This week, the University of Vermont’s student newspaper, the Vermont Cynic, won the Associated Collegiate Press’ 2016 Diversity Story of the Year award for a look back at the history of race at the university.
In a series called “Exploring Race at UVM,” the paper examined past traditions like the Kake Walk, a yearly dance featuring students in blackface, and how that and other events on campus shaped UVM’s policies around race and diversity.
VPR spoke with Kelsey Neubauer and Bryan O’Keefe, who co-wrote the series for the Vermont Cynic,to learn more about how they reported the story and what stuck out to them.