usage could be viewed as bias.

religious references ✦ Capitalize proper names of monotheistic deities. Capitalize the pronoun
when referring to the deity as well. Lowercase “gods” when dealing with a polytheistic tradition.
Capitalize proper names of pagan and mythological gods and goddesses. Major events in the life
of Jesus Christ not incorporating his name are capitalized, as in “Last Supper,” but are lowercase
when His name is used, as in “Christ’s crucifixion.” The same principle applies to His Mother.
Capitalize the Sacraments and all rites involved in them. Capitalize the names of holy days.
Also, “Messiah” is capitalized in reference to Jesus, but lowercase in the general use of the word.
Capitalize “Satan,” but lowercase “devil” and “satanic.” Use “Satan” rather than “the devil” in
articles. “Antichrist” refers to the biblical individual who will challenge Christ. Use the adjective
“anti-Christ” to refer to someone or something opposed to Christ.

Religious Titles

religious titles ✦ On first references to priests or nuns, use the full name followed by their
degree, as in “Former University President C. Kevin Gillespie, S.J.” or “Tom Brennan, S.J.” On
subsequent references, use only the last name for priests, as in “Lannon said” or “Brennan said.”
Do not use the abbreviation “Fr.” for “Father.” In a direct quote, spell out “Father.” For nuns,
use the designation “Sister” on first and subsequent references, as in “Sister Helen Prejean.” Do
not abbreviate as “Sr.” If a nun only uses a religious name, then use Sister and her full name on
all references: Sister Mary Magdalene. If a nun uses a religious name and a surname, drop the
religious name in subsequent references: Sister Mary Magdalene Jones becomes Sister Jones.
Also, use religious orders for nuns when information is known: Sister Simone Campbell, SSS
(note: no periods in acronym. See Roman Catholic Church.

Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church ✦ The clergy are (in decreasing order): pope, cardinal, archbishop,
bishop, monsignor, priest, deacon. Capitalize titles only when used with a name. Capitalize
“Church” when referring to the body but lowercase when referring to a building. Examples:
● The bishop granted a dispensation.
● Pope Benedict lives in Rome.
● The Church opposes murder.
● The church is in need of repair.

ROTC✦ See campus buildings and departments and abbreviations/acronyms.

School abbreviation
school abbreviation ✦ On first reference, St. Joe’s should be used; on subsequent reference, “St.
Joe’s” can still be used or simply “the university” note capitalization. Never “St. Joseph’s” or
“Saint Joe’s.” The designation “Hawks” in reference to the student body should be avoided
except in Lifestyle or Sports writing. Never use “SJU,” except in quotes.

school colors ✦ St. Joe’s school colors are crimson and gray. Note spelling.

school name ✦ See school abbreviation.

school slogan ✦ “The Hawk Will Never Die.” Capitalize each word and finish with a period. The
tagline for the university is “Spirit. Intellect. Purpose.” Note the periods and capitalizations.

schuylkill ✦ Do not add “River” when referring to the body of water. “Schuylkill” means “hidden
river.” When referring to the interstate, use “Schuylkill Expressway.”

Scripture
Scripture ✦ Capitalize when used to refer to the religious writings in the Bible.

seasons ✦ Lowercase unless part of a formal name, as in “Winter Ball.”

semester ✦ Lowercase semester, as in “the fall 2020 semester,” “the spring 2023 semester,” “the
fall semester” or “fall 2023.” Avoid unnecessary use of “of,” as in “the fall of 2023.”

service learning ✦ No hyphen.

since ✦ “Since” is used to denote the passage of time and should never be used as a synonym of
“because.”

SJU ✦ This abbreviation should never be used in articles to refer to the university, unless it’s in a
quote. However, the abbreviation is used as the official name for different organizations and
groups on campus. For example, SJU Theatre Company, SJU Athletics, SJU Independent Press.
Always check to make sure the abbreviation is actually part of the title and is not meant to be a
shortened version of the university’s full name.

SJU Dining Services ✦ Use SJU Dining Services on first reference. Dining Services is
acceptable on subsequent references as long as it’s clear the writer is referring to St. Joe’s Dining
Services.
year

sister ✦ See religious titles.

social media ✦ Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Google Plus, LinkedIn,
YouTube.

Society of Jesus ✦ When discussing the order itself, use the full name. When referring to the
Maryland Province of Jesuits, the full name must be used first. Following this, say the Maryland
Province.

SOGI ✦ Shorthand for “sexual orientation and gender identity.” Avoid using this acronym unless
it is in a quote or in the name of organization, and explain the abbreviation if used.

song titles ✦ Use quotation marks. See compositions.

spelling ✦ For spelling issues not covered in this manual or The Associated Press Stylebook,
refer to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition.

Sports
athlete titles ✦ When naming a specific athlete, use the academic year (freshman, sophomore,
junior, senior) as an identifier, NOT ’14, ’15, etc. “Freshman DeAndre Bembry,” never
“DeAndre Bembry ’14.”

Atlantic 10 ✦ Not “Atlantic Ten.” “A-10” is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

Days of the Week

numbers in sports ✦ In general, spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers
10 and above. However, figures must always be used for scores, points, as a unit of
measurement, team records or game numbers, regardless if the numbers are under 10. Also, do
not use Ordinal numerals with st, nd, th, at the end of the word, spell it out. For example, “The
Hawks came in first place for their fourth game of the season.”

seed in sports ranking ✦ Use No. 1 seed when writing about a team’s ranking, using numerals.
When using ordinals (first, second, third, etc.), spell out from 1-9, and use numerals for 10 and
above.

sports team names ✦ St. Joe’s should always come before the name of a university sports team.
The name of the team should be lowercase. Ex: St. Joe’s men’s basketball team.
sport-specific rules ✦ Names of positions are not to be capitalized, even if they appear before the
player’s names, unless they begin a sentence. Class standings (freshman, sophomore, etc) should
be used instead of class years.

sports numbers ✦ In general, spell out numbers one through nine and use figures for numbers 10
and above. However, figures must always be used for scores, points, as a unit of measurement,
team records or game numbers, regardless if the numbers are under 10. Also, do not use Ordinal
numerals with st, nd, th, at the end of the word, spell it out. For example, “The Hawks came in
first place for their fourth game of the season.

the Hawks ✦ Use this in Sports or Lifestyle writing when referring to the student body or the
team. Lowercase “the” unless beginning a sentence.

University names ✦ In sports stories, the full name of colleges and universities is not necessary. It
is acceptable to say “Villanova” instead of “Villanova University.” Do not use Nova.
Spring Break ✦ Note capitalization. See breaks.

statements ✦ If publishing a statement from a group or individual (Student Senate, for example)
keep the same language and style as used in the written statement. Do not change to Hawk or AP
Style. Only remove italics or bolds if used.

state names ✦ When used alone in the body of a story and when used with a place name, spell
out, as in “I grew up in Illinois” or “I grew up in Chicago, Illinois.” Abbreviate District of
Columbia as D.C. when used with Washington, as in Washington, D.C. When used alone, spell
out.

Student Health Center ✦ Use Student Health Center on first reference. Health Center is
acceptable on subsequent references as long as it’s clear that the reporter is referring to St. Joe’s
Health Center.

Student titles
student titles ✦ Use titles “first-year student” instead of “freshman” and “upper-level student”
instead of “upperclassman.” Do not capitalize the words “first-year,” “sophomore,” “junior,” or
“senior,” except when they begin a sentence. When designating a student’s class and/or major,
use the following guidelines: write either “Katy Yavorek ’14,” or “Katy Yavorek ’14, a
psychology major.” Note the direction of the apostrophe –– not ‘14 but ’14 (shift-option-right
bracket on a keyboard). See apostrophes for this format. Never write “junior Katy Yavorek,”
“Katy Yavorek a junior,” or “junior psychology major Katy Yavorek.” On second reference,
refer to students only by their last names. In sports articles, it is acceptable to write “freshman,”
“sophomore,” “junior,” and “senior” in a student’s title. These titles should not be capitalized.
When referring to students in the master’s program, write their name, M.A. class year: Joseph
Thomas, M.A. ’24. If they have an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph’s University, put
their undergraduate graduation year first followed by their current post-undergrad year: Joseph
Thomas, ’22, M.A. ’24. See University of the Sciences and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
and Science graduate and alumni titles. See also class designations and legislative titles.

Telephone numbers
telephone numbers ✦ Use hyphens rather than periods. Put parentheses around area codes, and
for international numbers, parenthesize the country and city codes. For extension numbers, use
the abbreviation “ext.” and separate the extension from the main number with a comma. For
example, “(215) 555-8877, ext. 123.”

television channels ✦ Use the call letters and, if necessary, include “television station” for
clarity. For example, “WHYY television station.”

that, which ✦ When used as pronouns, they refer to inanimate objects without proper names.
“That” is used to introduce an essential clause and uses no comma. “Which” introduces a
nonessential clause, and is separated by commas. For example, “The style guide that Justin
worked on was his masterpiece” and “The style guide, which Justin worked on, was finished on
time.”

The Hawk

The Hawk ✦ The correct name of the student newspaper. Note that “the” is part of the name and
thus is capitalized. Do not use quotation marks.

The Hawks ✦ Use this in Sports or Lifestyle writing when referring to the student body or the
team. Lowercase “the” unless beginning a sentence.

theater ✦ Use this spelling unless referring to a proper name that uses the “theatre” spelling, as in
“Forum Theatre” or SJU Theatre Company.

till ✦ Do not use as an abbreviation for “until.”

Time
time ✦ Never write “today” or “tonight;” always use a day of the week. Refer to the months
entry for dates. Use figures except for “midnight” and “noon.” Use a colon to separate minutes
from hours. Avoid redundancies, such as “10 a.m. in the morning.” Note the proper formats are
“a.m.” and “p.m.”

Time of day
time of day ✦ Use a specific time only when necessary to the story; otherwise use general words,
such as “predawn.”

Thanksgiving break ✦ See breaks.

transgender ✦ Write out the full word on first reference, use “trans” on subsequent references.
Do not use the term “transgendered” or “transgender/s” as a noun.

T-shirt ✦ Note the hyphenation and capitalization.

TV
TV ✦ This is an appropriate abbreviation for “television” and is also an exception to the
abbreviations/acronyms entry.

University of the Sciences and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy

Campus ✦ University City, UCity on second reference.

University of the Sciences and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and

Science graduate and alum titles
University of the Sciences and Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science graduate and
alum titles Use the graduating year and abbreviation of the historic institution (before the
merger): University of the Sciences (USP) or Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science on
first reference, College of Pharmacy on subsequent. USP graduates are from the Class of 1998-
spring of 2022 E.g., “John Doe USP ’21.” College of Pharmacy graduates are from the Class of
1997 and earlier. E.g., “Jane Doe College of Pharmacy ’76.” Always write academic titles. Eg.,
Doctor of Occupational Therapy “DrOT,” Doctor of Pharmacy “PharmD,” so it appears “Jane
Doe College of Pharmacy ’76, PharmD.”

University of the Sciences ✦ Write the university’s full name on first reference. In subsequent
references use USciences.
university announcement ✦ An announcement to the university community usually containing
important information from the president or provost. Note the capitalization.

university ✦ Do not capitalize unless in use of the formal title of Saint Joseph’s University. So,
“The university won second prize for its program,” not “The University won second prize for its
program.” See school abbreviation.

University of the Sciences ✦ Write the university’s full name on first reference. In subsequent
references use USciences. See University of the Sciences and Philadelphia College of
Pharmacy.

updates ✦ The following format is to be used in articles that have been updated online. Update:
the date of the update, and what the update was. For example: “Update: This article was updated
on July 11, 2017 to include quotes from Jose Cerda, Ph.D., professor of chemistry.” (Taken from
The Hawk article “University mourns the loss of Mike Mullins”)

URL
URL ✦ stands for uniform resource locator and is an acceptable abbreviation in all references.
Refers to a website address. If a story mentions a particular website or service, include the URL.
If the URL ends the sentence, end with the period. Add a URL at the end of a story if it provides
additional information, but is not specifically referenced. If at all possible, keep website
addresses on one line. If you must separate into two lines, do not use a hyphen and divide after
“//” or “.”. See Internet, website.

U.S. ✦ Note the punctuation. Always use this abbreviation when referring to federal judges,
senators, or representatives (e.g. U.S. Senator Bob Casey).

University Student Senate ✦ When referring to the United States government, refer to The
Associated Press Stylebook. When referring to the University Student Senators, use the title
“Student Senator” in first reference only when necessary for identification. On second reference
omit the title. For executive board members, specify that their title is within the University
Student Senate. Avoid use of organizational titles, unless relevant to the article, as in “Student
Sen. Lou Gretta, vice president of Financial Affairs, called the budget ‘appalling.’” See
legislative bodies.

vice president ✦ In general, this title is not hyphenated. Also, lowercased unless directly
preceding a name. Do not use the abbreviation VP.
Virgin Mary
Virgin Mary ✦ When referring to the Mother of God under any title, use capital letters. The
format “the Virgin” is also acceptable.

Web
Web ✦ Capitalized. Acceptable abbreviation for World Wide Web in all instances.

website ✦ One word, not capitalized unless at the beginning of a sentence. If referring to a
website (but not its URL or address), defer to the website for its correct name and do not put in
quotation marks or underline. Examples include: Philly.com, MyProfessorSucks.com,
Facebook.com. See URL.

white ✦ Lowercase “w”

Winter Break ✦ See breaks.

vacation ✦ See breaks.

Vote tabulations
vote tabulations ✦ Always use figures. For votes involving fewer than 1,000 votes, use a
hyphen, as in “The students voted 578-543” or “a 578-543 vote.” For larger votes, separate with
the word “to” instead, as in 23,578 to 89,485.

Words as words
words as words ✦ Place words used merely as words rather than as their normal meanings in
quotation marks. Lohr can’t spell “cat” in Czechoslovakian.

Zoom ✦ Video communication software that is often used during virtual instruction. The “z”
should always be capitalized. “Zoom bombing” should be used when talking about hackers
interrupting a Zoom session. Note the capitalization.