University News

Contact:
Susan Killenberg McGinn
(314) 935-5254
susan_killenberg_mcginn@aismail.wustl.edu

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Oldest newspaper in St. Louis still in print

Student Life, the independent student newspaper at WUSTL, turns 125

[St. Louis, MO., 1-29-03]

Student Life, the independent student newspaper at Washington University in St. Louis, is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Founded in January of 1878, it is one of the country's oldest college newspapers. It is also the oldest newspaper in St. Louis that is still in print -- even older than the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which was founded 11 months later.

"Student journalism at America's colleges and universities has a long and distinguished history, and Student Life is among our country's elite university newspapers," wrote Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton in the 125th Anniversary Edition of Student Life, published Tuesday, Jan. 28. "The long and rich 125-year history of Student Life has spanned almost the entire history of the university itself, and our student-journalists have documented the life of the university from their unique, important perspective."

Student Life came of age during some of the country's greatest crises, including World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, and the social unrest of the Vietnam War era.

The paper, however, continues to thrive. In 1999 the paper became independent from the university, and is now published by Washington University Student Media Incorporated. The board of directors includes former Student Life staff members such as Pulitzer Prize winner Ken Cooper, the Boston Globe's national editor, and Jeff Lean, the Washington Post's investigative editor.

Student Life also boasts of Michael Isikoff, the Newsweek investigative correspondent who broke the Monica Lewinsky story, and cartoonist Mike Peters, creator of Mother Goose & Grimm, along with other prominent journalists and leaders from other professions, among its alumni.

Student Life continues to serve as a strong student voice on Washington University's campus, in recent years producing award-winning coverage of the Presidential Debates hosted by Washington University, and rising to the challenges of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Despite our rich history, there's never a day that we take the paper's success for granted. There are always new challenges being presented to Student Life, and the phenomenal staff is always looking for ways in which we can improve," says Bernell Dorrough, editor in chief of Student Life. "Our anniversary is not only an opportunity to celebrate our history, but also to project the paper forward. We're committed to at least another 125 years of success."

In addition to the paper's 125th Anniversary Issue, Student Life will also celebrate with an alumni reunion next fall, Sept. 12-14, 2003.