Collins Unbound

UPS has had an official student newspaper for almost as long as the university has existed. Published under three different names – Ye Recorde (1895-1903), The Maroon (1903-1911), and The Trail (1911-present) – the official student newspaper has published over 2,000 issues over the past 123 years. However, unbeknownst to many, during that time at least six other alternative newspapers sought to compete with the official newspaper. These underground papers were mainly published during the 1960s and 1970s, a time of social and cultural upheaval across the United States, and frequently criticized The Trail for failing to provide a forum for criticism of the university.

The Brail was one such alternative newspaper. Published between 1963 and 1965, The Brail offered “a criticism, not only of the TRAIL, but of student government in general” (1964 Tamanawas, pg. 152). At a time when the campus climate leaned more conservative, The Brail was noticeably liberal and somewhat anti-establishment; it “[existed] in spite of lethargy, apathy, and dynamic inertia” on campus (April 1964). The paper’s motto was “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed is king”, which is an Erasmus quote. The name of the paper is a reference to this quote, as well as a play on The Trail. The Brail frequently used satire and humor to make its point. For example, UPS and Puget Sound are always stylized as UP$ and Puget $ound, and the 1963-1964 issue references the university’s motto at the time, saying “UP$–Dedicated to learning, good government, and the Christian religion. Well, two out of three isn’t half bad.” The paper’s editor, Dennis Flannigan, was ultimately asked to leave campus by President R. Franklin Thompson after receiving a warning regarding continuing to publish The Brail.

The other alternative student newspapers mostly followed similar themes, and included The Grassroots Forum, the UP$ Rut, the Index, The Advocate, and The Third Eye. To learn more, come visit the A&SC and take a look!

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-
3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Julia Masur

Every semester, the Archives & Special Collections welcomes students from many classes into the A&SC for specially designed classroom sessions. As the Archivist, I work with faculty members and the liaison librarians to create sessions that use archival materials and rare books to supplement the classroom curriculum. These are fascinating sessions that use the resources of the library to support the teaching that is happening all over campus.

This semester I was given the opportunity to create a new archives session for the History department. The session was titled “Moments of ‘Disruption’ at Puget Sound during the Vietnam Era,” and it investigated four key moments of our history during the late 1960s. With the help of Peggy Burge, the library’s Coordinator of Teaching, Learning, and Digital Humanities, I went through boxes of archival materials to curate the classroom session. We identified four moments of ‘disruption’ during the late-1960s at Puget Sound: the faculty divide in support for the Vietnam War; the presence of the Air Force R.O.T.C. program on campus; the Vietnam Moratorium protests; and the list of three demands students presented to the administration at the end of 1969. All four of these moments highlight campus agency and voice during a tumultuous time in our nation’s history.  The students who participated in this class were able learn about campus history and position those events within a greater national context.

By diving into our campus’ history, the students were able to see examples of campus and local activism. Today, as we see signs of protest and activism all over the news, I think it is important to compare and contrast these expressions of activism. What ties these moments together? What separates them?

If you’re interested in learning more about our campus’ history, please reach out to us by emailing archives@pugetsound.edu.

Student protest, 1967 Tamanawas yearbook, p. 128

(From left): Student call for a Vietnam Moratorium, undated; Advertisement in “The Trail”, October 8, 1971)

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Adriana Flores, Archivist & Special Collections Librarian

Image from top: The Great Pumpkin, 1978; The Great Pumpkin, 1978

Happy Halloween, Loggers! We’re sure everyone is very excited to see President Crawford’s costume at the campus Halloween party in the Rotunda today, so in honor of our current president’s favorite holiday, we’re looking back at another president’s Halloween celebration – President Phil Phibbs in 1978.

In honor of the holiday, the university’s Tour and Travel Committee sponsored a pumpkin carving contest judged by President Phibbs dressed as the Great Pumpkin. According to the November 3^rd issue of The Trail, the SUB was packed with competitors and onlookers. President Phibbs gave a short speech, presented Academic Dean Tom Davis with a security blanket, and threw candy to the crowd. The Learning Skills Center, the predecessor to the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching, won the contest with their pumpkin entitled “Mid-terms”.

The Archives & Special Collections is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. or by appointment.

By Julia Masur