Winners

Lawrence Ross III: The 1999 graduate of Conner High School in Hebron last week may have saved the lives of hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq. Ross, standing guard in a tower at about 5 a.m., noticed a suspicious car headed for a U.S. military base in Talafar, Iraq, which housed 300 soldiers. He said he fired off 100 rounds of ammunition into the vehicle, and it exploded, leaving a 9-foot crater 15 yards away from his tower. Had Ross not been more alert, the result could have been much worse.

University of Cincinnati: The city of Cincinnati is known world-wide for its astonishing architecture. So it is fitting that the University of Cincinnati's undergraduate architecture and interior design programs have been named the nation's best, according to a survey of design employers released last week. Design-Intelligence, published by the Design Futures Council, was responsible for ranking the program. Michaele Pride-Wells, the school's director, is understandably proud. We're excited about the buzz it creates in this architecturally rich city.

Losers

Gunrunners: At least eight students or former students from Wilberforce University in Xenia were snagged in a Justice Department round-up of illegal gun traffickers. Police say the students were engaged in the felonious extracurricular activity of serving as "straw buyers" of about 200 guns. They falsely filled out federal gun background checks, claiming they were the actual purchasers. About 76 of the guns purchased from the Hole in the Wall gun store were funneled to an Orange, N.J. street gang known as the Double II Bloods. In October, Wilberforce President Floyd H. Flake memoed students about a New York Daily News report of gun-running at predominantly black colleges. It's good DOJ is cracking down on the lucrative, illegal gun market that is fueling the bloodshed on urban streets, including Cincinnati's.

Give us your ideas

This feature appears every Saturday. Is there someone or something you think deserves to be designated as a winner or a loser based on the week's news? Send a name and a brief explanation of why you think they deserve the label to Ray Cooklis at rcooklis@enquirer.com; phone (513) 768-8525.