erfold
Monday, September 17, 2012
e l c a r O e h Volume of T
per a p s w e n e y of th e about t he histor
“Being The Oracle adviser is like being a coach. Just like coaching baseball, score is being kept and after two weeks, there is a tangible product. It was a thrill to have 70 plus young people all pulling together on a Thursday afternoon to win the game.” Tim Farrell, Adviser 1981-1989
“I was most proud of a special issue we did called “Youth ‘79”. We had a bunch of different articles about different issues facing young people, and we got professional help in laying out and producing the paper so it looked very sharp. The day we published that issue I heard that some teachers were making it required reading for their classes—The Oracle became someone’s homework! That made me proud, because I figured it must be pretty good!” “From my experience at The Oracle, I learned how fun it could be to work hard and produce something you can be proud of. We put a lot of hours into the Oracle, and I loved walking around the campus the day we’d publish an issue and see people reading it.” Alan Eagle, EIC 1979-1980
ry of The Daily Oracle’s last issue was on May 19, 1965, canceled only ten days after its conception. For April fools in 1982, The Oracle circulated the “Crapanile”, after Paly’s own newspaper Campanile, on Paly’s Campus. Former reporter Jessica Yu won an academy award for a documentary called “Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien” and received an Oscar for “The Conductor” and “Sour Death Balls”. —Compiled by Klaire Tan
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Current EIC inspired by legacy
Utkash Dubey Every parent likes to emphasize that first-world commodities like clean water, electricity and a stable home are privileges. These privileges are the results of invaluable ingenuity and hard labor, but getting that feeling first hand that many things were established before me is an incredible yet daunting experience. This was my thought process as I flipped through the pages of the very first issues of the best student publication in the whole wide world: The Oracle. As Editor-In-Chief (EIC) of The Oracle, it’s at least a bit important that I know how our paper and the organization has changed over the last few years. Sure, I know a thing or two about the last few EICs: it seems the majority of them were academically inclined girls, there’s this notorious Stanford streak that didn’t seem to end and, most importantly, they each added something new to the publication. Case in point, The Oracle logo on the front page was once a dated, chunky, pixelated mess. Linda Yu, the 2010-2011 EIC had that changed for the better. But when I explored the archives in the back of the library—temperature and light controlled room full of mystery—the feeling of “how lucky you have it” sunk in and suddenly almost 50 years of history felt like a totally different era. This publication changes so much, both structurally and visibly over the years. The contributions and hours and hours of work put into establishing a staple source of news shone through the delicate yellow pages of the very first 1964 issue, when The Oracle was just a short newsletter compared to the professional approach I see today. It’s clear that I am no big-shot when it comes to this paper. The hundreds—maybe thousands—of past writers, photographers, graphic designers, advisers and editors puts me in a situation where I doubt that I have even done anything “real” for The Oracle yet. For example, the paper used to come out on a biweekly basis. Every two weeks, sets of eight pages would come fresh from an old-fashioned printing press and be handed to students. Structurally, staff at one point was a combination of a few general editors, a sports editor, photographers and graphic artist who drew by hand and of course, reporters. Now The Oracle is a monthly issue spanning from 24 to 32 pages in length, and there are multiple editors for each of The Oracle’s six sections. The bottom line is a lot of work was put into creating and improving this paper in the past—but now it’s my turn to give it my all and see what I can contribute. I had a strong feeling of history when I was done perusing the old issues; in retrospect, I really have contributed close to nothing compared to past editors and staff members (so far). For you math geeks, think of a progress over time graph as being f(x) = ln(x) + 10—I feel like I’m around x = 100. I felt connected to every staff member The Oracle was privileged to have, as if I was just a descendant in the grand scheme of things and I was discovering my ancestry. It’s a strange metaphor, yes, but suddenly I felt as if I was a part of an enormous and very rich family history. I’m aware it’s incredibly cliche for me to say so, but this was an eye-opener. With this experience in mind, I feel all the more driven to pursue perfection with the staff and really contribute to a great paper. Oh, and if you do decide to check out the old issues, do handle them with care, “the binding is fragile.” —Dubey, a senior, is Editor-inChief.
Graphics by Jasmine Garnett