The Arrow, the student newspaper of Southeast Missouri StateUniversity, won 13 awards at the 2019 Missouri College Media Association (MCMA)Conference April 13-14 at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

Among the Arrows awards were five first-place, two second-place and three third-place finishes, and three honorable mentions.

The Arrows special report title The Impact Zone washighly recognized, earning two first-place awards in the In-Depth NewsReporting and Multimedia Package categories and two second-place awards in the SpecialSection or Supplement and Story Illustration categories. The Impact Zone was a special report which detailedthe impact of the opioid epidemic facing Missouri and southeast Missouri inparticular.

This has been a great awards season for the Arrow, and thework done on our special supplement The Impact Zone has been highlyrecognized at the national and state level, said Dr.Tamara Zellars Buck, faculty advisor to the Arrow and multimedia journalismcoordinator in Southeasts Department of Mass Media. It's exciting toknow that that work, in particular, was completely student driven fromconception to publication, which just demonstrates how well our students dowhen they are allowed to innovate and pursue passion projects.

The Arrow also won first-place awards for Best EntertainmentReview, Best Feature Page and Best Campus Engagement and Promotions;third-place awards for Best Sports Page, Best Editorial Writing and Best CampusEngagement and Promotions; along with three honorable mentions for BestInformation Graphic, Best Page One Design and Best Website.

The diversity of the awards from reporting to advertisingand design to its website is a testament to the dedication of the Arrowsstaff, said Toslin Taylor, Arrow editor.

Winning these awards proves that we do compare to theseother institutions across the state, and it shows the hard word and late nightswere worth it, Taylor said. It also shows Southeasts program and blendedclassrooms are important, and were getting the skills we need to put out aprofessional newspaper. Ive been with the Arrow three years now, and for thestaff its never about the awards, but about the content and being the mostprofessional organization we can be.

The awards are also evidence that the skills and dedicationfostered in the classroom and newsroom are giving Southeast students theprofessionalism they need to excel in the industry, added Buck.

Three of our winners, including Patrick Buck Jr., RachealDavis and Christian Edwin, were recognized for work they did in their firstmonths with the Arrow, Buck said. This serves as encouragement to everyone oncampus that the publishing in our student media is a great way to develop skills andbe recognized for your work.

In addition to the awards,Arrow Sports Editor Zach Tate was elected MCMA president for the2019-2020 academic year. As president, Tate will be responsible forcoordinating next years contest and conference, which will be held atSoutheast April 3-4, 2020.

MCMA awards presented to the Arrow were:

• First place, In-Depth News Reporting, Division 1 (Arrow Staff, Impact Zone)

• First place, Entertainment Review, Division 1 (Patrick Buck Jr., Kendrick Lamars Black Panther Soundtrack)

• First place, Feature Page, Division 1 (Matt Dollard and Christian Edwin, Impact Zone)

• First place, Multimedia Package, Division 1 (Arrow Staff, Impact Zone web edition)

• First place, Campus Entertainment and Promotions, Advertising Division (Whats Up SEMO, Fall 2019)

• Second place, Special Section or Supplement, Division 1 (Arrow Staff, Impact Zone)

• Second place, Story Illustration, Division 1 (Racheal Davis and Christian Edwin, Impact Zone)

• Third place, Sports Page, Division 1 (Zach Tate, Aug. 15, 2018, pages 8-10)

• Third place, Editorial Writing, Division 1 (Kara Hartnett, FERPA Abuse? I Think So)

• Third place, Campus Entertainment and Promotion, Advertising Division (Shoeboxes of Caring)

• Honorable Mention, Information Graphic, Division 1 (Taria Graham, Questionable Conduct, April 18, 2018, pages 8-9)

• Honorable Mention, Website, Division 1 (Toslin Taylor, southeastarrow.com)

• Honorable Mention, Page One Design, Division 1 (Matt Dollard, Oct. 10, 2018)