NJ College Newspaper Contest Fills Acorn's Trophy Case
MADISON, NJ—Drew University’s student-run newspaper, The Acorn, was recently honored with several awards and honorable mentions in the 2008-09 New Jersey College Newspaper Contest. Run by the New Jersey Collegiate Press Association, the contest named The Acorn number one in its editorial writing category for a piece on Drew’s study abroad policy. Also, Staff Writer Maria Montchal C’10 took second place in column/opinion writing, while Editor-in-Chief Seth Gorenstein C’09 won a third place award in the biography/personality profile category. These honors came closely on the heels of a second place award for general excellence at the 2008 Associated Collegiate Press conference in Washington, D.C.
“While The Acorn has won collegiate press awards in the past, we’ve never taken home this many in one year,” said Gorenstein, whose term as editor-in-chief ends this spring. “What’s wonderful about this year’s honors is they recognize the many talented staff members who work throughout our paper.”
The Acorn’s first-prize-winning editorial focused on recent changes to Drew’s study abroad offerings. In the piece, the editorial board expressed its desire to see the university institute a petition process that would allow students to ask for course credit for off-campus programs that aren’t pre-approved.
Montchal’s second place finish for column/opinion writing was for a piece she wrote about clichés in students’ facebook.com profiles. Gorenstein, who took third for biography/personality profile writing, was recognized for a piece he did on Dominique Wilburn C’10, a student intern on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Also among The Acorn’s wins in this year’s contest are several honorable mentions, including one for general excellence. The others were awarded to Michelle Caffrey for news writing, Sterling Reese for sports writing, Kerry Klug for sports photography, and Kelsi Bitgood for art and cartoons.
As Gorenstein prepares to turn over the paper’s reigns to the new editor-in-chief and senior staff, he’s not concerned about The Acorn’s future prosperity. “I’m confident that they’ll continue The Acorn’s success and strive to give the Drew community the quality newspaper it deserves.”
