CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Island Waves student newspaper won a school record 12 awards and received an Overall Excellence rating at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) Spring Convention in San Antonio Saturday, March 24.

Editor Garrett Wieland took second place in Critical Review for his article “P for Propaganda” and the Island Waves staff earned second place for its “Apartment Guide” in the Special Edition or Section competition. Marcus Benavides placed third in Illustration for “Thank You for Smoking.”

Honorable mentions went to David Layman for his news feature “Holocaust Survivor;” Heather Dorn for her general column “Rethinking the First Amendment;” Sara Taylor for her review of “Bloody Poetry;” Candy Rudolf for picture story design on the “4th Annual Culture Fest” and for her “Healthy Eating” feature page design; and Marcus Benavides for his editorial cartoon “Ten Years Gone” and the illustration “How to be a Myspace Snob;” and to Jason Casanova in the Online Open Division. The Island Waves staff also received an honorable mention in Overall Excellence for Volume 17, Issues 15-17.

Founded in 1909, the TIPA is the oldest and one of the largest collegiate press associations in the nation. Each year contests are held in general magazine, radio, television, online, two divisions of yearbook, two divisions of literary magazine and four divisions of newspaper, plus more than a dozen on-site contests during the annual convention.