For the second consecutive year, the Yellow Jacket, AIC’s student newspaper, has received an award from the American Scholastic Press Association’s annual Review and Contest.

The ASPA is a national organization that looks at hundreds of student-based newspapers at colleges, universities and other schools across the country.

The YJ placed second in the category of newspapers at colleges and universities with undergraduate student enrollments of between 1,701 and 2,500.

The award recognized the Yellow Jacket for outstanding coverage of campus issues and solid journalistic writing done during the past academic year.

“You do provide solid reporting and balanced coverage,” the award letter stated. “Well done.”

The award letter also complimented the YJ for its overall look and, in particular, the Communication Department logo that matches the AIC logo, designed by the Marketing Department.

“Your masthead is fun and inviting. Great logo!” the letter added.

The Yellow Jacket is published monthly with articles written by students in the Introduction to Journalism class and the Journalism Publishing Lab, both part of the Communication Department.

The YJ’s Editor-In-Chief is AIC Communication major Amber Ollari, who is a sophomore. Prof. Mary Ellen Lowney is Publisher. Together, they manage the staff of about two dozen reporters and photographers, assign stories, edit copy and write headlines. In addition, Ollari is responsible for laying out the paper, both print and online versions.

Around campus, the award was greeted with high compliments and excitement, especially among the students who report, write and take photographs for the YJ.

“Yay! Congrats to us!” said graduating senior Samira Abdul-Karim, who has been on the YJ staff for the past two years. Last year, she received an AIC Academic Award for her work on the newspaper and will graduate with a bachelor degree in Communication.
“This recognition we have received for our paper is so surreal,” she added. “The opportunities I have had covering stories has paved a way for my future and it wouldn’t have been possible without the Yellow Jacket.”

Another graduating senior and YJ staffer, Annie Norton, had similar sentiments.

“I am so immensely proud of our paper for winning this award,” said Norton, who will soon head to Florida for a marketing job at Disney World.

“Writing for the Yellow Jacket was one of the best learning experiences I have had in college. I will forever be proud that I wrote for this paper and I can’t wait to see the amazing accomplishments they achieve in the future,” she added.

“I will always be proud to say I was a writer for the Yellow Jacket, wherever I am and whatever I do in the future,” Norton said.

Alexander Cross, the Associate Dean of Student Life at AIC, said he was thrilled to hear the news.

“I am excited to hear that the AIC Yellow Jacket has won a second consecutive second prize award in the national contest of student newspapers by the American Scholastic Press Association,” he said.

Cross helps to get students involved in various clubs and campus activities, and oversees school organization’s budgets,  including that which pays for the printing of the newspaper. The YJ is also online, of course.

“The Yellow Jacket highlights the important collaboration between Student Life and Academic Affairs at the college as students continue to connect real life, hands-on experiences to both their classroom and co-curricular portfolios,” he said.

“This is an exciting recognition of the hard work of the Yellow Jacket staff,” he added.