KEEP IT 100
KILLING IT
Read about the history of The News, including stories of past editors, the printing press and the wandering newsroom.
Senior outside hitter Chelsea Lee has recorded 251 kills so far this season for Panther volleyball, and her teammates commend her consistency.
SECTION B
PAGE 7
THE
D aily E astern N ews
Thursday, November 5, 2015 “TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID” C E L E BRATI NG A CE NTUR Y OF COV E RA GE 19 15- 201 5
VOL. 100 | NO. 53 W W W . D A I L YE A S TE R N N E W S . C O M
The News turns 100, begins centennial celebration By Jason Howell Online Editor | @thejasonhowell Reminiscing and reconnecting will be the focus of the weekend as The Daily Eastern News celebrates 100 years of publication. More than 200 alumni are set to participate in the festivities, which include a meet-andgreet between alumni and current students on Friday and tours of the newsroom and pressroom on Saturday. It’s no coincidence the 100th year of The News befalls the same year as the 100th Homecoming. A group of students came together to start publishing a newspaper to cover sports and the inaugural homecoming – an event that students, faculty members and businessmen wanted to make, “the biggest and most enjoyable event ever pulled off,” according to the first issue of the Normal School News. Vol. 1, Issue 1 was the work of students Ivan Bean Cobble, Ernest Bails and Ed McGurty, along with Prather the Printer, a local printing firm headed by Bob Prather that printed The News as well as the first and succeeding yearbooks, according to a letter to the editor from former journalism department chair Dan Thornburgh. That “spirit” of wanting to cover stories is very typical of college students, according to Sally Renaud, chair of the journalism department and interim director of student publications. “They want to have a voice; they want to tell their story,” Renaud said. “I’m glad the university has supported it all these years.” In its early years, The News printed mostly sports news and rambling editorials, which was indicative of its low journalistic standard at the time, according to compiled information on the journalism department’s history. This was because of the non-demand of the journalism profession at the time and therefore, the lack of formal education in the vocation. Surviving the years The News has survived all 11 sitting university presidents, nine locations around the campus and Charleston, been the recipient of numerous awards, as well as criticism from the university. Out of the nine locations The News has called home, two of the locations are no longer standing – the Bails family home, as First Financial Bank now sits on the land, and the “Cement Block Building,” which is now the east section of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.
PHOTO ILLUSTR ATION BY JASON HOWELL
The News and its editors have also been the recipients of numerous awards throughout its 100 years, some of which include “Best Newspaper in its Class” from the Illinois College Press Association in 1946 and Pacemakers from the Associated Collegiate Press. The history of The News is also not without its controversy. Between 1956 and 1968, known as the “Doudna Years” in Eastern journalism history, run-ins between The News and President Quincy Doudna were frequent as the newspaper took the motto “Tell the truth and don’t be afraid” to heart. A football player made it into Pemberton Hall, which was frowned upon at the time, and the paper covered it, also apparently frowned upon. The editor at the time, 21-year-old Bruce Schaeffer of Skokie, was fired by the Board of
Student Publications. This gained traction in the Chicago Tribune and eventually Francis W. Palmer was relieved of his Student Publications advisory duties. This made way for Daniel Thornburgh, who is widely regarded as the father of Eastern’s journalism department. Thornburgh died in 2011 at the age of 80. Community “The journalism department supports wholeheartedly what the students do,” Renaud said. Training and support are given to students in the form of journalism classes and the advisers who critique the paper and offer guidance to students. Alumni also come back to speak to current students. “A lot of students came to Eastern to major
in journalism and be a part in student publications,” said John Ryan, class of 1975, who recently retired as director of student publications. 100 In addition to the aforementioned tours, Thursday’s paper includes a special eight-page insert chronicling the history of The Daily Eastern News. Stories include the nine locations that The News has called home, a history of the printing press and oddities that have occurred over the years. The News is proud of its history and proudly presents it for everyone else to read. Jason Howell can be reached at 581-2812 or jlhowell3@eiu.edu.
Faculty, staff support scholarships for excellence
By Analicia Haynes Staff Reporter | @DEN_News
The Annual Faculty and Staff Fund Campaign is generating support this year for the Commitment to Excellence Scholarship. The campaign works to supply funds donated by faculty and staff members for various programs such as scholarships. Gary Aylesworth, a chair for the campaign, said the purpose is to involve faculty and staff in supporting various programs such as scholarships so they feel like they are a part of the actual development of the university. “I thought that was an important thing to do because this is our university and it’s more than just a place where we work,” Aylesworth said. “We have a connection to the institution and we want to make it as strong as it can possibly be.” This year, the campaign is focusing on the Commitment to Excellence Scholarship but
people can continue to give to all the other things that they have been donating to over the years Aylesworth said. “You (faculty/staff ) get to decide where the money goes and I think that’s what makes it appealing to people,” Aylesworth said. According to the campaign website, there are several ways to offer support for the 2015-16 campaign. One of the options includes giving to the EIU Community Commitment to Excellence Scholarship Fund. The purpose for this kind of gift is to allow for ongoing support for the scholarship by reaching the minimum endowment level of $25,000, according to the website. Andrew McNitt, the chair of the ad hoc committee, which is also trying to create support and raise money for the scholarship, said the scholarship is funded by appropriated funds or funds given by the state but state money is else-
where. McNitt said he hopes to raise the $25,000 for the endowment much faster than the five years allotted. “I think it’s an excellent idea and we would like to have better financial backing,” McNitt said. “If we want the attention we need to demonstrate that it’s an important idea.” Once the endowment is reached, the funds would be used to supplement the scholarship on a yearly basis. “I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the endowment because it creates a permanent fund for scholarships,” McNitt said. Aylesworth said because state funding is decreasing all the time it’s important to participate in these campaigns now more than ever. They both said it is also important to donate because going to a university is a lot more expensive than it used to be because of the cost of tuition and student loans.
“When I went to college I had a part time job, 10 hours a week, and I paid for my tuition,” McNitt said. Aylesworth said that in terms of dollars it was easier to pay for school in the past decades than it is now. “In the sixties and seventies you could pay for a whole year if you worked full time over the summer and we did that,” Aylesworth said, “you can’t do that now. So far, about 40 percent of the money necessary to open the endowment was raised from pledges and donations, McNitt said. Aylesworth also said people working together donating small amounts can still make a big difference because those add up. Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or achaynes@eiu.edu.