Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals UA0003

California Polytechnic State University Special Collections & Archives

Collection ID: UA0003

Title: Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals

Dates: 1906-

Creator: Mustang News

Extent: 72LF, 153 bound volumes, 44 boxes

Abstract: Print and digital issues of student-developed journalism publications including Mustang Daily, The Polygram, El Mustang, Mustang News, The Polytechnic Californian, and The Alternative.

Language: English

Repository: California Polytechnic State University Robert E. Kennedy Library Special Collections and Archives 1 Grand Avenue San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 Phone: 805-756-2305 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.lib.calpoly.edu/specialcollections/

Provenance: Transfer

Accessions:

Processed by: Berlin Loa and Zach Vowell, 2017

Preferred Citation Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals, Special Collections and Archives, California Polytechnic State University

Historical Note:

UA0003 Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals

California Polytechnic State University Special Collections & Archives

The student-run media organization, known today as Mustang News, traces its beginnings to 1916, when what was then called The Polygram began a biweekly publication. Through the years, the student newspaper was known as El Mustang, The Polytechnic Californian and Mustang Daily, before becoming Mustang News in 2013.

Cal Poly students began to publish their experiences about living and learning on a modest, rural campus with enrollment of only 190 men and women, in 1916. A small room in the science building, equipped with a typewriter and a mimeograph machine, was the birthplace of The Polygram newspaper, whose first issue appeared on Tuesday morning, April 25, 1916.

As Cal Poly grew, the news changed to reflect contemporary fashions and social norms, advances in technology, and trends in higher education, journalism instruction, and news organization structure. With new perspectives, the purpose and quality of the newspaper also shifted from local-minded reporting to coverage of broader and off-campus social issues.

Except in years of financial depression and war when the newspaper ceased publication, the Cal Poly community has received its print news on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. It is one of only a few collegiate newspapers in the nation that is still printing its paper on campus. The student newspaper was not published 1933 - 1937 and 1943 – 1945.

Along the way, students adopted new technologies and added new outlets for informing and entertaining the Cal Poly community. The campus radio station, KCPR-FM, started in the late 1960s, followed by Cal Poly TV, and the student-run public relations firm Central Coast PRspectives opened in 2006. Students launched their first news website in 2006, added a mobile app in 2012, and fully integrated social media in 2013. Mustang Daily celebrated 100 years of campus journalism in 2016.

An alternative student newspaper was published in the 1980s by a volunteer group of students. The newspaper was founded by math students Laine Johnson and published under advisor Linda Black. Copies were published and distributed every other week during the school year and monthly during the summer. Printing and distribution were supported by a “booster club” and paid advertisements. Paid subscriptions were also available by mail. The newspaper titled The Alternative, included independent new stories, editorials, poetry, illustrations, comics, photographs, and advertisements.

Scope and Content: Print and digital issues of student-developed campus journalism publications including Mustang Daily, The Polygram, El Mustang, Mustang News, and The Polytechnic Californian.

Arrangement: The collection is arranged as received. Original organization of the records has been preserved where possible. Materials may have been reorganized or rehoused for preservation and access purposes.

Related Collections: UA0012 KCPR 91.3 Cal Poly Radio Collection Access:

UA0003 Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals

California Polytechnic State University Special Collections & Archives

Collection is open to researchers by appointment only. For more information on visiting, access policies, and reproduction requests, please visit our Reference Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/search- and-find/collections-and-archives/reference-services/.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction: Digital Copies are provided to researchers for the purpose of study, research, and personal use only, unless otherwise specified in writing. Materials that are the property of Cal Poly Special Collections and Archives require written permission prior to publication. No complete collection may be reproduced.

For print and online publication, please visit our Reproduction Services page online at http://lib.calpoly.edu/support/sca-policies/reproduction/. Special Collections and Archives reserves the right to review all reproduction requests and to withhold permission if scanning would endanger the material, would violate copyright law, or would violate institutional restrictions.

UA0003 Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals

California Polytechnic State University Special Collections & Archives

Contents:

Bound Copies Polygram, 1916-1932

Bound Copies El Mustang, 1946-1967

Bound Copies Mustang Daily, 1967-2012

Digitized Copies Polygram, El Mustang, Mustang Daily, 1916-2011

Web Archive Web archive of the Mustang News web presence, https://archive- it.org/collections/5962, circa 2008-2016

Boxes 1 – 43 Mustang Daily, 1967-present

Box 44 The Alternative, 1986-1988

UA0003 Cal Poly Student Newspapers and Periodicals