The Southerner was awarded 6 Gold Circle awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association for Digital Media. Over 4,200 entries were submitted and 623 winners were selected in 52 categories. Kelly Tran placed third in the Personal opinion: Off-campus issues category. Ellie Winer placed third in the Non-fiction article category.

The Certificate of Merit was awarded to the following staff:

Audrianna Kisley for Non-fiction article

Elena Hubert for Personality profile

Charlotte Spears for Sports features

Dana Richie for First person experience