I’ve got a problem with Harvard.
I’ve never been to the Harvard campus, nor have I ever been to Massachussetts, but I’ve still got an axe to grind.
Harvard claims to have the oldest campus newspaper in North America. The Harvard Crimson started publishing on Jan. 24, 1873. The Crimson beats out the Journal—yes, the very paper in your hands—for the title of oldest campus newspaper in North America by just 10 months. The first issue of the Journal didn’t appear till Oct. 25, 1873.
My problem is the Crimson was known as the Magenta till 1875, the year Harvard decided to change their school colour to something less flamboyant. But the Journal has always been the Journal since the very first day it was cranked out. Judge for yourself who really deserves the title of oldest campus newspaper.
My petty beef aside, it is appropriate that Harvard and Queen’s students both decided to start up a newspaper around the same time. Whether you’re in fourth year or are still getting used to the subtleties of residence life, you’ve probably already heard that time-worn saying: Queen’s is “the Harvard of the North.”
It’s a saying that implies that the quality of Queen’s education and the caliber of students ranks up there with the American Ivy League. If you’re in your fourth year, you’ve already decided your feelings about that assertion. If you’re in first year, you’ve got plenty of time to find out for yourself, for better or for worse.
The main thing to is that both Harvard and Queen’s students had the foresight 133 years ago to recognize a strong student newspaper has an important role to play on any vibrant university campus. Newspapers like the Crimson and the Journal exist to provide a forum for dialogue on campus about issues that uniquely affect students—from the ethics of university funding to the residence experience to how that campus sports team is doing.
Whether you choose to pick up the Journal on the way to your Tuesday or Friday class or not, it’s our hope at the Journal that students recognize the significance of maintaining a source on campus that’s an independent voice and whose top priorities include keeping students aware of issues that matter to them.
A campus newspaper needs two things in order to best serve its readership. First, it needs autonomy. Its articles, editorials and opinion pieces need to be decided by students, and not by any governing body at the University. The AMS, which publishes the Journal, is and can be involved only in the financial and policy side of the paper to guarantee readers are getting a newspaper free of vested interests. Second, it needs you, the reader, to get involved. The opinion pieces, articles and letters you write will make your voice heard, keep your fellow students informed and hold us editors able. For any of these purposes, we invite you to us.
In the end, do I really care whether the Magenta/Crimson or Journal is older? Not really. The fact both have been around for so long is really a testament to the vitality of student newspapers. But in the interests of the supposed Queen’s/Harvard rivalry, let’s keep the Journal one step ahead.
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