The Daily Pennsylvanian was awarded the prestigious Pacemaker, one of the top honors for a college newspaper, by the Associated Collegiate Press last weekend for its 2001-2002 publications.
The award was presented last Saturday at the ACP's annual conference, held this year in Orlando.
The convention drew hundreds of college journalists to the Sunshine State for a weekend of journalism workshops and seminars and for the national awards ceremony, in which 16 other college papers received the same honor.
The Daily Northwestern of Northwestern University, The Hullabaloo of Tulane University and The Daily Illini of the University of Illinois were among those papers that were also awarded a Pacemaker.
The DP was also awarded the prize last year for its 2000-2001 publications.
"I'm thrilled that the paper has won that achievement two years in a row," Executive Editor Matthew Mugmon, a College senior, said.
"Winning the award should make everyone on all sides of the paper proud of the time, energy and hard work they put into the paper day in and day out," Mugmon noted.
The annual award denotes "general excellence and outstanding achievement in a college newspaper."
"It's probably the most prestigious award in college journalism," Managing Editor Tristan Schweiger said. "It's a reflection of all the hard work everyone puts in here."
"Everyone puts in many hours and it's nice to have that recognized," the College senior added.
Entries for the Pacemaker are judged by staff members at local newspapers in the convention's host city, in areas including reporting, writing, design, layout and depth of coverage.
The Pacemaker is one of the top two awards given to college newspapers and was also awarded to the DP for its 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 publications.
The other award, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Gold Crown Award, was last awarded to the DP in 1998.
In addition to this year's Pacemaker, the DP's Web site was noted as a finalist in the online competition.
"I know that we will continue to achieve and move forward as a newspaper in the coming years," Mugmon said of winning the award for a second consecutive time.
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