It was a celebratory spring break for the Ibis and Distraction staffs. Two Gold Crowns, one Best of Show, a Second Place for Best of Show, and two Apples were awarded between two national conferences.

The Ibis, Distraction print issue, and Distraction online page were honored by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) in New York City at the Spring National College Media Convention 2019 with Gold Crown awards. The Gold Crown is the highest honor that the CSPA bestows on a student publication.

The 2018 Ibis edited by Alize Ramirez-Canas was the only college yearbook to receive a Gold Crown this year. College yearbooks from Baylor University, Indiana University, North Carolina State University, and Ouachita Baptist University received Silver Crowns. 

“This was my third time in New York and since we unfortunately didn’t earn a Crown Award last year, I was overjoyed when I found out that we were up for one this time,” said Morgan Thomson, Ibis editor-in-chief. “I felt like the countless hours we put into the book really paid off. CSPA considers the entire publication when they judge Crown Awards, and a Gold Crown is a true honor. CSPA is not limited to a number of Gold Crowns or Silver Crowns they can award, but we were the only yearbook to get gold which is very exciting!”

The Ibis has been a Crown winner 15 times over the past 16 years with 11 of the awards being a Gold winner.

“This is an outstanding honor for the Ibis staff to be the only Gold Crown winner for the 2019 collegiate competition from CSPA,” said Randy Stano, editorial adviser for the Ibis and Distraction. “The hard work, long hours and dedication to the Ibis and UM is recognized by one of the top collegiate press associations.”

Distraction and its website received a hybrid Gold Crown in the Print/Online/Digital General Magazine category. This award was given to the publication for its 2017-2018 editions edited by Marissa Vonesh. The five other Gold Hybrid general magazine winners were from Columbia College Chicago, Lasell College, University Guelph-Humber, University of Oregon, and Western Kentucky University.

Distraction and www.distractionmagazine.com have consistently won Crown awards over the past decade, winning seven gold and three silver.

At the same conference, the Ibis won two Apple Awards. One of the Apple Awards was for designs created by Casey Lue and the second Apple Award was for advertising design by Casey Lue and Morgan Thomson.

“We had a good showing at the Apple Awards,” said Stano. “The online -award category is a tough one. I am proud of Teddy Wilson, Isabella Vaccaro, and Jorge Chabo for their accomplishments with the website. And I’m proud to see the Ibis won two Apple categories,” said Stano.

In the beginning of March at the ACP/CMBAM Midwinter National College Journalism Convention in La Jolla, CA, the 2018 Ibis won Best of Show in the Yearbook Category, and the winter issue of Distraction placed second in the feature magazine Best of Show Category.

“The UM student publications were recognized nationally for their work. The Ibis and Distraction staffs made UM very proud,” said Stano.