Miscellany News
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[edit] Overview
The Miscellany News is the oldest publication of Vassar College, and one of the oldest college weekly newspapers in the United States. Widely Known as The Misc among students, the newspaper staff is known for its thorough reporting and fact-checking, and the paper has produced a number of journalists. What follows is an extensive history of the paper.
[edit] The Early Years
Vassar's student body issued its first publication, the Vassariana, on June 27, 1866, as a bulletin of the year's events. Mary Mallon '15, in her history "The Vassar Miscellany," described the Vassariana as "somewhat after the style of a church fair bulletin in the form of an annual folio." Included in the first issue were the membership list of the single student organization of the time – Philalatheists, a calendar of the year's events, programs of special events (concerts, recitals, Founder's day, etc.) and essays on subjects of interest to a Vassar student. The Vassariana served more as a summary of the year than a literary publication, but the editors recognized the failings of their paper, and aptly apologized, "We are conscious that it is surrounded by many difficulties, that no well trodden path is prepared for its journey, but that we send forth to clear the way for more favored ones which may follow in years to come." The first group of students began to learn at Vassar in the fall of 1865 – that any publication was ready in June of 1866 illustrates the ambitions and achievements of Vassar women.
The Transcript of June 1867 showed remarkable progress. Along with a change of name came a wider array of events to cover and a publication twice the size of its predecessor. The second year of Vassar events proved fuller than the first, and an array of student organizations listed their members in the pages of the bulletin. Light-hearted stories, campus news, recipes, poems, and even letters to the editor joined the weighty essays of the first issue, illustrating the growing campus identity. While still a yearly publication, the Transcript showed the beginnings of a legitimate newspaper. For two more years, the Transcript continued to document the evolution of the college at the end of each school year. Mallon recognized the Transcript as " very distinctly understood to be the organ of the Students' Association. The Association appointed the editors, determined the subject matter, changed the title, and passed on the rearrangement of subject matter, but after a time left all of the 'business' of publishing the magazine to the editors." By 1870, the publication was the respected voice of the student body.
With its position secured as the campus publication, the Transcript began to push against its restrictions. In 1869, the students petitioned the faculty for permission to publish a bi-monthly version of the Transcript. They were refused. Another petition in 1870, this time for permission to publish a quarterly paper, was also refused. In response, the Students' Association cancelled the paper, and come June 1871, there was no bulletin to document the year. The faculty of 1871, having experienced a year without a college publication, granted the next petition for a quarterly magazine, and after much discussion, the first issue of The Vassar Miscellany appeared in April, 1872.
The Vassar Miscellany functioned first and foremost as a literary magazine – its responsibilities as a bulletin were secondary to its responsibilities as a showcase of Vassar's literary abilities. However, in many ways the caliber of the literary sections served as a bulletin on the status of Matthew Vassar's "great experiment." The Vassar Miscellany was not the first student publication in the country, but it likely was the first such publication by women. The paper existed in two capacities, as the initial editorial explained: First, the Vassar Miscellany stood as an outlet for student opinion, for "We have had, heretofore, no means of expressing our opinions, and much that we have often considered unfairness in our instructors has been, probably, ignorance of our real wants," and secondly, the paper was proof of Vassar's right to a place in the realm of higher education. The editors hoped "that our magazine may be a permanent literary influence in the College" and maintained, "… We feel sure we may safely rely on the interest, common to us all, that Vassar should stand where it ought to stand in the field of college literature." The content of the paper served a double function as a communication venue for the community and evidence of the intellectual abilities of women.
Ten juniors and seniors edited the Vassar Miscellany under the supervision of faculty members for its first few issues. The editors separated the paper into two literary sections – the first part of the paper held essays, poems, and stories by current students, followed by the Alumnae Department, a parallel venue for Vassar graduates. Initially all contributions by students were anonymous. Many were transcripts of speeches given at Philalethean Society debates or required senior essays. As the paper grew, the selection of essays widened, and authors began to be identified by initials.
A third branch of the paper, "De Temporibus et Moribus," served as a forum for free expression for all members of the community. The end of the paper, also known as the "back," held all the various college information that defied literary classification. Within this section could be found "Varieties," a collection of quips and poems to amuse readers, "Home Matters, which held news stories about events on college and on other campuses, the "Editor's Table," where criticism of the college could find voice, and "Exchanges," which recognized and occasionally critiqued all the college publications received by the college. While the names of the various "back" sections were constantly in flux, the general content remained the same for the remainder of the 19th century. Until 1892, the "back" was little more than an addendum to a primarily literary publication. Mallon described the Vassar Miscellany until 1892 as " serious, grave, and venturesome in attacking titanic subjects rather than in attempting a variety of subject and form." Essays dealt with weighty issues like poverty and war – the editors were very aware of their position as an example in the world of women's literature, and worked hard to prove their mettle. The editorial staff of 1873 noted, "A new quarterly, no matter how brilliant, if issued by the students of Harvard, or any other university for men, would cause not the slightest ripple on the sea of criticism outside of the little bay of college literature. But the first issue of a new publication from the first college for women must necessarily attract attention. That we have succeeded in winning so much honest and kindly criticism is a good omen. Time was when the very fact of a woman having wrought a work was sufficient to cause it to be ridiculed. But we have realized our highest ambition, - to enter the field of college literature untrammeled by prejudice, to fail if we must, to win if we can." Mallon's research proved the Miscellany did indeed win: "The "high seriousness" of the Miscellany, the sedate tone and dignified appearance awakened the enthusiasm of the exchange editors. The Yale Literary Magazine and the Cornell Era were particularly impressed by the literary merit of our magazine."
As the Miscellany gained a respected place in the world of college publications, it began to suffer the trials of any entrenched institution. By the third issue, the editors found themselves lobbying for support within the Vassar community: "The editors make an earnest appeal to the students for help in carrying on the good work which has been committed to their hands. Whether this help be given in lengthening the subscription list or in filling the pages of the magazine, every student is in honor bound to give it; every student must give it if she would see the Miscellany where she wishes it to be. Having put our hand to the plough, let us not turn back. Now, while we are warm with the enthusiasm which belongs to a new enterprise, now, while the encouraging utterances of our friends sound fresh in our ears, let us work with our might to place the Miscellany in the first rank of college magazines." Similar pleas for support continued to surface periodically over the years, and can still be found in the modern Misc.
The editors' request for student participation succeeded, and the gains in support prompted the establishment of a Miscellany office for the 1876-'77 school year, as well as a new position – business manager. Along with these perks came a change in frequency, though not in format. The paper successfully transitioned to a monthly publication, a change compelled primarily by the financial situation of the paper. Since its beginning, the paper had sold yearly subscriptions to anyone off-campus interested in reading of Vassar's achievements. However, a quarterly paper didn’t "defray current expenses." With a monthly format, less time and money would go into each issue, and the increase in issues would merit an increase in the subscription fee. Also, the ten editors hoped a change of frequency would allow them to redirect some of their efforts towards more campus-related publishing– a monthly Miscellany could devote more time to college news while retaining the literary focus of the quarterly.
The change in format soon compelled a change in organization. In 1881, the Students' Association gave up the right to elect Miscellany editors. The outgoing Senior board, in consultation with a committee of three women from the same year as the editor being considered, would elect new editors. The class involved and the Students' Association had to ratify the elections before they were official, but the continuity of the paper was no longer directly in the hands of student government. This new degree of autonomy provided an opportunity to restructure the editorial board. Mallon discovered in her research, "The editors seem to have divided the work of the board much more strictly than is customary among the present [1915] editors. To judge from the printed list of editors, we conclude that one Senior had sole charge of the 'literary Miscellany,' another of De Temporibus et Moribus, and another of Home matters. The two Juniors were given the less prominent departments of College Notes and Exchange Notes." This structure seems to have suited the paper – for the rest of the 1880s, the paper continued with minimal changes, and no lasting evolutions.
The ten-year anniversary of the paper brought, in Mallon's words, "a rejuvenation." Up until this point, the primary outlet for student voices was "De Temporibus et Moribus," a section which highlighted narrative accounts more often than opinion pieces. In the 1891-'92 school year, the first "Points of View" section arose as a true forum for public dialogues. A "Book Reviews" section in the "back" of the Miscellany joined the new section, and together they kicked off a new direction for the paper. From 1891 until 1914, the "back" became an ever-more impressive array of comedy, news, and opinion from the campus community. The newspaper aspects of the monthly quickly began to overshadow the literary sections – while literary achievements continued to comprise the front half of the magazine, letters to the editor indicated a growing infatuation with the contributions in the "back."
[edit] Weekly Publication
Finally, the editors recognized that the magazine had become a single publication with two vastly different goals. The front and "back" each stood alone. Moreover, the campus as early as 1897 wanted more frequent coverage of campus events. Plans for a separate biweekly issue appeared in a 1910 "Points of View." In the fall of 1913, the editors recognized the need for a weekly bulletin and declared a new publication schedule: a literary Miscellany issue published monthly, supplemented by a campus-oriented Miscellany Weekly. The Students' Association approved the plan on October 13.
However, before the editors had a chance to prepare the issue, the faculty advisors cancelled all proceedings, citing insufficient authority on the part of the Students' Association. The faculty was uncomfortable granting the Students' Association the right to regulate non-academic activities. To calm the faculty, the Students' Association created a petition in favor of the change, which they then delivered to the faculty for review. Permission was granted, and the first Miscellany Weekly appeared on February 6, 1914.
The new format forced another reorganization of the editorial board. The editorial board until 1910 had required a specific published word count for eligibility, and members had been chosen by the previous editors, approved by their class, and then ratified by the Students' Association. After 1910, the required word count was dropped, but the editors continued to be chosen by the previous board, with minimal input from the English Department. With the Weekly, the editorial board took the opportunity to create a more representative editorial body for the future of the publication. A committee consisting of a member of the English Department, the President of the Students' Association, the Presidents of the Junior and Senior classes, and the current editor-in-chief was created to choose future editors in the hopes of more integrated participation in the Miscellany. Anyone in the Vassar community could nominate an editor, and the committee would review each nominee, choosing future editors from only the recommended students.
[edit] The End of the Monthly
The Weekly editors took over the "back" of the Miscellany and created an entirely new publication. With the weekly issue covering all campus events, the Miscellany Monthly editors were free to focus on the literary talents of the campus. The Monthly continued as a "testing ground" for Vassar writers. The Alumnae Department, which made up a substantial portion of the literary section before 1914, lasted until 1916, at which point a new publication, the Vassar Quarterly, became the organ of the alumnae. As the Weekly settled into its new position as the bearer of campus news, the Monthly found that the wants and needs of the Weekly publication were at odds with those of the less frequent literary issues. By 1917, the two Miscellany publications shared only business staff – each claimed autonomous editing and received separate submissions. This minimal association lasted five years, but by 1924, it was clear that the monthly and weekly were no longer operating as a joint project. The literary magazine "was failing to achieve its aims," explained the Miscellany Monthly's final editorial. In 1924, the title Miscellany was given exclusively to the weekly publication. The Monthly severed ties with its younger, more successful business partner, and reappeared the next month as Grist, Vassar's autonomous literary magazine. The Miscellany Monthly was no more.
The first issue of the Miscellany Weekly appeared February 6, 1914 as a supplement to the literary magazine, the Miscellany Monthly. The premiere editorial, "An Old Need Answered by a New Opportunity," laid out the scope of the supplement: "It comes to answer an old need of the college for a more efficient bulletin of events and for a better means of comment than the Miscellany could afford… College life will find itself reflected in the Weekly from various angles. All events of importance to the college at large, it will try to record clearly. It will endeavor to bring events of world interest into closer connection with the college." The supplement encompassed the sections of the Miscellany Monthly known as the "back" (Points of View, Home Matters, etc.). In short, the supplement took over the journalistic aspects of the Miscellany, leaving literary submissions to the original.
The first issue of the Weekly included a calendar of events, articles relying changes in campus policy and faculty, bulletins on elections, plays, and debates on campus, and opinion columns. In laying out the opinion policies, the editors articulated the Miscellany's role as a means of communication on campus, one that continues to this day. The editors determined, "To reflect current opinion faithfully, the Weekly will be a 'free forum.' It will not refuse any contribution which is authorized by the writer's signature. The editors do not hold themselves responsible for any expressions of personal opinions. If they are objectionable, the columns of the next issue are at the command of anyone who puts their objection into writing, and 'the fight is a fair one.'" As for the editorial policy, the initial restrictions determined that, "The editors will be non-partisan in playing umpire. They will hold themselves bound, as acting under the Students' Association, to an attitude of neutral, but not therefore inactive." The editors of the Monthly and the Weekly worked together on editorials for the first few issues, but as the Weekly evolved, its staff began to break with that of the Monthly. The tenth issue of the Weekly included a review of the Monthly publication, a sign of the gap between the sister papers. By 1917, the only connection between the two publications was a name and a business manager. The Weekly proved itself as an autonomous publication – in 1916, issues began to be published on a semi-weekly basis, and in Feb. 1917, the paper was officially incorporated as a semi-weekly paper. No longer a supplement, the paper needed a new name: The Vassar Miscellany News.
[edit] The Vassar Miscellany News from 1915-1969
As The Vassar Miscellany News, the paper gradually became more outward-looking. Opinion articles took on national and international events, and students became more involved, with a steady increase in letters to the editor. The paper continued to update students on the goings-on of alumnae – alumnae at that time made up audience of the college's only newspaper. In 1915, a "Foreign News" section appeared, detailing events on other campuses of Vassar's caliber. The paper was expanding, and with its expansion came a growing sense of Vassar's place in the world beyond the campus.
World War I smothered the outward impulses of the paper. After the war, current events fell to the wayside, and the Miscellany News focused exclusively on campus activities. Guest lists for proms and dances featured prominently in the Misc. of the 1920s, as did exam schedules and room lists. In 1924, the members of the Miscellany staff arranged training for all new journalists, courtesy of Mr. Burges Johnson of the English Department. That same year, the Monthly broke its last ties to the Miscellany News and became Grist, a campus literary magazine. From this point until 1934, the Misc. focused upon the quality rather than the quantity of its articles, promoting high-caliber writing with such incentives as a contest in 1925 that awarded a $15 prize for the "best articles of the year." The paper continued to play around with names of various sections of the paper, recasting "Letters to the Editor" as "The Growlery" for some time, and the humorous section as "Varieties" or "Campus Chat," depending on the whim of the editorial board. The primary focus of the paper at this time, however, was on defining itself – both as an authorized Students' Association publication and also as an amateur newspaper.
The January, 1928 editorial articulated the paper's position as an organ of the Students' Association: "No paper which uses the college name, deals exclusively with college happenings, comments on college problems, and is written to be read by the college can, merely by saying so, detach itself from responsibility to the college. No matter what the editors' intentions the paper will be taken and quoted as representative by outside papers. On the other hand, it would be humanly impossible as well as of questionable desirability for the News to act as an echo of campus opinion, if any. We try to hold the semi-detached status in between, not to try to say what we think the college may be thinking, but to make ourselves as representative a group as possible, on as many relevant sides as we can touch, and then to offer our honest, considered opinions for what they are worth."
The questions arising from the Miscellany's status as an amateur paper proved harder to come to reconcile with the perfectionists of the school. In the February of the same year, the editorial once again attempted to define the limitations and expectations the college ought impose on its only newspaper: "The News does not attempt to be professional, but exists for the training of those interested in journalism, as well as for the convenience of the college." The paper did not claim to cover lectures with previous expert knowledge of the subject under discussion, nor did it limit upperclassmen from reporting. Freshmen eligibility was restricted to Reporting Staff only because of college regulations on non-academic activities for first year students. However, the paper continued to be open to criticism, and in 1932, the editors rearranged the staffing of the paper in response to public concerns. The change created Star reporters – upperclassmen recommended by faculty who were relatively competent in specific fields and covered important lectures and events pertaining to their area of expertise. The 1932 shakeup also created further limitations on freshmen reporting. Freshmen became the paper's "cub reporters," searching out news and only writing small special articles while the sophomores dominated the day-to-day reporting.
The 1932 change in personnel marked the final chapter in the Misc. identity crisis. By 1934, the paper had established its method of reporting, and the focus shifted from style to substance. World events returned to the pages of the Miscellany News. In the Feb. 13, 1935 issue, the editor-in-chief, Harrriet Tompkins, laid out a three-fold news policy that continued into the 1940s. According to this policy, the Miscellany News existed "to serve as a house organ, a means of communication for all the organizations on campus, to deal with questions affecting us as future citizens, and thirdly, it must provide a forum for the free expression of student opinion." The editorial said, "In a college paper, we feel that news should be of four kinds: the story peculiar to Vassar, that has its own individuality and campus flavoring, news of former Vassar graduates for those who still take an amused interest in us, news that brings out our relationship to other students – to that great abstraction – the youth of America, and finally, some items that throw into sharp relief the national events which have significance for us in the double role of citizens and students."
Vassar was not alone in its denial of "the ivory tower" of college life. The same editorial remarked, "Students all over the country are realizing that we can no longer remain in blissful isolation or 'insulation' as the Daily Princeton puts it. The Yale News 'bids a farewell to the delusion that it is meant solely to reflect the undergraduate opinion.' And we can go down the list showing that we are not alone in our proposal to lead opinion instead of merely mirroring it." This open admission of a new approach to editorials illustrates the impact of world events on the Vassar campus – the women of the Miscellany no longer felt that they could report only campus news while their fellow students ignored the changes on the global stage. "We are in accord," says the editorial, "that there is nothing more deadening than indifference, and we will fight to the end against an apathy that negates all education."
In their fight against indifference, the editors of the 1930s and '40s grappled with the same questions that faced Americans all over the country. For a decade, the Miscellany editorials and opinion pages read like policy discussions, arguing the consequences of a war or the effectiveness of Roosevelt's economic measures. Mock letters to drafted men appeared in the 1940 paper and were quickly republished in the Princetonian and the Harvard Crimson. Before and during World War II, the Miscellany News transformed into an external paper, concentrating on national and international issues instead of campus events. In response to criticism that the paper was ignoring its primary function as a relater of campus news, editor Tompkins replied, "The college has a happy talent for preserving the even tenor of its ways and of remaining unmoved while the world crashes around its head. That much of the news has been of a political and social nature, we recognize fully, but we cannot agree that we have missed campus happenings. Such news is merely less spectacular."
When campus events were mentioned, it was often with an eye towards improvement. The Miscellany led many campaigns on campus during this era, crusading for, among other things, new curriculum, reduced scholarship funds, and black students at Vassar. The Miscellany voice seems to have helped – many of the causes championed in the editorials of the college newspaper surfaced as college changes in the news section a few weeks later.
During the Miscellany News's stint as a more worldly, active publication, the reporting staff underwent yet another readjustment. In 1940, the editors developed a reporter's handbook using style-books from other college newspapers and commercial newspapers. Sophomore reporters received extra training to cover more difficult assignments, and were introduced to copy-editing and makeup. The efforts paid off – the same year, the Associated Collegiate Press of the Minnesota School of Journalism rated the Vassar Miscellany News an "excellent" publication.
In 1943, the "excellent" publication returned to passive reporting after a meeting between the Joint Committee of Faculty and Students and the editorial board of the Misc.. The meeting discussed recent editorials in the Miscellany concerning the loss of a scholarship due to non-academic reasons. "As a result of this discussion, the sense of the meeting was summarized in the advice that the Miscellany News would seek to obtain from the college officers concerned, a statement of the facts and that in matters affecting the relations of the students with the officers of administration and of faculty, the Miscellany News board, like all students, would use their duly elected officers of the Students' Association to make such contacts and to initiate such actions as may be deemed advisable." After this meeting, the Miscellany News was responsible to the college community for the information in its editorials. While the decision did not officially restrict the editors, the paper noticeably changed tack, and quickly pared down its activist stance.
In response to the controversial meeting, the 1944 editorial staff created a committee to "study the organization and workings of college papers comparable to the Misc., to criticize our reporting system objectively in light of their findings." An editorial explained the structure of the Miscellany editorial board: "Outside a few established rules, we experiment and adopt what works. Elections to the board and to the reporter staff are made impartially: tryouts are identified by number rather than by name to prevent any discrimination. Senior editors rotate as managing editors, to bring forward a variety of fresh ideas, and to share responsibility and experience. The editor-in-chief- is elected by a unanimous vote of the editorial board." The committee's findings were compared to the current methods, and the editors agreed to try any recommendations. The 1943 meeting was the first official conflict involving the weekly paper, and it clearly shook up the Miscellany editors. A self-consciousness pervaded the paper for much of the 1940s as the paper attempted to regain its confidence, and during this era, the paper returned to experimenting with new columns and fonts instead of topics.
Another factor in the 1944 shift was the beginning of a new publication on campus. In 1994, the first issue of the Vassar Chronicle appeared on campus. For the first time, Vassar had two newspapers. The defining difference between the two papers was the editorial policy: the Miscellany continued to publish editorials that represented the collective opinion of the editorial board. The Chronicle, however, believed in expressing the opinion of the majority of campus, and to do this, often opened its editorial columns to readers. Since two newspapers competing for readership, the Miscellany focused its efforts on tightening up the campus aspects of the paper and relegated external news articles to the inside pages.
For their first 19 years of co-existence, the Miscellany and the Vassar Chronicle cooperated. In 1945, they published the first of a series of joint special edition papers on major events in the world and on campus. These special editions offered diverse viewpoints on a single topic – for example, the 1945 issue focused on life in the Atomic Age. Other topics included the National Students Association and a five-day work week for students. The special editions spurred the Miscellany to begin publishing extra issues commemorating events, and a freshmen issue was introduced to welcome new students each fall. As for relations between Vassar's two papers, they were polite if not close. The two papers occasionally acknowledge each other in editorials or quotes in articles, but the references were peaceful, and the Misc. supported the existence of an alternative source of campus information.
The peace broke on February 11, 1959, when a Chronicle editorial recommended that the Chronicle merge with the Miscellany News. The Miscellany response was cold. In a polite refusal, the Miscellany editors noted, "One newspaper combining the total staffs of the "Misc." and the "Chronicle" could not operate up to the standard of either existing paper. More important, the College has a right to editorials taking definite stands, coming from an editorial board that is an entity and not a synthesis of individual opinions." In the Miscellany Letters to the Editor, the Chronicle's motives became clear. The Chronicle's finances were mismanaged, and the paper operated in the red most years. The Miscellany, on the other hand, adeptly handled its accounting, and issued its weekly papers without accruing any serious debts. The Chronicle, perhaps insulted by the Misc.s refusal, continued to press the issue in its own editorials in less-than-polite terms. For a time, the editors of the Misc. devoted their editorials to corrections of misstatements in the Chronicle. Finally the issue came to a head, and the Faculty Committee and the student body proposed that there be one college newspaper. They placed the issue on the trustee ballot, but the trustees on the Committee on Undergraduate Life decided not to take action, and the issue died. Any mention of the Chronicle disappeared from Miscellany pages, even though the Chronicle continued until 1978, and the joint special editions were cancelled.
With the end of the Chronicle misadventure came another rise in Miscellany activism. In the Freshmen Issue of 1961, the Misc. board said, "The Misc. is what is known as a Living Newspaper. An interest in current affairs which began as a crusade for Women's Rights, is seen today in editorials on national and international events of importance, and articles and counter articles on issues vital to students. Mostly, however, the paper is noted for its attitude symbolized by the slogan 'Once Again We Protest.' meaning that the Misc. believes that anyone or thing (such as Vassar College) that has ideals should live up to them, and that the Misc. will not hesitate to point out flaws which can be corrected." The previous coverage of campus events like lectures and concerts now became reviews and commentary. In 1963, the Misc. created a new method of communication on campus – classified ads starting at a dollar a column inch. The paper of 1965 recognized the passivity of the 1950s Misc., saying, "In the past, the Misc. has acquired the reputation of being a timid, dry, and generally boring anthology of notices from the News Office. Despite an improvement in the last two years, most Vassar students (and faculty) continue to think of the Misc. as the journalistic equivalent of the "Congressional Record" – informative but not enjoyable reading." The 1965 paper had a new look thanks to a change of printers, including a less formal layout, longer pages, and more pictures. Cartoons began to appear in the paper, as well as entire columns devoted to satire and comedic writing. Alongside its more engaging visuals came a more independent mindset. No longer did the Misc. feel responsible to the Students' Association or the College for its articles. Rather, the paper began to seek out conflicts with these bodies, taking on a new role as watchdog over campus institutions. A 1967 editorial rationalized this new attitude towards the college: "At times we may seem brash and out-spoken; at times we may seem overly demanding, even 'revolting.' But beyond the annals of the college, beyond being merely a newspaper of record we are a political instrument for change. We can accomplish our goals on campus and perhaps we can inspire students to work for social change and progress off-campus."
[edit] Thriving after Coeducation
The first year of coeducation brought more than men to the campus. In 1969, the campus newspaper, The Miscellany News, transformed, becoming simply The Misc. Unfortunately, the new name didn't spark student interest as hoped. The 1969 paper was decidedly less inflammatory than its 1968 predecessor, and its passivity annoyed the student body. In Dec. 1969, an editorial noted, "Students around campus are now talking about getting together and publishing another newspaper besides the Misc. Last Wednesday, a meeting was held in Cushing to discuss the possibility and determine the interest among the community." After almost fifty years of publication, the Misc. had lost its following. In November 1970, the Misc. was forced to suspend publication for the rest of the semester "due to lack of funds and student interest." In the same issue, the executive editor announced her resignation. The suspension was a response both to the drastic finances of the paper and to the overwhelming negative criticism circulating the campus. The Misc. hoped that by temporarily depriving the student body of its newspaper, it would stimulate a new appreciation of the paper.
Whether the suspension truly provoked a show of support isn't clear. However, the paper returned the next semester with no mention of its hiatus or the criticisms of the community. The only sign of the failed semester was a return to the original title. Six months after the suspension, the paper was back to defending itself from student unrest. A September 1971 editorial said, "A common criticism is that the paper is dull, as it contains little that is not already known, and so is more oriented toward articles on matters such as building renovations. Many have urged the radicalization of the Misc. into a forum for left-wing politics, and anti-administration viewpoints. To be fair, it should be remembered that the ultimate purpose of the paper's existence is to inform the college community… The editorial staff has long ago given up the once popular image of themselves as 'moulders of opinion.' They have perceived a greater challenge in keeping their own biases out of articles on controversial issues, feeling that therein lies their service to the students. Believing that the Vassar student body is not a proletariat in search of a vanguard, articles are presented in a style that allows the individual to form an opinion." Obviously times had changed. The muckraking style of journalism that compelled the editors of the 1960s was gone, replaced by an insistence on objectivity.
No longer acting as a stimulus of student action forced the Misc. editors to seek other ways of engaging the community. The paper renounced its previous insensitivity to the college and recognized that as a campus publication, it had a responsibility to publish notices for the college and the VSA. The new affability between the college and the newspaper brought regular commentary by President Simpson to the Miscellany, as well as a column devoted to VSA events. This change in attitude paid off. In 1972, the Miscellany acquired a darkroom, providing a new tool for keeping readers' attention. Pictures quickly peppered the pages of the newspaper. The same year, the layout changed, becoming less disciplined and centered. Editorials were moved into the depths of the paper, as opposed to their traditional second page location, and in their place, a large entertainment section appeared. Sports dominated the back page, and the entire paper took on a casual, haphazard personality. The same year the first Doonesbury comic appeared. The first year after the change, Miscellany recruitment among freshmen skyrocketed, and for the first time the paper had to turn would-be reporters away.
Throughout the 1970s and '80s, the formatting shifted with each editorial board. The modern Misc., unlike the paper of earlier classes, rarely commented on its own procedures or changes. Rather, editorials became short comments buried on page six, and The Letters to the Editor section doubled to foster conversation among the community members themselves, rather than between the paper and the community. The modern Misc. supported Unscrewed, Vassar's consumer advocacy paper that began in 1976, leaving investigative reporting to the Unscrewed staff, and often quoting from Unscrewed articles in its own coverage.
In 1982, controversy returned to the Miscellany News, but this time the cause was not so noble as a revoked scholarship. The conflict over Misc. editorials that happened in 1943 followed attempts by the newspaper to right a wrong. In 1982, the Misc. was the organization in the wrong. In early fall 1982, The Gay People's Alliance (GPA) and the Student Afro-American Society (SAS) met with editors of the Misc. to complain about articles of an "ignorant, racist, sexist, and homophobic nature." Later that year, Misc. staff members forced their way into a closed meeting of the SAS. The SAS and GPA asked for the resignation of the editors. After intervention by the Students' Association, the complaint was settled with a reprimand for the paper. However, soon after, the editorials' section downsized even further, becoming a single column on the far left of a new page entitled "Opinions." This section allowed members of the community to submit their personal viewpoint on any subject, and as long as the opinion was signed and relevant, its publication was guaranteed.
The Opinions page calmed student outrage, and soon the Miscellany was benefiting from positive support. A 1984 Friends of the Miscellany News campaign raised $6,000 in new subscription revenues, funding a Rainbow 100A computer for the Miscellany staff. The new computer helped the staff with editing and typesetting, and also allowed for another expansion of the content of the paper. For the first time, a concerted effort was made to include Poughkeepsie and Hudson Valley news alongside national and campus events. Sports coverage expanded as well, now covering three or more pages in the back of each issue. This broadened scope continued successfully through the eighties.
With the 1990s came more financial difficulties. At the beginning of the decade, the paper expanded yet again, adding a literary column, a column of politician's quotes, advice, and horoscopes, and incorporating the Vassar emblem into the masthead. Unfortunately, in 1994, a frivolous lawsuit and the negligence of a former assistant treasurer put the Misc. deep into debt. The VSA decided in February of that year that the debt was too large and forced the Misc. to allow the VSA to decide the length of each paper. The February 25 paper was cut from 24 pages to 12, and the March 4 paper was only 8 pages. The April Fool's issue, 16 pages before VSA review, was cut down to 8 pages. Instead of allowing the special edition to go off to print with only eight pages, the editors paid $100 out of pocket to get the rest of the edition printed. The issue came to a head after an angry editorial claimed the VSA had mistreated the paper. The VSA reevaluated its position and returned control of the page count to the Miscellany editorial board. Since 1994, debt and low public support have only hampered the Miscellany News one other time – in the fall of 2002 – but this too was easily resolved, and currently the paper enjoys strong readership on campus and relatively debt-free management.
That same spring of 1994, an advertisement for a Holocaust-denying organization made its way into an issue of the Miscellany. Angry protests in the letters to the editor column compelled a reassessment of the Misc. ad policy. "The new policy states that the newspaper will not print any ad which is in violation of legal statues or Vassar regulations, and which does not constitute harassment as defined by the editorial board."
With the problems of the spring behind it, the Miscellany began the fall of 1994 with its first email address. By 1996, the paper was online at http:/misc.vassar.edu. The paper became progressively more open at the same time as it moved into the electronic sphere. Since the 90s, almost every issue of the Miscellany News has included an invitation to the entire community to write for the paper. In 1995, a temporary column offered a place to "showcase students', professors', and administrators' non-fiction prose." The paper continues to offer space to all members of the community. In 1996, the VSA Voice column began – once a month, a VSA member updated the campus on the goings-on of the student government. With its push to be more inclusive came countless editorials asking the community to submit material. A 1996 editorial said, "The Miscellany News does not exist within a vacuum – we need support from the whole community. Without members of organizations informing us of events and news, our coverage cannot be complete."
In the mid-1990s, the Miscellany also began to publish humorous stories and quips on its final page. At first, the back page held the calendar of school events and classified ads, and over time the writers added funny jokes to each description. From this format came a comedic page that often included satire of the school alongside the calendar. The Backpage continues today, entertaining readers and humorously critiquing the traditions of the school.
The Miscellany of today includes the Backpage of the '90s, but it is a far cry from the visually traditional paper that informed the campus at the end of the 20th century. In 2001, two editors of the Miscellany News drastically remade the paper over winter break. "Armed with a box of crayons, a highlighter, three pears, and some back issues of the Village Voice," they created a tabloid format for the paper. "Sleeker fonts, less formulaic layouts, more white space, better graphics, and more pages" combined to make the new Miscellany "a new campus newspaper for a new century."
The current Miscellany may look different than the paper of the 20th century, but its content remains basically unchanged. The paper runs the same five weekly sections as it did in 1999: "News, Features, Opinions, Arts and Entertainment, and Sports, as well as a Backpage which includes the campus events calendar and classified ads. [The Miscellany] also has a special Spread section that publishes every two weeks and offers an in depth look at a specific facet of the Vassar community… There are distribution points all over campus, including residence hall lobbies, ACDC, and the College Center." The paper continues to follow the policy that has guided its content since the 1970s. The most recent phrasing of the thirty year old mission appeared in the April 29, 2005 issue: "As the principal campus newspaper, our foremost goal is to provide Vassar with accurate and timely news. To us, the newspaper is a public contract – we strive to accurately report campus events and issues as well as provide a forum for discussion… First and foremost, we report on Vassar College news. Additionally, by reflecting on our peer schools and various events or trends occurring nationwide, we are able to form what we believe to be an accurate representation of the College…. We also address the accomplishments and the events of individual students, campus organizations, and alumnae/i through our Features, Arts and Entertainment, and Sports sections… Our Opinion section is a unique opportunity for the newspaper to provide a forum for discussion with all campus voices…. As a campus and a news source, we have entered into this public contract – may it serve both parties well."
http://vcencyclopedia.vassar.edu/index.php/The_Miscellany_Monthly
