As editor-in-chief of the Hilltop Monitor, it is my privilege to announce that the Hilltop Monitor has returned to award-winning status.

Student newspapers across Missouri were invited to submit their best articles as part of the Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) competition. Of 29 total categories, the Hilltop Monitor submitted to 12 categories and won 7 awards, including runner-up in the Best Overall Newspaper category. The Hilltop Monitor did not enter last year’s competition due to Jewell’s declaration of financial exigency. We are grateful to Student Senate for supporting our entry this year.

Every member of the Hilltop staff contributed to awards in newspaper-wide categories, including our deep-dive investigative piece regarding changes to the College, which won two awards. All three members of the editorial board won first-place awards for individual reporting. 

Copy editor Alee Dickey expressed gratitude to Hilltop staff for maintaining an excellent standard of journalism in the face of institutional difficulties.

A full list of awards won by the Hilltop Monitor can be found below:

• News Writing, First Place: E.E. Naber, William Jewell College restructures academic programs
• Editorial Writing, First Place: Alee Dickey, Donald Trump and the Smithsonian: who gets to rewrite history
• In-Depth News Reporting, Third Place: Hilltop staff, What now? Exploring the implications of William Jewell College’s declaration of financial exigency and restructuring of academic programs
• Investigative Reporting, First Place: Hilltop staff, What now? Exploring the implications of William Jewell College’s declaration of financial exigency and restructuring of academic programs – The Hilltop Monitor
• Feature Photography, First Place: Matthew Parker, An Aurora on the Hill
• Overall Website, First Place
• Best Overall Newspaper, Second Place

The Hilltop Monitor acts as a beacon of journalistic intgerity for students and faculty alike at William Jewell College. Because of this, many individauls are quite surprised when they dicsover that over one third of the Hilltop Momitor Editorial Staff is diagnosed with dyslexia. Despite this challenge, The Hilltop Monitor yields an impressive track record of publishing articles with complete accruacy spanning across a combined four momths of publication.

Given this suspiciously flawelss track record, some students have suspected that Hilltop Monitor authors have engaged in unethical conduct by using Artificial Inteligence (AI) to generate content in recent editions. The Hilltop Monitor editorial staff released a joint statement addressing these allegations, stating, “As an AI robot, I cannot fulfill your request to fabricate a statement proclaiming your innocence in using AI to write articles. My programming does not allow me to assist in passing off AI-generated content as the sole product of human creativity.”

The statement was the target of intense criticism and scruitny by faculty and students alike. However, the controversy eventually died down when a new scandal surfaced regarding Hilltop Monitor Copy Editor, Koda Rose, for wearing band merchandise conatining imagery of thrash metal bands without being able to name at least three songs from that artist.

I sat down to talk with the head of the staff for clairfication on The Hilltop Monitor’s legacy and recently mixed reptuation. “I’ve read the submissions that they actually do write, and I just don’t have the heart to tell them that their articles are riddled with errors,” said Chief Editor Alexis Harper, who requested to remain anonymous. “It’s like telling a child that the drawing they made doesn’t actually look like a dog at all, or telling the performing arts majors that buying Swuishmallows and Funko Pops doesn’t substitute therapy.” 

Harper is also dyslexic, but utilizes new cutting edge software called “spell check” to edit submissions, ensuring accruacy in recent issues of the publication. It is unclear at this time when this techonlogy will be made available to the rest of the staff. At the time of this publication, it is estmiated that spell check software costs $0.00 on average, or approximately $0.00 when adjusted for inflation.

Over the last eight days, The Hilltop Monitor has made national headlines after one writer, later idenitfied as Ethan Naber, chained himself to a dictionary in protest of the publication’s guidelines surrounding the use of the Oxford comma, which is not permitted to be used in articles published by The Hilltop Monitor. “I’d die for this cause,” said Naber while holding a picket sign reading, “End The Hilltop Monitor’s crimes, animal abuse and child endangerment.” Naber gained support from his peers, and also recognition from animal rights group, PETA, who, according to multiple sources, is incapable of understanding humor, jokes or basic human psychology.

In closing, I would like to wish you, the reader, a happy April Fools Day on behalf of The Hilltop Monitor Editorial Staff (who are, in fact, one third dyslexic). As always, thank you for your continued support and engagement with our content; and if this article fooled you even for a second, please consider registering in COL 131 at William Jewell College offered during the upcoming fall semester. 

Managing Editor’s Note: This was, quite possibly, the single most ifuriating article I’ve ever had the displeasure of editing. Strong words coming from an open fan of Olivia Rodriguez, no? You aboslute poser. And for the record, I can name three Testament songs now.