On March 17, 2026, the IDS was awarded the Gold Crown for College Hybrid News by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
The IDS was one of only three publications to receive the Gold Crown for College Hybrid News throughout the country. The Ithacan from Ithaca, NY., and Humber Et Cetera from Toronto, ON., were the fellow recipients.
The Gold Crown Awards are, "the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence."
"Every day, our staffers are producing the best collegiate journalism in the country and working around the clock to keep our community informed. We’re continually inspired by the work of our newsroom and are so happy to see them recognized for it," said co-editors, Andrew Miller and Mia Hilkowitz.
The awards are determined by a panel of Crown Judges made up of professional journalists, former advisors to student media and other media specialists. The panel meets yearly at Columbia University to review all entries.
The panel considers newspapers, magazines, yearbooks and online medias. The judgments they make are based on, "all aspects of value to the reader or viewer: content, design or presentation, coverage, photography as well as writing and editing."
The Gold Crown Awards have been a prestigious honor since their first presentation in 1982.
