BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University’s student newspaper, The Argus, was awarded first place in general excellence for print editions at schools under 3,000 in enrollment, along with 10 individual awards for Titan staff during the annual Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) awards ceremony in Chicago last month.
“Anyone who worked on a college newspaper knows that it feels like a huge accomplishment just to get a single issue to the printer — especially with a small staff. The real challenge is to find the time and energy to elevate the newspaper, because that's next-level commitment. That's why I'm so proud of this group. They did it,” said R. Forrest Colwell Endowed Chair of English James Plath, who has advised the student newspaper since 1988.
In describing their reasoning for awarding The Argus with first place in general excellence for print, an ICPA judge praised the paper for its “superior” art and graphics, interesting variety of stories and impressive quotes representing students, faculty and staff that “bring immediacy to the news.”
Beyond the awards ceremony, the ICPA event also included a chance for student journalists to attend sessions taught by media professionals in the Chicago area.
Awards earned by The Argus staff included:
- Second place in Editorial Writing, Argus Staff
- Second place in Sports Feature Story, Cody Buskhol '26
- Third place in Sports Column, Cody Buskhol '26
- Third place in Sports Page Design, Cody Buskhol '26
- Third place in Print Ad, Brooke Savoie '25
- Third place in Print Ad, MJ Soria '25
- Honorable mention in Opinion Pages, Brooke Savoie '25
- Honorable mention in Sports Feature Story, Cody Buskohl '26
- Honorable mention in Feature Photo, Ashtin Elder '26
- Honorable mention in Feature Photo, MJ Soria '25
“To me, this recognition shows just how dedicated everyone is who works on The Argus,” said Editor in Chief, MJ Soria. “All of our writers, editors and artists care about the work they put in and the editorial team wants to publish a paper we can be proud of. We definitely owe a lot to our advisor, Jim Plath, who pushes us to be our best and gives us the tools to succeed by publishing such a competitive paper. Everyone works really hard, and that work being recognized by the ICPA shows that we’re doing something right.”
Dave Brown ‘96, now deputy managing editor of global security at Politico, who served as editor of the paper the last time The Argus won first place in General Excellence in 1997-98, recently called Argus staff to congratulate the team and talk about journalism then and now.
“I think they enjoyed hearing his stories of Argus antics and his encounters with Bush and Obama in the Oval Office,” said Plath.