The Daily was awarded one of college journalism’s highest national honors over Spring Break, receiving a 2003 Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association at a College Media Advisers convention in New York City. The Daily was one of only six newspapers to earn a Gold Crown, which honors overall excellence in issues published from October 2001 to October 2002.

Former Daily Editor in Chief Matt Donnelly called the award a compliment to the entire staff.

“This honors the work that everyone who contributes to the paper did,” said Donnelly, a Medill senior. “Everyone should be really proud.”

The Daily also netted six Gold Circle Awards, including second-place recognition for Adam Rittenberg and Glenn Kasses in the sports features category and for cartoonist Alex Thomas’s comic strip. Honorable mentions were given for news writing, general feature writing, overall design and feature-page design.

Current Editor in Chief Adam Williams said The Daily won’t be content to rest on its laurels.

“I left the conference proud,” said Williams, a Communication junior. “But at the same time, I recognized that there now is this standard we need to live up to.”