The Sundial won two first-place awards from the California College Media Association: best newspaper and best infographic, both in the 2016 weekly division.

Sundial Publisher Gretchen Macchiarella said, “I’m particularly proud of this award because it shows the team effort day in and day out.”

The judges wrote that the Sundial’s Science and Technology issue was impressive and the paper had solid coverage of sexual assault on campus.

“[The] paper has a good sense of issues,” the judges’ comments said.

Staff writer Pilar De Haro won best infographic for her Veterans Day animation video. Judges commented that it was the only motion graphic among the entries.

“This recognition that the Sundial received over the weekend from the CCMA is a huge honor,” said Journalism Department Chair Linda Bowen. “It’s an honor because it recognizes the quality of the student work.”

The CCMA is an organization designed to unify and support news media outlets in California colleges.

Bowen said she is pleased to see organizations such as the CCMA recognize CSUN’s student work because it validates and shows the quality of the program.

“[It’s an honor] for students — not just the students that might want to come here and participate in our program, [but also] for the students that work so hard to be recognized,” Bowen said. “I hope the students are as proud of this award as I am of the students.”

“I feel accomplished,” said Elizabeth Vazquez,  print managing editor. “I’ve never worked on a college paper before and to get recognized like that, it’s a great honor.”

The Sundial began publishing in 1957 as a daily paper and transitioned to a weekly print in fall 2014.

A full list of the CCMA awards can be found online.