About
The Daily Aztec is San Diego State University’s independent student newspaper, serving a student population of almost 35,000 and a faculty and staff population of more than 4,000. The Daily Aztec strives to be a resource for all members of the SDSU community with the news, entertainment, information and advice they need to make their experience as Aztecs the best it can be.
The Daily Aztec publishes daily online and is a monthly print publication. It has five regular sections: news, opinion and editorial, mundo azteca, arts and culture, and sports.
QUICK FACTS
- The Daily Aztec is independent. It relies on advertising sales to fund operations, printing costs and staff. The Daily Aztec has no guaranteed state, student or auxiliary funding.
- Unlike many college newspapers, all editors, writers, designers and sales personnel are SDSU students enrolled in at least six units.
- We print 5,000 copies every Wednesday.
- The newspaper has spent 37 years as a weekly, five years as a semi-weekly, 32 years as a four times a week and 21 years as a five times a week daily publication.
- The Daily Aztec was established in 1913 as The Normal News Weekly. It became The Paper Lantern in 1921, then The Aztec in 1925. It became The Daily Aztec in 1960. The year 2013 marked the 100th year in print as SDSU’s newspaper.
RECENT AWARDS
2024 San Diego Press Club 51st Annual Excellence in Journalism Awards
2nd Place: College Print or Online: Photography – Arts, “Loyal hip-hop fans come together in Los Angeles for 10th year of Rolling Loud” by Katerina Portela
2024 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists Journalism Awards
1st Place: College News Story, “Aromanticism never felt like a real option, that’s not my fault; Gloria from ‘Barbie’ was right — it’s impossible to be a (fictional) woman; Fast fashion is not going away, and corporations deserve the blame” by Madison McGill, Isabella Biunno and Gabrielle Houser
1st Place: College Review/Criticism “Review: ‘Air’ soars to the top of 2023 films” by Noah Lyons
2nd Place: College Best News Media Website
2nd Place: College Best Newspaper
2nd Place: College News Story, “It’s like a jail to them: Lahaina wildfire survivors seek long-term, dignified housing solutions” by Hannah Ly
2nd Place: College Sports Photo, “Water polo dominates CSU Monterey Bay after loss to No. 12 Long Beach St.” by Isabella Biunno
3rd Place: College Arts/Entertainment Story, “Hardcastle unleashes an authentic rock energy at House of Blues” by Isabella Dallas
3rd Place: College Photo Essay, “Students for Justice in Palestine at San Diego State University hold martyr’s vigil at Student Union” by Daesha Gear
3rd Place: Digital Social Media Account, Daily Aztec Instagram by Jazlyn Dieguez and Serena Neumeyer
2024 Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference Best of Show Awards
9th Place: Feature Story, Hannah Ly
2023 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
2023 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards
Winner: Feature Writing (Large), “Marching to the beat: SDSU’s Marching Aztecs redefine college band tradition” by Ryan Kehl
Winner: Retail/Small Business Journalism, “A community built on diversity and a love for vintage fashion” by Serena Neumeyer
2022 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: Review/Criticism, “Review: Native American cast revitalizes Predator franchise with ‘Prey’” by Noah Lyons
2nd Place: Best Newspaper, “The Daily Aztec,” Gabriel Schneider, Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo, Emily Forschen, Christian Houser and editorial board
2nd Place: Feature Photo, “Professor leaves academia to pursue a career as a violinist” by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
2nd Place: Headline Writing, “’Fake slave persona’ assignments outrages students, SDSU community” by Christian Houser Amina Idoui, Xiomara Villarreal-Gerardo and Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
3rd Place: Newscast, “The Daily Aztec Live! Nov 30, 2022” by Mackenzie Stafford and Flower Smith
3rd Place: Photo Essay, “Wonderfront music festival rocks San Diego” by Ethan Karlin
2022 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards
National Finalist: General News Reporting (Large), Christian Houser
2022 Region 11 Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: General News Reporting (Large), Christian Houser
2022 California College Media Association Excellence in Student Media
2nd Place: Sports Story (More than 15,000 Students), “One year later, women’s rowing still looks for answers after sudden cut” by Jason Freund
3rd Place: Photo Series (More than 15,000 Students), “Aztec Nights Event : Dragstravaganza” by Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
2021 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: Best College Newspaper, The Daily Aztec Staff
1st Place: Layout & Design, “Black History Month issue” by Emily Burgess
2nd Place: News or Feature Series, “Explaining the impact of Prop. 17 on SDSU students” by Catlan Nguyen
2nd Place: Sports Story, “Dwayne Johnson Jr. assists families in need of resources for virtual learning” by Amber Salas
3rd Place: Column, “Quick Take” by Ryan Hardison
2020 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards
1st Place: College Print or Online, Cover Design, “Black History Month Issue” by Emily Burgess
3rd Place: College TV, Sports Reporting, “NCAA tournament teams will play without their sixth man” by Amber Salas, Luis Lopez
2nd Place: College Print or Online, Best College Newspaper, The Daily Aztec Staff
2nd Place: College Print or Online, Feature, “Vinyl creates experiences that never die” by Brenden Tuccinardi
2nd Place: College Print or Online, Opinion/Commentary/Opinion, “Sprawl and lack of units are fueling the housing crisis” by Dylan Meisner
3rd Place: College Print or Online, Sports, “Unable to make assists on the field, Aztecs Rieder starts nonprofit assisting seniors” by Amber Salas
2020 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: Best College Newspaper, The Daily Aztec Staff
2nd Place: Newscast, “The Daily Aztec Live: Nov. 8, 2019” by Angela Kurysh, Alexa Oslowski, Kyle Betz, Aaron Tolentino and Jack Molmud
3rd Place: Sports Photo, “Malachi Flynn’s Winning Shot” by Sam Mayo
3rd Place: Sports Story, “Keegan Kelly’s Resilience Fuels Comeback A!er Multiple Devastating Injuries” by Cristian Alvarez
2019 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards
1st Place: College Print or Online, Cover Design, “The Daily Aztec – Black History Month” by Katherine Cooke
3rd Place: College TV, General News Story, “SDSU students and faculty collect letters from detained migrants” by Gian Matteo Sacchetti, Stephan Early, Jack Molmud, Mirella Lopez
2nd Place: College Print or Online, Sports, “Junior pitcher Adrian Mardueno succeeds amid mother’s illness” by Daniel Guerrero
3rd Place: College Print or Online, News, “NFL draft prospect from SDSU accused of emotional, physical abuse” by Bella Ross
2018 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards
1st Place: College Print, Investigative, “University Senate passes resolution to retire use of human Aztec Warrior mascot” by Bella Ross
1st Place: College Print, News, “Lecturer who led mascot retirement fight discriminated against white student because of her race, investigation finds” by Andrew Dyer, Will Fritz
1st Place: College Print, Photography, “Senior running back Rashaad Penny hurdles two Boise State defenders during SDSU’s 31-14 loss to the Broncos on Oct. 14” by Kelly Smiley
1st Place: College Print, Sports, “Anatomy of a Heisman Trophy snub” by Abraham Jewett
1st Place: College TV, General News Story, “Freeway mariachi dancer hopes to bring joy to San Diegans” by Brenda Gregorio-Nieto, Mirella Lopez
2nd Place: College Print, Cover Design, “420 Issue” by The Daily Aztec Staff
2nd Place: College Print, Feature, “SDSU alumni pour success into new wine business” by Lauren J. Mapp
2nd Place: College Print, Opinion/Commentary/Opinion, “Barrio Logan residents were right to fight attempted gentrification” by Stacy Marquez
3rd Place, College Print, Investigative, “University protected fraternity despite violations, emails show” by Will Fritz
3rd Place, College TV, General News Story, “These graduation photos are a mess” by Kelly Smiley, Ceighlee Fennel, Mirella Lopez
2017 San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards
1st Place: Best College Newspaper, The Daily Aztec Staff
1st Place: College Print, News, “SDSU faces questions about sexual assault” by Will Fritz
1st Place: College Print, Opinion/Commentary, “Like Spencer, he did Nazi it coming” by Andrew Dyer
2nd Place: College Print, Opinion/Commentary, “The true cost of cheap eats” by Cassidy McCombs
2nd Place: College Print, Column, “Grabbing Back” by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña
2nd Place: College Print, Cover Design, “Hillary vs. Trump” by Hannah Lingle-Veale
2nd Place: College Print, Reviews, “Indie icon returns with ambition” by Andrew Dyer
2nd Place: College TV, Feature Reporting, “Daily Aztec Does: Marching Band” by Adriana Heldiz, Cami Buckman
3rd Place: College TV, General News Story, “SDSU community members among thousands in San Diego Women’s March” by Adriana Heldiz, Mackenzie Boss
2017 San Diego Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: Best Newspaper, The Daily Aztec Staff
1st Place: News or Feature Series, , “Marquis Campbell Arrest and Court Proceedings” by Will Fritz
1st Place: Opinion/Editorial, “Honoring Native American heritage requires more than turquoise jerseys” by Andrew Dyer
1st Place: Arts/Entertainment story, “Becoming pioneers of hardcore punk” by Sarah Tanori
1st Place: Feature Photo, “SWMRS and FIDLAR electrify stage” by Kristian Carreon
1st Place: Feature Story, “Stories from the SDSU street preachers” by Natalia Xibille
1st Place: Layout & Design (story or series), “Health and Wellness Cover” by Kaylee Andrews, Hannah Lingle-Veale
1st Place: Multicultural Story, “Joven fronteriza coronada reina (Miss Baja California represents two countries)” by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña
1st Place: News Program — Television, “SDSU students, community react to El Cajon shooting” by Adriana Heldiz
1st Place: Sports story, “SDSU women’s basketball fan is a one-man show” by Brandon Truffa
2nd Place: Opinion/Editorial, “Wicker hiring shows SDSU, Hirshman learned nothing from $3.35 million lawsuit” by The Daily Aztec Editorial Board
2nd Place: Feature Story, “Former hitman shares new wisdom” by José Guzmán-Quirino
2nd Place: Original Illustration or Cartoon, “Latinx: un termino con controversia” by Hannah Lingle-Veale
2nd Place: Arts/Entertainment Television Story, “The Daily Aztec Does: Marching Band” by Adriana Heldiz, Cami Buckman
2nd Place: Review/Criticism, “Best album of 2016 goes to the 1975” by Ryo Miyauchi
2nd Place: Sports photo, “SDSU crushes Houston in Las Vegas Bowl, 34-10” by Kelly Smiley
3rd Place: News Story, “Hundreds of students protest President Hirshman regarding BDS posters” by Jamie Ballard, Will Fritz, Jacob Sisneros
2017 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards
National Finalist: Online Opinion and Commentary, Andrew Dyer
2017 Region 11 Society of Professional Journalists College Media Awards
1st Place: Online Opinion and Commentary, Andrew Dyer
Other Accolades
- Ranked in Journalism Degrees and Programs 100 Exemplary College Newspapers for Journalism Students
MISSION STATEMENT
The Daily Aztec is committed to being a readily available resource of and for the SDSU community.
The Daily Aztec will provide students, faculty and staff the news, analysis and entertainment they need to be informed and engaged members of the SDSU campus.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Daily Aztec follows the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. It can be accessed at spj.org/ethicscode.
ONLINE POLICIES
Each story on our site does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Daily Aztec.
COMMENTING
Commenting on our site is a privilege. We want our readers to add their point of view to every story but ask that they keep their comments relevant to the topic at hand.
We will remove comments and possibly ban users who do the following:
- Use vulgar or racist language
- Threaten harm of any sort to staff, commenters or the subject of an article
- Leave spam in their comment
If you have questions about these rules, please contact our Editor, at: editor@thedailyaztec.com
BLOGS AND VIDEOS
Our blogs and videos are held to the same standard as our print content. The views and opinions expressed in each blog is that of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the overall views of our paper.
