Student Journalism in Smaller Settings: Unofficial, Equine, and Alumni

In between CU’s major student newspapers, multiple smaller-scale publications had a moment in the sun. 

The Weekly Voice (1978-1979)

A student-run newspaper available in 1978 and 1979, The Weekly Voice, included editorials, campus news, and reviews.

“After a stall in publications of the Spilled Ink school newspaper in Spring 1978, the newspaper staff decided that the Centenary newspaper needed a refresh, feeling that the Spilled Ink title was no longer fresh and created The Weekly Voice instead,” said Victoria Ramsay, Centenary’s part-time archivist and librarian. 

In an issue released on October 31, 1978, editorial staff wrote about scary topics around campus of an historical nature, including the fire of 1899 and the murder of Tillie Smith in 1886.

Keeping with the Halloween theme, the issue included a story about Tillie Smith, a kitchen maid at Centenary Collegiate Institute (CCI) in 1886 who was raped and murdered. Urban legend suggests her spirit still lingers on campus. However, it is important to note that the tragic story of Tillie is no longer considered material for a Halloween-themed issue as it is a serious topic of domestic violence and tragedy.

“How she died exactly is unknown anymore. There are a multitude of explanations. The only thing all the stories have in common is 1) that she was raped, and 2) she was killed by a man,” said June Mittelmark in 1978. 

Following the same Halloween theme, the issue contained the story of the Centenary Collegiate Institute fire in 1899. 

“Shortly before midnight October 30, 1899, a gloomy and cold night added to the premonition of the horror that was to follow. Centenary Collegiate Institute (a co-ed school at the time) was to suffer its worst catastrophe as a result of a fire that demolished the main building,” said Anna M. Ruela in 1978. 

“The Weekly Voice was intended to be an ‘experimental’ weekly publication rather than a monthly publication like Spilled Ink,” said Ramsay, “which was very ambitious and well-done but led them to only keep up with this format for two years, and it got a bit more daring in what topics the reporters covered.” 

“Specifically, they opened up a "guest column" where students, faculty, and administration could write their thoughts on whatever topic they wanted that week, as long as they submitted it to the paper in time.”

According to Ramsay, “The Weekly Voice worked in conjunction with the Campus Recreation office to print a summary of the 1978 events newsletter Bulletin Board within the paper, essentially promoting what was happening on campus that week.”

“There was a new wave of feminism during the time of this publication, especially at an all-girls school, so along with campus news, they published articles about women's rights—including issues of birth control and reproductive rights, sexual harassment in the workplace, and the case of two female faculty members at Centenary supposedly fired for giving a lecture on women's rights and the following court case where they sued the school—along with more traditional fashion and sports coverage,” said Ramsay. 

“There was also another Centenary mascot from this publication, Harry the gray Persian-mixed cat. Harry found his way onto campus as a stray and was taken in by the students and guards; he hung out in the guardhouse or the journalism classrooms and later competed in the Meow Mix Meow Off Contest in 1979,” said Ramsay. 

The Centipede (1980-1981)

A student-run newspaper available in 1980 and 1981 was named after CU’s mascot at the time, The Centipede. Yes, a centipede! 

“The Centipede picked up as soon as The Weekly Voice ended in 1980, on a much smaller scale than the previous two newspapers and returned to the monthly publication style,” said Ramsay. “The staff of The Weekly Voice had gone from 17 members and a faculty advisor to 9 members by their last issue, and none of these members returned to write The Centipede; it was made up of an entirely new staff of 10 members and a faculty advisor.”

The newspaper covered campus events, real-world news, political cartoons, editorials, and reviews. Although there were not many issues throughout the year of its publication, the newspaper covered major events during this time. 

Toxic shock is just one important issue that The Centipede addressed during its one-year run.

“Recent studies have proven that the use of tampons may be a contributing factor to a fatal disease known as toxic shock syndrome. The Center for Disease Control advises women that they can reduce their risk, by limiting or even eliminating tampon use,” said Paula Leuenberger about the October 24, 1980 story. 

“The Centipede was controversial on campus,” said Ramsay, “including amongst students, mainly because of its hatred for and arguments against the rules the Centenary higher-ups were imposing on students, specifically in regards to profanity and leaving school grounds, viewing the school as returning to its "prep school" roots and wanting the students to be demure, "perfect little angels"—a legitimate quote from their February 1981 issue.”

“They also tended to write articles which covered formerly taboo topics, like women's healthcare, abortions, U.S. politics, pornography, and sex, and this publication was the first I could find in Centenary's history to include profanity in its articles,” said Ramsay. “Along with these were articles about world and campus news and new trends, including punk music, Dungeons and Dragons, and horror movies.”

“The Centipede was also open to students writing in their own opinions on current events or even responses to the previous publication—one issue featured the President of Student Senate write a scathing review of The Centipede's article about Centenary's so-called oppression of students, and The Centipede staff wrote back in their own similarly tart response article.” 

“The Centipede only lasted until the spring of 1981 and then was renamed and reformatted as The Quill, which lasted until the 2000s, with many of the journalists who worked on The Centipede returning to write for it when it debuted in the fall of 1981,” said Ramsay. 

The Filly Hill Express (1986-1997)

A student-run newspaper from 1986 to 1997, The Filly Hill Express, included information about the equine program. 

“It started out as a student-run, bi-weekly newspaper covering equestrian-related news, results of competitions, and photos of those in the program with their horses,” said Ramsay. 

“The publication later progressed into a more fun-filled equestrian newspaper including horse-related trivia, wordsearches, and games, features like ‘Horse of the Week,’ and news from equine program graduates.” 

“In the 1990s, it transformed into a newsletter sent to both current and former members of the program with similar articles,” said Ramsay. 

In a publication from March of 1991, editorial staff mention how Centenary was one of 140 colleges and universities engaged in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) competition. 

“Each year, shows are held within each region of the IHSA, culminating in the National Championships which will be held this year at Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia,” said the editorial staff in March of 1991. 

Alumni Publications

Past alumni have created publications that include faculty and campus news. These publications include Bulletin of Centenary Junior College (1945-1956), Bulletin of Centenary College for Women (1956-1965), Cresset (1965-1972), News and Views (1974-1976), and The Centenarian (1978-present day). 

The Centenarian is a bi-annual magazine highlighting events, achievements and special projects of alumni, faculty, staff and students. It is produced by the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations.

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Curious about these and other publications? Make an appointment with Victoria Ramsay to check them out in the University Archives!