BLADE wins CSPA Gold Medal for 2015
Every year The Wooster Blade submits six of its best issues to be critiqued in an international convention for student publications, hosted by Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and this year, The Wooster Blade was recognized as a Gold Medalist once again.
The publication received a Gold Medalist designation on last year’s submission; in addition to the four years in which a silver medalist rating was obtained, this was the 16 year BLADE was given a Gold Medalist rating.
Last year’s staff members took pride in this accomplishment. Mary Grace Gorman was one of the co-editors-in-chief of BLADE last year and was happy to see that all of their efforts throughout the year paid off.
“I was ecstatic when I found out that all of our hard work was recognized on a national scale,” Gorman said.
The excitement over this news is centered around the significance of the award to both the students on staff and to the publication itself.
Kristi Hiner has been the staff adviser for 17 years and is an English Dept. member.
“The award means a great deal to the students. It allows us to see how much we grow each year and allows us to compare the work we do to other news publications and then set goals on what we specifically want to do for the current school year,” Hiner said.
Additionally, Hiner added that the critique of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association allows us to maintain and hold ourselves to standards through our use of an objective viewpoint.
On top of what this meant for the students, the Gold Medalist designation also has an importance to the publication.
Sarah Hopkins, one of this year’s co-editors-in-chief, reflected on what it took to earn a gold medalist standard.
“It takes consistent hard work and dedication from our staff. The award means a lot for our paper because it’s a reflection of all the work we have put into a publication of which we are proud,” Hopkins said.
The Gold Medalist accomplishment provided an objective reflection for how far the newspaper and its staff have come, as well as highlighting the aspects of the BLADE that can be worked on to ensure this paper is the best paper it can be.
