Three SPA Student Publications named CSPA Crown Winners

The Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), a program of the Columbia University School of Journalism, has recognized three SPA student publications as 2026 Hybrid News Crown Finalists.

Arts magazine Iris: Art + Lit and the print/online hybrid of The Rubicon newspaper and the digital RubicOnline were honored in the program, recognizing the nation's top scholastic and collegiate publications for overall excellence.

The 2025 Iris: Art + Lit magazine staff was led by Editor-in-Chief Roman Farley '26 with theme concept developed under the leadership of Hadley Dobish '25. Cover Design was created by Farley and Annika Kim '26, utilizing artwork "the eyes are the window to the soul" by Rowan Moore '26. This is Iris' 9th CSPA Crown in 9 years.

The Rubicon/RubicOnline is led by Editor-in-Chief Sonia Kharbanda '26 and Director of RubicOnline Thomas Chen '26. The 24-25 cycle was led by Annie Zhang '25 and Aarushi Bahadur '25, Director of RubicOnline. The cover design featured in the CSPA announcement was created by Cover/InDepth Editor Peter Ostrem '26. This is The Rubicon's 11th CSPA Crown in 11 years.

Read the CSPA news release for news publications and CSPA news release for magazines.