COD newspaper editors earn regional Mark of Excellence awards

Editors of the Courier student newspaper at College of DuPage have earned two first place awards in the 2010 Region 5 Mark of Excellence contest sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Editor in Chief Vikaas Shanker of Naperville earned first place in the two-year college Editorial Writing category for three editorials: “Embrace, Don't Ignore Student Opinions” (Sept. 24, 2010); “Courier Clarifies Publishing of Oct. 29 Letter (Nov. 5, 2010); and “We're Big Enough to Grow Athletics” (Nov. 12).

Shanker and Photo Editor Chelsey Boutan of Carol Stream also won in the General News Writing category for their submission, “Sign Squabble Ends, Communication Begins: College, Village Try to Reach New Agreement” (Sept. 3, 2010).

Winners of the regional competition move on to the national level. Winners of the national competition will be notified during the first week of May. Region 5 includes Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

Journalism and Mass Communications Professor Cathy Stablein of Wheaton serves as the Courier's faculty adviser. For more information, contact Stablein at (630) 942-2650, e-mail stablein@cod.edu.