Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
The Creightonian sets out on its course, with the brightest of hopes and the loftiest of ambitions.
This is the first in a series of articles celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Creightonian. Do you have amusing or interesting stories about working for the paper? Do you recall your favorite Creightonian headlines? Please share your memories with micahmertes@creighton.edu.
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By Micah Mertes
On Oct. 4, 1922, a group of Creighton students launched the Creightonian, a student paper still circulating a century later.
This wasn’t the first Creighton publication, mind you. That would be the 1909-debuted the Creighton Chronicle, a small, pamphlet-type edition written and edited by faculty. In 1920, the Chronicle was put under student management. Two years, later, the Creightonian was born.
The Creightonian's first issue (see it here) was a four-page, five-column tabloid that cost five cents a copy. Beneath the masthead, it read, “Devoted to the interests of Creighton University students.”
Vol. 1 — No. 1 hit the stands more than a decade before Creighton had a College of Journalism (now known as the Department of Computer Science, Design and Journalism in the College of Arts and Sciences).
The inaugural cover stories included news of the newly formed Creighton Students Union, as well as a “Monster Rally” held in the Old Gym and attended by more than 2,000 alumni, students, faculty and staff. (Which makes this year’s Creighton Days timing, almost exactly 100 years later, quite fitting.)
The Creightonian reported that the rally was “a display of pep and enthusiasm unprecedented in the annals of Creighton University … the rally evinced a spirit indicative of an impending era of expansion and success that in a few years will assure the ‘Hilltop School’ of a reputation as a great educational institution of the Middle West.”
The most enjoyable part of the first issue is the Page 2 editorial, in which the “temporary staff” present their mission, goals and intentions:
“The function of a newspaper has been described by someone as the fresh, timely and interesting presentation of news. Add to this an intelligent interpretation of the more important items and you have a fair sample of the modern newspaper. This the Creightonian will endeavor to be at all times.
“At Creighton, a student paper is a new experiment, but one that has proven successful in other colleges. The Creightonian, therefore, sets out on its course, with the brightest of hopes and the loftiest of ambitions.”
But the staff’s ambition didn’t come without a healthy dose of humility. Or, at least, a preemptive attempt to limit criticism and complaint.
“Many an error will be found in this, our first issue. Perhaps our columns will not contain news that should be found therein. If such be the case, we can only say that we have done our level best, and we trust that with the succeeding issues, our news-collecting agencies will have become more efficient.
“Suggestions will always be appreciated, and friendly criticism acknowledged, and we respectfully request that the weapon of destructive criticism be left sheathed until the Creightonian is able to defend itself by presenting to unjust criticism an honorable and successful reputation.”
Hear, hear.
More features on the history of the Creightonian coming soon. In the meantime, you can peruse that inaugural issue or enjoy a few photos from the paper’s early years below.
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