The Daily Northwestern took home 29 awards at the Illinois College Press Association convention held over the weekend.

At the organization’s annual conference, held Friday and Saturday in Chicago, The Daily won 13 first place awards, 13 second place awards and 3 honorable mentions. The contest period spanned fall 2020 to fall 2021. Marissa Martinez (Medill ’21) was editor in chief in fall 2020, Medill senior Sneha Dey was editor in winter and spring 2021 and Medill senior Isabelle Sarraf led the paper in fall 2021.

The Daily won first place in the online news site category, as well as second place in the general excellence in web category for daily newspapers.

See below for a full award list. 

First place

Former Creative Director Meher Yeda for the Sept. 27, 2021 issue’s front page layout, which featured photographs by former Photo Editor Madison Smith.

Opinion Editor Lily Nevo for her opinion column, “Writing set me free.”

Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor Audrey Hettleman for her feature story on Bienen Prof. Victor Yampolsky’s retirement.

Former Design Editor Emma Ruck for the April 12, 2021 issue’s feature page design, which included The Daily’s 2021 Best of Evanston edition.

City Editor Yiming Fu for his news story on the TEAACH Act, which mandates the teaching of Asian American history in Illinois public schools.

Former Gameday Editor Peter Warren for his sports game story on Northwestern football’s second-ever Big Ten Championship game appearance.

Reporter Alyssa Johnson for in-depth reporting on the handling of racial discrimination within Northwestern’s cheerleading program.

Print Managing Editor Alex Perry and Senior Staffer Nick Francis for headline writing: “Surprise shots, limited slots: Northwestern students seek last-minute Pfizer vaccines in Norris.”

Former Digital Managing Editors Heena Srivastava and Kalen Luciano for their podcast “Lead On” investigating inequities in Evanston’s lead water testing.

Assistant Sports Editor Lawrence Price for his sports podcast on on an “Unsung Hero” in Northwestern Athletics, football’s Director of Player Development Darby Dunnagan.

Former Digital Managing Editor Sammi Boas for her entertainment and culture podcast, “The Sounds of NU.”

And the staff of The Daily Northwestern for sweepstakes, a new ICPA category. Each individual award generates points that are tallied for the sweepstakes category, with The Daily winning the most points in the daily newspaper division.

Second place

Photo Editor Angeli Mittal, as well as Emma Ruck and Meher Yeda for designing the May 2021 edition of The Monthly, the paper’s arts and entertainment supplement.

In Focus Editor Jacob Fulton, as well as Angeli Mittal and Meher Yeda for designing the 2021 Orientation Issue.

Angeli Mittal and Meher Yeda for designing the Oct. 4, 2021 issue’s opinion page.

Former City Editor Max Lubbers and Assistant City Editor Olivia Alexander for their feature story on the push to reintroduce a public neighborhood school in Evanston’s 5th Ward.

Former Gameday Editor Drew Schott for his sports news story on Athletic Director Mike Polisky’s resignation just over a week after his promotion amid campus protests.

Newsletter Editor Skye Swann for her sports game story on Northwestern field hockey’s first championship win.

Former Sports Editor John Riker for his sports feature story profiling Northwestern’s new athletic director, Derrick Gragg.

Senior Staffer Gabriela Carroll for her sports column on the Chicago Blackhawks sexual assault investigation.

Video Editor Katrina Pham for her multimedia reporting on Latinos en Evanston North Shore, a local grassroots nonprofit organization focused on informing, educating and uplifting local Latine community members.

Audio Editor William Clark for his news podcast on student activism and the fight for fossil fuel divestment.

Senior Staffer Charlotte Varnes for her sports podcast on Northwestern lacrosse’s Izzy Scane, whose dominance in the 2021 campaign marked her as one of the best collegiate players in the nation.

Senior Staffer Susanna Kemp for her entertainment and culture podcast on a board game called Secret Hitler.

Honorable mentions

Editor in Chief Isabelle Sarraf for her critical review of Taylor Swift’s November 2021 release “Red (Taylor’s Version),” a re-recording of the artist’s fourth studio album.

Assistant Photo Editor Jonah Elkowitz, as well as Angeli Mittal and Meher Yeda for designing The Daily’s 2021-22 basketball preview, “Tipoff,” in print.

Drew Schott for his sports news story on the 2021 NFL Draft, which marked the first time two Northwestern players were drafted in the first round.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @isabellesarraf