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Several staff members were present to accept the numerous awards that The Record received.Photo by Duane Stoltzfus[/caption]
Goshen College’s newspaper claimed 28 awards at the 2016 Indiana Collegiate Press Awards ceremony, including the Division III “Newspaper of the Year.” This is the first time that the Goshen College newspaper received the “Newspaper of the Year” award, after getting several second and third place awards previously in this category.
The association’s annual contest recognizes the best student work in Indiana college newspapers and other publications.
The ICPA started in 1957 after a meeting in Terre Haute between eleven Indiana colleges’ publications. Their main goal was “to promote fellowship and cooperation among the state’s collegiate journalists and publications.” Goshen College joined the organization 15 years so, and today, the ICPA has more than 40 member publications at more than 30 of Indiana’s public and private universities.
There are three different divisions among the publications. Division I is for universities that produce daily papers, Division II for universities with enrollment above 3,000 and Division III for colleges and universities with enrollment below 3,000.
Several staff members from the Record, including Duane Stoltzfus, the newspaper’s adviser, attended the annual convention at Indiana University-Purdue University, in Indianapolis. The staff members that traveled to represent The Record and Red Cents, the college’s literary magazine, were: Kayla Riportella, Grace Weaver, Maria Bischoff, Ashley Davenport and Armarlie Grier, all seniors; Sadie Gustafson-Zook and Jordan Waidelich, juniors; and Achieng Agutu, a sophomore.
These awards recognized Record staff from 2015, when Kayla Riportella and Grace Weaver were editors-in-chief. The division for Goshen College, Division III, is the largest of the three, with about 12 schools competing this year.
The Record got first place after obtaining 57 points, five more than the The Bachelor, from Wabash College. The Andersonian from Anderson University finished third with 27 points.
“These awards reflect the dedication and excellent work of dozens of students who combine their talents in the newsroom each semester,” said Stoltzfus. “We were fortunate to have two exceptional leaders in 2015 in Kayla Riportella and Grace Weaver.”
Riportella, spring editor-in-chief, said, “Ultimately, I was thrilled that the Record did so well in the Division III category this year.”
“There is a huge competition base that the paper goes up against, and I was extremely proud to see our publication come through on top,” she added.
Riportella did not forget to recognize the work of the staff, who also obtained many awards this year, “It just goes to show how great our staff is and how hard they work,” she said. “Grace and I were only the editors; we wouldn't have been able to do our job without such a strong and dedicated staff behind us.”
The Record collected 10 first-place awards, including:
Grace Weaver, best feature story, for “Kimber Beachy: Goshen to Antarctica”
Hayley Mann, best entertainment story, for “John Moreland: country lyricist coming to Ignition”
Achieng Agutu, best opinion column, for “Reflections on living in a white world”
Ashley Davenport, Liz Tecca and Leah Stebly for a series of Q & A’s with international students
Alex Pletcher, best feature photo, for a photograph of Dominique Chew
Isaiah Friesen, best sports photo, for a photograph of Derek Swartzendruber competing in the high jump
Hannah Sauder, best photo essay/picture story, for a series of images on the “Godspell” production
Emma Koop Liechty, best informational graphic, for a visual report on student demographics
Katie Hurst for best front-page design for the March 5 issue
Staff members for the “Goshen Election 2015” guide
The Record won 17 more second- and third-place awards among the Indiana colleges. “I'm so proud of the Record, and everyone that was a part of the 2015 year,” said Riportella. “It was a wonderful team effort.”
