Sophomore Carly Greaves received the coveted first-place award from the Indiana Collegiate Press Association for the best news story. She reported on students moving out during the pandemic in Spring 2020.
Photo courtesy of Carly Greaves
Greaves, Marks Take Home Three ICPA Awards for Achievements in Journalism
At the annual Indiana Collegiate Press Association college journalism contest, the Oak Leaves took home three awards, including best news story.
Carly Greaves, English writing major and journalism minor, was awarded first place for the best news story for her piece on students moving out of their residence halls last March during the initial phase of the pandemic.
Mitchell Marks, accounting major, received two third-place awards: for a feature story on the new mural in downtown North Manchester and for a sports-feature story on the new Spartan Stadium.
The Oak Leaves journalists competed against writers from Division III Newspapers produced by institutions with an enrollment under 3,000, including Goshen College and Anderson University.
The Oak Leaves is co-edited by Kaleigh Gabriel and Chloe Leckrone. Greaves is the online editor. Dr. Katharine Ings is the faculty advisor. A list of the winning stories and judges’ comments follows.
First Place, News Story
Students Rapidly Move Out of Residence Halls, Relocate for Rest of Semester
Carly Greaves; Oak Leaves
Judges’ comments: “Excellent use of quotes. They added a lot to your story. This piece localizes what students all over the world were experiencing. Good relevance.”
Third Place, Feature Story
North Manchester Unveils Mural on Main Street
Mitchell Marks; Oak Leaves
Judges’ comments: “Nice way to start the story. It’s really effective when the words relate to the image. The process and artist intent would be more interesting as a feature story than how they cut through local government rules to make it happen.”
Third Place, Sports Feature
New Spartan Stadium Ready for First Events
Mitchell Marks; Oak Leaves
Judges’ comments: “Nice job. You can make dry stories like this more interesting by digging deeper for the student connection rather than just the administration’s interest. Get more quotes, drill down, find out what football players or other athletes think about playing on turf, find out if the school might use it for non-athletic endeavors."