The Inquirer took home seven awards from the 2020 California College Media Association banquet Saturday, Feb. 29. The following awards went to authors of stories written during 2019.

First place for Best News Series landed in the hands of former photo editor Ethan Anderson; former staff member Edwin Chen; former editor-in-chief Emma Hall; former senior staff member Samantha Laurey, and current editor-in-chief Pavlina Markova for their news series about racist graffiti and its impact on the Diablo Valley College campus.

The articles were as follows: “More Details About Racist Graffiti Revealed, Students Remain Unnotified,” “Concerns Voiced at DVC Listening Circle,” “Students of Color Stand Up Against Racist Hate,” “DVC Calls for Phase One of Student Demands” and “Task Force Demands Supported by DVC Students.”

Anderson and Hall also took home second place in the Best Magazine Story category for their profile piece on basketball player Jasmine Kong, “In the Face of Struggle, She Fought Back.”

Anderson, together with Chen and Laurey, placed second in the Best Breaking News Story category for their story “More Details About Racist Graffiti Revealed, Students Remain Unnotified.”

Alex Martin, former staff member, got second place for Best Sports Story for “Vikings Make History; Win State Championship Over Moorpark College.”

Second place for Best Newspaper Column went to Emma Hall for her articles, “Suicide Can No Longer Be Silenced,” “Sexual Assault Victims Are Facing New Horrors in 2019” and “DVC removed Our Adviser: Editor-in-Chief Speaks Out.”

Aryana Hadjimohammadi’s feature “Showcasing Inclusivity, Breking Boundaries: DVC Presents ‘Seussical the Musical’” earned third place for Best Arts and Entertainment Story.

Anderson placed third in the Best Magazine Photo category with his photo featured on page seven in the Spring – Fall 2019 edition of Ink.

The CCMA awards come after The Inquirer received eight awards from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges in November 2019.

The paper is proud of its staff, past and present. Everyone in the newsroom helped in one way or another during the process of publishing those award-winning stories, and the publication would like to thank the entire staff.