Editorial: Successes and events on the SEMO campus

A few recognitions and upcoming events on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University recently in the news grabbed our attention and are worth celebrating.

The university student newspaper and website, The Arrow, took home 23 awards across 16 categories at the Missouri College Media Association Conference held in St. Joseph, Missouri.

The Arrow won eight first-place awards, four second-place, five third-place and four honorable mentions. Staff member Nicolette Baker, who completed an internship at the Southeast Missourian during her college tenure, was recognized with the Journalist of the Year award. Nathan Gladden, Arrow editor-in-chief, was named the incoming president of MCMA. That means next year's statewide convention will be held in Cape Girardeau.

The awards at MCMA come just weeks after the Arrow was recognized at the College Media Association's annual conference in New York. The Arrow was named the Best Newspaper of Four Year Schools with over 10,000 students, receiving the David L. Adams Apple Award.

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Speaking of The Arrow, the publication reported recently about the success of this year's Greek Life gathering April 10. The event culminated the end of Greek Week on campus, which marked efforts over the course of the week and overall accomplishments throughout the year.

One of the highlights was a blood drive, which helped collect more than 800 units of blood to support area hospitals. And collectively, more than 10,000 items were collected for the Redhawk Food Pantry in Cape Girardeau.

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In athletics, senior gymnast Anna Kaziska finished her collegiate career by winning gold medals in balance beam and floor exercise at the 2022 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships. In both categories, she scored a 9.95.

The SEMO baseball team continues an impressive run this season under coach Andy Sawyers. The Redhawks went on the road last week and defeated SEC opponent Ole Miss 13-3.

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Finally, the Fault Line Film Festival returned this past weekend. The festival is not only a wonderful opportunity to feature the work of Southeast students, but it also attracts submissions from across the country. Southeast film professor Fred Jones, who helped start the film festival in 2010, said over the years they have received submissions from 20 states.

Of course these are only a few of the accomplishments and events taking place. From the classroom to athletics to the arts, there's so much happening on campus. But it's worth taking time to celebrate the good work taking place. Congratulations to all the students — and the faculty, staff and coaches — on a great school year.