[4] On April 12, 1935, the campus paper was renamed as The Beacon, as suggested by student Alan Kennedy, who won a $3 prize.

[2][3] In 1999, the paper earned top prizes from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association in its division including Best Section, Best Writing, Best Feature Story best columnist and several for photography.

[11] The paper took second again for overall excellence in its division the following year along with top prize for best editorial, sports story, review, in house advertisement, and feature photograph.

[13][14] In March 2009, the newspaper published a headline of "Suicide claims UP senior" at the Catholic university to accompany a story on the death of a student.

[15] Administrators pulled the paper and had the staff remove the story from the Internet, citing issues of sensitivity concerning the family of the deceased.