UIS student newspaper staff wins awards from the Illinois College Press Association

The Journal, the student newspaper at the University of Illinois Springfield, won five awards in an annual Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) competition judged by professional journalists throughout the state. Awards were presented at the annual ICPA convention, held Feb. 17 and 18 in Chicago.

Entries from Spring Semester 2016 and Fall Semester 2016 were recognized.

Erica Thomas of Springfield, Journal photographer, won first-place for a sports photo she took of two players in action during a UIS men’s soccer game.

Alex Camp of Chicago, former Journal columnist and assistant editor for sports, won second-place for a spring 2016 column describing his concerns about returning to Chicago after earning his bachelor’s degree. Camp, now a graduate student in the UIS Public Affairs Reporting Program, received an honorable mention for a headline he wrote in fall 2016: “Hell freezes over: Cubs win the pennant.”`

Others receiving honorable mention include Megan Swett of O’Fallon, Illinois, Journal editor-in-chief, for the fall 2016 article, “Celebrating Queertober: AroAce student discusses her identity, her relationships, and the LGBT+ community,” and Jeff Burnett of Loves Park, Illinois, for a story about the Sangamon County Drug Court, which was published in the fall 2016 Journal magazine, Beyond. Burnett is now a graduate student in the Public Affairs Reporting Program.

The ICPA membership is comprised of more than 30 college newspapers from throughout the state. Among the schools competing in the division of non-dailies with enrollments of more than 4,000 were DePaul, Columbia College, University of Chicago, SIU-Edwardsville, Bradley, Loyola and the School of the Art Institute.

For more information, contact Debra Landis, UIS Student Publications Adviser at 217/206-7717 or dland2@uis.edu.