The Signal was awarded the Gold Crown for the first time in its decades of publication. Photo courtesy of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

The Signal wins its first CSPA Gold Crown

By Troylon Griffin II, Editor-in-Chief On May 1, 2020 240 0

For the first time in over 40 years of publication, the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s (UHCL) student publication The Signal won a Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Crown.

The Gold Crown is the highest form of recognition by CSPA and makes The Signal one of the top student newspapers in the country.

Taleen Washington, director of student publications and senior lecturer in communication, said this is not the first time The Signal has been honored by CSPA.

“CSPA is a national collegiate journalism association founded in 1925; it is sponsored by Columbia University,” Washington said. “Each year, The Signal competes with universities across the U.S. for top honors.”

The two crowns awarded are Gold and Silver, with Gold being the higher ranking crown. The Signal previously won a Silver Crown in 2016 and 2019, and this year’s win marks The Signal’s third nomination for a crown.

“Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by CSPA for overall excellence,” Washington said. “This is the third time The Signal has been nominated for a Crown Award.”

The Signal was awarded the Gold Crown for the first time in its decades of publication. Graphic courtesy of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Editor-in-Chief of The Signal Brandon Ruiz-Peña said the award was a significant win.

“The Signal has never won a CSPA Gold Crown before, so to finally earn it was exciting and shocking at the same time,” Ruiz-Peña said. “All year, The Signal strives to produce the best possible work that will inform and engage the UHCL community. Being part of the team that won The Signal’s first Gold Crown is something I’m proud of.”

Ruiz-Peña said The Signal has been the voice of the UHCL community for over 40 years and being recognized on a national level is remarkable.

“This award speaks to the countless hours of hard work put in by students in order to ensure history – no matter how messy sometimes – is preserved,” Ruiz-Peña said. “By winning the Gold Crown, The Signal has the ability to lead by example and be appreciated for good journalism beyond the scope of UHCL.”

Washington said winning a CSPA Crown is not easy and such an award gives The Signal a new level of recognition.

PHOTO: Screenshot of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's explanation for why The Signal won a Gold Crown. Photo courtesy of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association. — In the video presentation of the CSPA Crown Awards, the association said, “The Signal exemplifies what a strong college journalism program should be. The coverage of the campus, the community, and the city captures the diversity of a major metropolitan area without losing the close connection to students.” Graphic courtesy of The Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

“The competition for these collegiate journalism awards is stiff, especially the Crown Award,” Washington said. “Our students are competing against the best in the state/nation. To win a Crown Award, any Crown Award, recognizes their hard work and talent. To win a Gold Crown Award acknowledges that the work they do is ranked at the very top of collegiate journalism in the U.S. I am so proud of them and for them.”

Lindsay Humphrey, manager of student publications, said the Gold Crown win places The Signal’s work among the best in collegiate journalism.

“While The Signal has a long history of award-winning, nationally recognized journalism, this accolade places our students’ work among the very best of the best, and it is no small feat,” Humphrey said. “Ball State University and SCAD Atlanta were also awarded Gold Crowns this year; Ball State has one of the largest communication programs in the country and SCAD Atlanta is a previous Gold Crown winner. To say I’m proud of our students is an understatement.”

Humphrey said the Gold Crown win is also memorable as Washington and Ruiz-Peña are set to leave The Signal at the end of the spring semester.

“Having been previously awarded two Silver Crowns from CSPA in recent years, I did hope that this would be our year for the Gold Crown – I am ecstatic this was the case,” Humphrey said. “That it happened during Brandon Ruiz-Peña’s and Taleen Washington’s last semester with the university – as everyone’s lives were just starting to be upended by the COVID-19 pandemic – makes the award that much more meaningful and memorable.”

Aside from the Gold Crown, The Signal has received four 2020 Gold Circle Awards for individual submissions. These awards include former The Signal reporter Jennifer Martinez’s first place for first-person experience column; Ruiz-Peña’s second place for editorial writing; and Online Editor Alyssa Shotwell’s second place for headline writing and third place for video commercial.

“[The winning] editorial piece is probably my favorite to have ever written because it speaks to how UHCL can do better in serving the Hispanic student population,” Ruiz-Peña said. “As a Latinx person, I can recognize how the university has lacked in being a ‘Hispanic-Serving Institution.’ Pointing out ways UHCL can do better, beyond touting statistical data, was important to me and the other members of the editorial team. Winning this award, I feel, speaks to the importance of being more than a Hispanic-Enrolling Institution.”

Shotwell said her wins were unexpected and that she is proud to be a part of the legacy of The Signal.

“I expected The Signal to win awards and didn’t particularly expect any for me specifically,” Shotwell said. “I expected to be included or connected to some awards where it was a group accomplishment or because I helped another staffer with their visual assignment. The headlines that were submitted with my name and the video I worked on are among the things I was most proud of last year, so it feels very rewarding.”

Martinez said her first place win for her column, about her personal experiences joining the Air Force after Sept. 11, left her feeling overjoyed.

“I didn’t write that piece expecting any sort of comment,” Martinez said. “It was a personal piece, one written from a place of emotion and vulnerability. I don’t typically write like that, especially not for professional publication. I felt like I was taking a risk, sharing a piece of myself and my experiences with The Signal readers, but I also felt like it was a risk I was willing to take.”

Martinez said she felt honored that it received the attention it did and that CSPA felt it worthy of such high recognition.

“I wanted to share my feelings with The Signal readers, in the hopes that at least one other person might read them and understand and maybe gain something from our shared emotional experience,” Martinez said. “Still, though, the validation that comes from this recognition is nice.”

In addition to the Gold Crown and four Gold Circle awards from CSPA, The Signal won 19 awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) in April. Among these honors from TIPA is a first-place win for overall excellence – web.

“We spend a lot of time and energy in making sure each part of our digital newspaper is as successful as the articles we publish,” said Emily Wolfe, executive editor of The Signal. “We are constantly exploring new ways we can perfect every aspect of the website, so to win first place, it feels like we are on the right path.”

Check out this year’s awards below:

NATIONAL COMPETITION: Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Circle Awards

Gold Crown Award