JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 25, 2002 — 
Union University’s Cardinal & Cream recently placed among the top six student newspapers in the South for “Best Overall Newspaper” at the sixteenth annual Southeast Journalism Conference.
The only private Christian college to be recognized with the honor at this year’s competition, Union was ranked with Auburn University, University of Alabama, Vanderbilt University, Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University.
Warren Watson, the editorial director of the American Press Institute in Washington, D.C., and a judge of the conference, said that the Cardinal & Cream’s overall level of professionalism placed it in the same category as the larger state schools.
“The general stereotype in this field is that private schools with small staffs cannot produce high-quality newspapers. I think the Cardinal & Cream contradicts that stereotype,” said senior Julie Dodson, editor-in-chief of Union’s paper. “We work extremely hard at what we do, and we want the Cardinal & Cream to be the best it possibly can. Recognition like this does not stop us- it only pushes us to challenge ourselves even more.”