The Torch has received four awards from the New York Press Association’s annual “Better Newspaper Contest,” it was announced last week. In addition to winning first place in Design, second place in General Excellence, and second place for Best Sports Coverage, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Pasqualina won first place in the Column category for his op-ed piece, “The Brazen Word.”

The Torch won the awards among a large field of competition – this year’s “Better Newspaper Contest,” which handed out awards to both college and community newspapers, featured 227 total participating newspapers and 4,084 submitted entries. The Oklahoma Press Association and the New Jersey Press Association served as the judges for the competition.

According to the New York Press Association, The Torch lost First Place in general excellence “by a nose.” In addition, the NYPA praised Stephen Pasqualina’s column, calling it “head and shoulders above the rest” and “very well-written.”

The various awards come during a year in which The Torch underwent various changes, most notably to its layout. Mastheads, and the overall design of the paper have received major facelifts in the past year.

The NYPA awards also serve as a complement to the high honors The Torch earned last year from the American Scholastic Press Association, which includes Most Outstanding University Newspaper, First Place with Special Merit, and Outstanding Overall Sports Coverage for the Nov. 16, 2005 issue.