The Battalion, Texas A&M’s student newspaper, recently received national recognition in the form of both ACP Pacemaker and Pinnacle Awards.
The Battalion won the following awards at national competition:
Joshua Howell – Honorable Mention Pacemaker, Column of the Year
Sanna Bhai, Samantha Mahler, Daoud Qamar and Meredith Seaver – Honorable Mention Pacemaker, Multimedia Feature of the Year
Cori Eckert and Brady Stone – Second Place Pinnacle, Best Magazine Sports Spread Design
Meredith Seaver – Honorable Mention Pinnacle, Best Photo Package
Hannah Underwood and Brady Stone – Honorable Mention Pinnacle, Best Sports Investigative Story
Hannah Underwood – Second Place Pinnacle Best Sports Feature
Abigail Ochoa, Hannah Underwood and Brian Bass – Third Place Pinnacle Best Sports Section
Editor-in-Chief and journalism junior Brady Stone said it was an honor for The Battalion to be competing with schools that are writing about events like the California wildfires and the George Floyd protests.
“We didn’t have any major news events, but still have been able to compete with other papers and have done really well,” Stone said. “It’s cool to see that we hold a candle to the competition, even though they’re putting out stories like that.”
Photo Chief and general studies senior Meredith Seaver was acknowledged for her Bonfire multimedia feature and slideshow of the Corps’ Flight of the Great Pumpkin. Seaver said she never attended the Flight of the Great Pumpkin during her time as a cadet in the Corps but was able to enjoy it by getting to photograph the tradition.
“It’s one of those events that makes us look a bit cult-ish, but it’s a lot of fun,” Seaver said. “I did my best to capture the event in my pictures in a way that explains what it is without using words.”
In regard to the award The Battalion received for its coverage of Student Bonfire, Seaver said it was especially humbling due to Bonfire’s significance.
“Being awarded for capturing Bonfire burn is amazing to say the least,” Seaver said. “I was up for two to three hours afterward editing the photos and uploading them online. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.”
Sports Editor and journalism senior Hannah Underwood said The Battalion is a big part of the reason she chose to attend A&M. On the topic of her profile of A&M’s baseball coach, she said the story almost fell into her lap.
“We actually went to the same high school, which is weird because I’m from the middle of nowhere East Texas,” Underwood said. “That kind of connection rarely happens, so everything just fell into place with that story and I feel really proud of it.”
Though The Battalion’s staff members are not involved for the purpose of being awarded, Underwood said it does feel good to be recognized.
“It shows that people really do read and enjoy our content,” Underwood said. “People hardly comment on our stories unless it’s something negative, so it’s nice to have that bit of positivity and have people say they like what we’re doing.”