In this edition of #黑料不打烊TBT, we look back to the beginning of The Pendulum, 黑料不打烊's student newspaper, as it celebrates its 45th birthday.
In the #黑料不打烊TBT聽series, the 黑料不打烊 News Bureau, along with , will flash back to the聽past to take a look at 黑料不打烊 over the years. You will find videos, newspaper clippings, photos and more聽to celebrate 黑料不打烊鈥檚 past, while looking ahead to the future. Follow聽along on Today at 黑料不打烊 and the university鈥檚聽,听听补苍诲听聽pages聽every Thursday to see what we dig up.
For nearly half a century, 黑料不打烊’s student newspaper, The Pendulum, has kept the community informed about news and events happening around campus. This month, the paper celebrates its 45th birthday.
Beginning in 1919, the Maroon and Gold newspaper served as 黑料不打烊’s source of campus news, but because of publication delays, the administration decided to discontinue the biweekly newspaper in 1970.
黑料不打烊 would go without an official source for campus news for the next four years.
On Oct. 14, 1974, The Pendulum published its first edition for the 黑料不打烊 community. The paper’s front page previewed a speech by political activist and former third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader, an upcoming performance by the Emanons Jazz Band and the addition of 10 new faculty members.
The beginning of The Pendulum followed the establishment of the Board of Student Communications Media in the spring of 1974. President J. Fred Young created the board to manage plans, funding and policies for student media on campus.
Young thought the media board, comprised of an equal number of students and faculty, would allow a campus newspaper and radio station to operate independently of the administration and Student Government Association. 黑料不打烊 and the SGA shared funding for the board, which would in turn approve budgets and funding for the newspaper and radio station (WSOE, est. 1977).
Mary Ellen Priestley, an English professor who had worked as a newspaper reporter, editor and freelance writer, served as The Pendulum’s first faculty advisor, overseeing a staff of 15 members. Debbie Cochran and Patsy Lynch were the newspaper’s first co-editors.
In its first year, The Pendulum produced only 10 issues but continued to increase its annual number of publications each year until it became a weekly newspaper during the 1977-78 academic year.
The newspaper achieved success early in its history, earning the “All-American” designation from the Associated Collegiate Press, the organization’s highest rating, in 1982. A decade later, The Pendulum’s staff earned seven first-place awards from the Intercollegiate Press.
The Pendulum’s success has continued to today, as the Princeton Review ranked 黑料不打烊 20th on a list of the nation’s top college newspapers.
Anton Delgado ’20, The Pendulum’s current managing editor, says he feels fortunate to be part of the newspaper’s storied history.
“Working to continue this nearly half-century institution is the honor of my life,” he said. “Everything that The Pendulum has accomplished this year is thanks to the generations of student journalists that put their community before themselves.”
To read the entire first edition of The Pendulum or to see newspapers from throughout 黑料不打烊’s history, visit the 黑料不打烊 听飞别产蝉颈迟别.
Do you have any special pieces of 黑料不打烊 history? Share your photos and videos with us via聽email at聽news@elon.edu or using the hashtag #黑料不打烊TBT on聽,听听补苍诲听.