ACP announces winners
of spring Clips & Clicks contest

Aug. 31, 2026

MINNEAPOLIS — Congratulations to the winners of the Clips & Clicks contest for the spring 2025 semester — and to the ACP-member student media outlets competing for this year’s Sweepstakes.

The competition, open to all ACP members, honors current work among student journalists, and the spring-semester winners feature work produced from Dec. 13, 2025 to May 8, 2026.

There were 375 submissions in the spring competition. Judges were collegiate professors, student media advisers and professional journalists.

“The judges consistently said they were very impressed with the quality of the entries submitted,” associate director Gary Lundgren said. 

In all, 75 entries, approximately 20 percent of those entered, were recognized. Student media from both two and four year schools competed. Three of the 10 schools placing in the Sweepstakes were from two-year colleges.

The number of winners in each category was determined by the judges based on the quantity and quality of the entries. When calculating Sweepstakes, the following points are assigned —

First Place: 10
Second Place: 9
Third Place: 8
Fourth Place: 7
Fifth Place: 6
Honorable Mention: 5

The Battalion, Texas A&M earns Sweepstakes 
honors for a fourth year

The Battalion, Texas A&M University, earned the Clips & Clicks Sweepstakes trophy for a fourth consecutive year.

Results of both fall and spring contests generate final standings. Sweepstakes rankings are by ACP-member student media outlet, not by school. The top 10 winners are listed below. In all, 28 student-media outlets scored points in the contest.

First Place
How Federal Job Cuts Threaten the Environment’s Future
Nathan Olszewski
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Second Place
Students Flock to Del Mar Biology Degree
Cadence Garcia
Foghorn News
Del Mar College (CA)

Third Place
Police Department Hosted a Community Police Academy
Vache Sipanian
Daily Titan
California State University, Fullerton

First Place
Where Tradition Is Grown
Tariq Ali
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Second Place
Healing Comes in Waves for Kids
Amanda Monahan
NewsWaves 32
Pepperdine University (CA)

Third Place
NYPL Curator on Acquiring Archive of Television’s Tom Verlaine
Gavin Orth
KVCU Radio 1190
University of Colorado Boulder

First Place
The Comeback of LMU Women’s Club Soccer
Hayley Harris, Megan Hastings
The Los Angeles Loyolan
Loyola Marymount University (CA)

First Place
Student Protest on LMU’s Campus Has Become Less Frequent
Emma Russell
The Los Angeles Loyolan
Loyola Marymount University (CA)

First Place
Chancellor Elect
Ilana Zahavy
The Daily Orange
Syracuse University (NY)

Second Place
IU Wins. Google It.
Natalie Cartmel
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University

Third Place
ICE Leaves South Bay in the Cold
Andrea Aladin, Arianna Antillon, Christian Arce, Yanelli Zavina Robles,  Josh Whitehead
The Southwestern College Sun
Southwestern College (CA)

First Place
International Edge
Lilly Crist, Payton Lee, Grace Parks, Haley Smith
The Kansas State Collegian
Kansas State University

Second Place
Stop Glamorizing Pregnancy
Mimi Paul
The Commonwealth Times
Virginia Commonwealth University

Third Place
Changing Tides
Amanda Monahan
The Graphic
Pepperdine University (CA)

First Place
Glam
Lareina Allred, Buffy Petrin, Jasmine Purchas, Aisha Virk, Akili Williams
Ink
Virginia Commonwealth University

Second Place
Flex
Charlotte DeAngelis, Jay Moyer
Distraction
University of Miami (FL)

Third Place
Junior Hockey Slams
Jordan Wyer
Drake Mag
Drake University (IA)

First Place
Fresh Flavors in the Fresh Air
Jordan Wyer
Drake Mag
Drake University (IA)

Second Place
Tried & True
Staff
River City Fashion
Virginia Commonwealth University

Third Place
Camp
Julia Campbell, Charlotte DeAngelis, Jay Moyer
Distraction
University of Miami (FL)

Fourth Place
Becoming
Staff
Ink
Virginia Commonwealth University

Fifth Place
Overgrowth
Tessa Coleman, Mimi Paul, Janie Wright
Annum Arcanum
Virginia Commonwealth University

First Place
Rodeo
Madison Coulter, Zara Thomas
Royal Purple
Kansas State University

First Place
Your Major, Your Jellycat
Isabelle Mullinax
Royal Purple
Kansas State University

Second Place
On the Rebound
Andrea Aladin
El Sol
Southwestern College (CA)

Third Place
Never Alone
Trinity Rodriguez
The Kansas State Collegian
Kansas State University

First Place
I Want To Grow Up in a Democracy
Burke Loftus
The Commonwealth Times
Virginia Commonwealth University

Second Place
Lighting Up
Adeline Taylor
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Third Place
Hundreds Gather in Boulder to Protest ICE
Payton Cordova
KVCU Radio 1190
University of Colorado Boulder

First Place
On the Starting Block
Rocio Salgado
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Second Place
The Kid Laroi
August Creter
The Oracle
Tennessee Tech University

Third Place
Harry Hanson Performs at Swan Dive
Guillermo De La Barreda
The Corsair
Santa Monica College (CA)

Fourth Place
Agee on Air
Steve Carrasco IV
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Fifth Place
Aggieville Showdown
Erica Merz
The Kansas State Collegian
Kansas State University

Honorable Mention
Dancing Through Grief and Writing for Strength
Mia Rivers
The Los Angeles Loyolan
Loyola Marymount University (CA)

En Garde
Ella Chan
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Color Guard
Adriano Espinosa
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Tacos El Fluffy
Talia Soublet
The Corsair
Pensacola State College (FL)

Iconic Airplane Landing
Hank Leahy
The Los Angeles Loyolan
Loyola Marymount University (CA)

First Place
Chogsomjav Serves One Up
Payton Lee
The Kansas State Collegian
Kansas State University

Second Place
IU Football Celebration
Jimmy Rush
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University

Third Place
Break It Up
Isaac Williams
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Fourth Place
Men’s Basketball Dehorns Fordham
Ashley Davis
The Commonwealth Times
Virginia Commonwealth University

Fifth Place
The No-Call
Matthew Crisafulli
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

First Place
Fear LingersJack Forrest
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University

Second Place
Chavez Name Removed Across Campus
Arianna Antillon
The Southwestern College Sun
Southwestern College (CA)

Third Place
Do NY Police Get Away With Misusing Social Media?
Julia Boehning, Xinxin Cui, Kiran Hubbard, Meredith Taylor, Dylan van Breda
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Fourth Place
Equity Efforts Undercut by English Tutor Layoffs
Kayjel J. Mairena
The Corsair
Santa Monica College (CA)

Fifth Place
Locals Press Micron for Legal Commitment
Brenne Sheehan, Owen Smith
The Daily Orange
Syracuse University (NY)

Honorable Mention
Epstein Funded His Pilot’s Daughter’s SU Tuition
Samantha Olander
The Daily Orange
Syracuse University (NY)

Budget Cuts Drive Partnership at Student Health Center
Carlos Merlo
The Bulletin
California State University, Dominguez Hills

Students Discuss Campus Immigration Policies
Meredith McCalmon
The Kansas State Collegian
Kansas State University

Texas A&M Regent  Discussed DEI With Gov. Abbott
Ian Curtis
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Hundreds of Nursing Home Residents Assaulted
Staff
NYCity News Service
CIty University of New York

First Place
How We Love in NYC
Staff
NYCity News Service
City University of New York

Second Place
She’s Still Searching for Answers
Natalia Nelson
Indiana Daily Student
Indiana University

Third Place
Maroon Twist on Women’s Bobsled History
Kynlee Joyner
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Fourth Place
Don’t Worry — I Was You Last Year
Xavier Song
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

Fifth Place
Inside Fire Captain Malcolm Dicks’ Life-Saving Bravery
Emma Russell
The Los Angeles Loyolan
Loyola Marymount University (CA)

Honorable Mention
Reinventing the Runway
Liz Rosa
Drake Mag
Drake University (IA)

Student-Loving Pups Ease Stress With Wagging Tails
Lily Zuckerman
The Daily Orange
Syracuse University (NY)

Home Found in Family
Lila Rendel
Currents
Pepperdine University (CA)

Nudists, Flashers and Muses, Oh My!
Simone Edwards
Word
University of California, Santa Barbara

All the World’s a Stage
Blakesley Rhett
The NewsHouse
Syracuse University (NY)

First Place
College Loses Beloved, Eccentric Baseball Coach
Alfonso Julían Camacho
El Sol
Southwestern College (CA)

Second Place
Making the Minors Feel Major
Amanda Favazza
Drake Mag
Drake University (IA)

Third Place
A&M Advances to NCAA Tournament Semifinals
Ian Curtis
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Fourth Place
Family Fuels Albert Regis’ Football Journey
Mathias Cubillan
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Fifth Place
How A&M Volleyball Aims to Sustain Success
Ian Curtis
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

First Place
Behavior Toward Student Journalists Is Unprofessional
Yanelli Zavina Robles
The Southwestern College Sun
Southwestern College (CA)

First Place
The Courts Don’t Need To Revoke Birthright Citizenship
Shiny Chandravel
The Commonwealth Times
Virginia Commonwealth University

Second Place
It’s the Damn Phone
Mia Hirsch
Word
University of California, Santa Barbara

Third Place
Richmond Is Tracking All of Us
Reed Baldwin
The Commonwealth Times
Virginia Commonwealth University

Fourth Place
The End of Sleep
Isabella Garcia
The Battalion
Texas A&M University

Fifth Place
Marriage Is Not a Government Program
Hunter Johnson
The Oracle
Tennessee Tech University