by Kaleena Cano

After a year of hard work, The Maroon was awarded the prestigious Mark of Excellence Award for best all-around non-daily student newspaper in the region by the Society of Professional Journalists.

Editor-in-Chief Alex Fournet believes that the staff deserves it.

“The paper has come a long way in the last year and continues to improve on all fronts,” said Fournet. “Our copy is cleaner, pictures better, and coverage broader than ever before.”

In addition, the Wolf, received the MOE award winning third place for best student magazine in the region.

Associate Editor Melanie Ziems was thrilled to have their hard work recognized.

“We worked a lot on re-branding Wolf Magazine this year,” said Ziems. “We tried to broaden the spectrum of stories we cover and include content that appeals to all of Loyola, not just certain groups.”

Individual staff writers were also awarded for their work by SPJ. Precious Esie’s story, State of the union, won second place for in-depth reporting. Fournet’s story, Men need to step up, take responsibility, won second place for best editorial writing.

The Mark of Excellence Awards recognize the best in student journalism. First place regional winners move forward to the national competition and are recognized during SPJ spring conferences.