On Friday, Feb. 28, three members of The Argus and their advisor, Dr. James Plath, attended the two-day Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) Conference, returning with 11 awards.
For the second time in its almost 150 years of printing, The Argus Staff won first place in General Excellence for the small school division. This category assesses three consecutive issues by each paper.
Judges said “The art and graphics are superior, and the stories cover an interesting variety of topics. Most of the stories are quite well-written, with good ledes and lots of direct quotes. The quotes are from a large number of students, faculty and staff and bring immediacy to the news.”
The Illinois College Press Association is an membership organization that holds an annual conference about special topics in college journalism, and ends the weekend with an awards ceremony for excellence in college papers across three divisions: small, medium, and large four-year colleges.
The Argus submitted over 30 entries into the ICPA competitions for open contest and division categories, competing against over 15 schools for small division categories and every ICPA member college in Illinois in the open categories.
“It was exciting for me to write in the issues we submitted to the contest, especially as a first-year.” Sports Editor Kaylee Unruh said.
First-year graphic designer Naomi Toraason said “It was cool to see my hard work recognized at such a level.”
Managing Editor Cody Buskohl won four individual awards for his work in sports design and writing. “I’m excited to be rewarded for what I think is my best work,” he said. “But there’s always room for improvement and I can’t wait to go back next year and get some first place awards for my wall.”
Of the small school ICPA members, The Argus is one of the few weekly publications, while other small schools publish bi-weekly or monthly.
“Even though we were one of the smallest schools there, we were large and in charge.”
First place in General Excellence, Argus Staff
Second place in Editorial Writing, Argus Staff
Second place in Sports Feature Story, Cody Buskohl
Third place in Sports Column, Cody Buskohl
Third place in Sports Page Design, Cody Buskohl
Third place in Print Ad, Brooke Savoie
Third place in Print Ad, MJ Soria
Honorable mention in Opinion Pages, Brooke Savoie
Honorable mention in Sports Feature Story, Cody Buskohl
Honorable mention in Feature Photo, Ashtin Elder
Honorable mention in Feature Photo, MJ Soria