Awards we have won
2023
The Student Voice won nine awards in the 2022 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation. Results were announced March 24, 2023, during an awards ceremony in Madison.
- The Voice won two awards for feature stories. Joshua Brauer won first place for his April 2022 story, "For veterans, American Legion more than just bingo." Jack Van Hoof won second place his October 2022 feature, "Behind the scenes at Textbook Services."
- The campus newspaper won three awards in the in-depth reporting category. Anna Gunderson won first place for her February 2002 story, "New pantry tackles food insecurity on campus." Van Hoof earned third place for his September 2022 story, "UWRF rebrands to emphasize recruitment." Lexi Janzer earned honorable mention for her October 2022 story, "Amazon show 'The College Tour' to feature UWRF."
- Charlie Swanson won first place in sports writing for his April 2022 story, "Junior breaks longstanding 1977 track and field record."
- Isabella Forliti won third place in public affairs reporting for her April 2022 story, "Students, faculty petition against custodian outsourcing."
- In column writing, the Voice won two awards. Janzer earned second place for her December 2022 opinion piece, "UWRF new animal policy 'lets the dogs out'." Natalie Riddle earned honorable mention for her February 2022 article, "Question for the culture: Valentine's Day Edition."
2022
The Student Voice won seven awards in the 2021 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation. Results were announced June 2022 during an awards ceremony in Madison.
- The newspaper swept the public affairs reporting category in its division. Jack Van Hoof won first place for “Food shelf prepares for holiday season.” Isabella Forliti took second with “Governor visits campus for vaccine discussion” and third place for “UWRF adjusts COVID policies."
- Brooke Shepherd won first place in the special coronavirus coverage category for “Pandemic increases bias toward Asian Americans.” Shepherd also earned an honorable mention in the feature story category for “Team presents research on teaching about race relations.”
- The Student Voice also earned two awards in its division for the newspaper’s staff-written editorials. “Further recognition from UWRF needed for Indigenous communities” won second place. “It’s safe to return to campus, but students should have options” received honorable mention.
2021
An audio story by Ryan Huling about attending college under pandemic restrictions, "The spread and stipulations," won a first-place award for long-form production (non-news) from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association. Winners of the 2020 WBA Student Awards for Excellence were announced March 6, 2021, during the WBA’s Student Seminar, which was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020
The Student Voice won four awards in the 2019 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation:
- Kacey Joslin won first place in column writing for "Epidemic of the nonreader tied to content of books."
- Brooke Shepherd earned an honorable mention for "UWRF alumnus goes on to embalm in Japan."
- The newspaper staff won second place in editorial writing for “Student Voice offers suggestions for improving Riverside Commons.” A contest judge remarked, "The Student Voice included several perspectives, while still offering their opinion about a situation that affects much of the student body."
- The Student Voice also earned second place in general excellence in its circulation category. "Great local photos with a nice emphasis on local news and students," a contest judge wrote.
Contest results originally were to be announced in March 2020 during the annual WNA convention, but were delayed until May 2020 when spread of the coronavirus forced cancellation of the event. Judges evaluated a total of 318 entries from 14 campus newspapers across 20 categories.
2019
The Student Voice picked up six awards in the 2018 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation, including three first place honors. Results of the contest were announced March 2019 during the WNA's annual convention in Madison. Winners included:
- Zach Dwyer, first place for a November 2017 sports story, "Rick Bowen court dedication reflects how far UWRF basketball has come"; second place in sports for a December 2017 story, "National anthem protests raise questions nationally, within UWRF football team"; and first place in public affairs reporting for a May 2018 story "UWRF faces challenges of compression, inversion in professors salaries."
- Brooke Shepherd, first place for her December 2018 feature story, "Fitness influencer Amelia Skye tells her story."
- Lauren Simenson, honorable mention in column writing for her April 2018 piece, "Danger and harassment can be around any corner for women."
The Student Voice also continued a consistent record of winning awards for staff-written editorials. The newspaper won third place for a February 2018 editorial, "Gun violence is horrible, but will only change if we demand it." A total of 283 entries from 11 campus newspapers across Wisconsin were entered in the contest.
2015
The Student Voice won second place for best editorial in its publication category from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2015 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest. The winning editorial was "Loss of UWRF student reminds community how fragile life can be."
2014
The Student Voice earned third place for best editorial in its publication category from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2014 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest. The winning editorial was "Senate elections struggle with numerous issues."
2013
In the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2013 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest, the Student Voice won first place for best editorial for "Student Senate not representing UWRF student professionally"; Ashley Goettl won second place in general reporting for "For when I am weak, then I am strong"; and Jonathan Reid took third in column writing for "UWRF community remembers Reta's contributions."
2012
In the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2012 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest, the Student Voice earned an honorable mention in general excellence; Ryan Tibbitts won second place in the sports column category for "Small town sports foster sense of community" (published in February 2012); and Michael Brun, a 2012 journalism graduate, earned an honorable mention in general reporting for his October 2011 news story, "AFAB allows seg fee funding for dues-based student orgs."
2010
Jason Larson earned third place in column writing in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2010 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest for "Gross misunderstandings riddle New York mosque controversy."
2009
Benjamin Brewster earned first place in sports reporting in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2009 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest for "Former Falcon first, only to be drafted by Major League team," which appeared in the April 4 edition of the Student Voice.
2007
Two staff members of the Student Voice won awards in the 2007 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest by the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation. Ben Jipson earned third place in column writing for his December 2006 piece, "Cereal is essential ingredient for dating." Josh Dahlke earned honorable mention in feature writing for his March 2007 story, "Students postpone schooling for military duty."
2006
In the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation's 2006 Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest, Jennie Oemig, assistant editor of the Student Voice, received second place in feature writing for "The heat is on," a behind-the-scenes account of the Central Heating Plant on campus. Other winners were Helen Clarke, former Voice editor and now education reporter at the Manitowoc Times Reporter, and Keighla Schmidt, Voice Viewpoints editor. Clarke received second place in editorial writing for "Protesters lack respect." Schmidt won a certificate of merit in investigative reporting for "Illegal leaking drains wallets."