History of The Arkansas Traveler

When Right Makes Right
In 1908, the editor of The University Weekly reported rumor of an error. A writer was said to have mistakenly reported that two members of the debate team were also members of another student organization. The editor, though, didn't let anyone off the hook:

They say that the Weekly erred all around and last week we gave space for the correction of our 'cub' reporter's story on the debaters. The proper thing, however, for Woods and Jernigan to have done would have been to have allied themselves with the Demosthenean society when the Weekly said they belonged to that organization. They should bear in mind that the Weekly makes no mistakes and hereafter what the Weekly says is so, is so.

The Arkansas Traveler. April 23, 1908.

The University Weekly staff of 1906-07
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The First Editor

J.O. York, a senior from Bellefonte, Arkansas, in Boone County, served as the first editor of The University Weekly, the first student newspaper at the University of Arkansas. York and about a half dozen other students published the paper weekly during the 1906-07 school year, starting with the first issue on Oct. 10, 1906.

Copies of only three issues from that first year are known to exist. The only hard copy is dated Jan. 30, 1907, and the original is held by McFarlin Library at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. The May 8 and May 15 issues of the first volume are on microfilm at Mullins Library, and a copy of the Jan. 30 issue is also available in Special Collections.

The University Weekly started as a five-column tabloid-size paper with a column of advertising down the left side of the front page. Front-page stories included addresses by professors, notes from the residence halls, recounts of social receptions and sermons in favor of living virtuous lives. Stories of sporting events, student debates and poetry could be read side by side.

A staff box on Page 2 said the paper was published by the student body of the University of Arkansas. Single copies cost five cents, and a year's subscription cost a dollar. Editorials, exchanges from other college papers, and miscellaneous announcements filled out the page.

Page 3 included society and club news, while Page 4 was reserved for sports. On a spring week when the baseball team was playing away, coverage of the rugby team dominated the page.

In the first history of the University of Arkansas, the writers lamented the demise of the literary magazines and said of The University Weekly: "It has made a place for itself by giving gossipy news from week to week and more or less full accounts of important events of university life."

John Hugh Reynolds and David Yancey Thomas. History of the University of Arkansas. (Fayetteville: University of Arkansas, 1910), 331.
The University Weekly. Jan. 30. 1907; May 8, 1907

Freedom of Press for Those Who Own Press

In 1918 and 1919, editors of The University Weekly butted heads with the administration and found that editorial freedom extended only so far as a student could stay in school.

Editor Herbert Faisst wrote a sharply worded attack against President John C. Futrall, criticizing him personally and for a variety of student grievances, primarily the "stick law," a university policy that substracted credit hours from graduation based on the number of times a student missed class.

Faisst argued that the stick law was too strict, especially for students who missed class because of illness or for university-related travel. If Faisst held the high ground at the beginning of the argument, he lost all advantage when he became involved in a hazing scandal. Robert Leflar wrote in his history of the university:

He [Faisst] and other upperclassmen ... attempted to haze one J.B. Stanfield who fought back, ultimately with a knife, and inflicted minor cuts upon the three of them, including Faisst. Later the hazers gave Stanfield a whipping, and Stanfield identified Faisst as having held a revolver on him while the others whipped him. For this, Faisst was put on disciplinary probation.

At the end of the school year, Faisst published an extra issue of The University Weekly that he had printed in Little Rock and which appeared on campus just before commencement. Editorials in the issue "attacked President Futrall violently, demanded that he be fired, condemned numerous administrative policies, and charged Futrall with regularly censoring University news."

Other editorial staff members disclaimed any knowledge of the issue, and Faisst was expelled by the faculty.

Early Power of the Press to Pave a New Path

During the early part of the nineteenth century, student journalists at Arkansas and elsewhere tended to write stories in a literary style rather than in the more pragamatic news style adopted by mid-century. Like most journalists of the time, University Weekly reporters tended to write stories in chronological order rather than present facts in order of importance. The latter form, known as an inverted pyramid style of news writing, would not be deployed extensively until a journalism department at the university in 1930.

The literary style though had begun disappearing from commercial newspapers by the 1920s. An English newspaperman who spoke to The Weekly’s staff in 1918, Guy Manners, commented on the descent of newspapers from literary quality to “cold blooded businesses.” He told the staff members that “one of the cleanest and sweetest games is to play the newspaper game” but that a journalist should never let his imagination play when writing a story, “for the newspaper is the molder and maker of public opinion.”14

An early editor of The Weekly evidently had already learned that lesson. After successfully editorializing in favor of the city paving crossings at such places “as that mud hole just west of the Frisco Drug Store,” W.J. Jernigan took some space to congratulate The Weekly on its work:

And now, O happy thought, where once the mud caused us to say wicked words there is a new cement walk, where once the mud bubbled up around our chin now we pass, like the Children of Israel through the Red Sea, dry-shod. Is this the Power of the Press? Well rather. The office boy will remain in the editorial sanctum all day tomorrow to receive the congratulations of our fellow students.

The University Weekly, February  21, 1918.
Ibid., January 13, 1908.

The Role of a Student Newspaper

One mid-century assessment of college newspapers expressed the notion that each of five campus groups had its own perception of the role of a college paper:

• Administrators often viewed the paper as an official publication of the university that, as such, might involve the college in outside entanglements.
• General faculty viewed the campus paper as offering a medium for publicity.
• Students believed the paper to be the representation of their views.
• Journalism students thought of the college newspaper as part and parcel their own creation.
• Finally, journalism instructors saw the newspaper as a hands-on laboratory.

The University Weekly and its successor, The Arkansas Traveler, fulfilled each of these roles to some degree but leaned toward representing the students’ interests. The paper was started by students and financed from their own pockets for most of the twentieth century, either by subscription or by publication fee. The staff members were beholden to the university administration for office space and some level of official permission to distribute the paper on campus. However, the natural power dynamic between administrator and student forced most editors to weigh their words when pitted between student and administration. On more than one occasion, the student editors who threw caution to the wind faced the possibility of suspension or expulsion.

Early in the newspaper’s history, members of the faculty at Arkansas could readily seek publication of stories favorable to their research, either by submitting stories themselves or conferring with a student writer. During the first two decades, the newspaper rarely ran into problems finding space for stories. From the late 1930s to the early 1970s, editorial space in the paper became tighter as the number of advertisements continued to grow but the paper’s size did not. Professors appeared to have had more difficulty finding publicity during this period but no more or less so than students trying to publicize upcoming campus events.

As for journalism students, no official journalism department existed until the 1920s, and the editor and business manager were popularly elected until the mid-1940s. Between the early 1920s and 1940s, though, the editor was required to be a journalism major and to have worked for The Traveler for at least a year prior to applying for the editorship. Journalism students could usually work on the paper if they were willing to work for whomever was editor at the time. Many of the staffs included former rivals for the editorships.

The Traveler’s independence meant that its relationship with the journalism department varied over the course of its history. The journalism department was never in charge of the paper, although it maintained a symbiotic and collaborative relationship with the student newspaper through most of the last seventy-five years. After the College of Arts and Sciences approved a major in journalism for the 1929-30 school year, students who enrolled in the department’s courses contributed work toward publication of The Traveler. However, the submitted material was used at the discretion of The Traveler staff, which maintained its editorial independence despite occasional attempts by the department to insinuate control and at least a couple of efforts to place the student paper completely under the control of the journalism department.

Ernest J. Hopkins. “Educational Approach to Supervision.” NCCPA Review  2:5 (January 1957)

Brushes With Greatness

Over the years, student reporters covered their share of famous politicians. Quite early in its life, The University Weekly reported on the visit of former President William Howard Taft to Fayetteville in 1917. Taft, whom The Weekly described as a former Fayetteville resident, spoke at the Ozark Theatre about the war in Europe.

Often, whenever someone of political or cultural significance visited Fort Smith, The Traveler sent reporters or photographers to cover the event. In 1961, Johnny Woodruff photographed the visit of President John F. Kennedy. In 1970, Susan Leek and Ann Pride covered Vice President Spiro Agnew during his visit.

When Kennedy returned to the state for the dedication of Greers Ferry Dam in 1963, editor Marian Alford and photographer Johnny Woodruff covered the event. Kennedy praised the rapid strides being made by UA President David Mullins and expressed his hope that the U.S. Senate would pass a bill already approved by the House that would enable universities to use federal funding for construction of campus buildings.

At the end of the decade, Traveler staffers covered the visit by President Richard M. Nixon to the university campus to see a football game between Arkansas and Texas. Jimmy Carter came to speak at the university campus in 1975 prior to announcing he would seek the Democratic nomination for president. In 2000, on the eve of the election, Traveler staff members including Kristin Netterstrom, covering George W. Bush in his last campaign stop at Northwest Regional Airport before voting began the next morning.

The Traveler covered various appearances by Bill Clinton, from his first unsuccessful run for Congress when he was a UA law professor to his many recurring races for governor, his two successful bids for the U.S. presidency and, most recently, his return to campus for the dedication of the statue of the late Senator J. William Fulbright in 2002.

In 2004, staff members covered the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, which included coverage of four of five living presidents -- Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.

The University Weekly, November 14, 1917
The Arkansas Traveler, October 31, 1961
Ibid., October 4, 1963
Ibid., December 8, 1969
Ibid., October 9, 1970

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On the News Beat

Over the years, the student newspaper covered spot news on the campus including everything from the murder of a student who was walking home from campus in 1971 to the justified police shooting of a man who had entered the Tri-Delta sorority house armed with a shotgun in 1981 to the murder of a professor in Kimpel Hall and suicide of his assailant on the first day of classes in 2000.

The first spot news story in The University Weekly came in 1911, after a fire on Dickson Street took out most of the 400 block of Shulertown.

Monday morning about 1:30 o’clock, fire broke out in the Royal Cafe, the first frame building in the block, and immediately spread to the adjoining frame buildings. By the judicious use of dynamite and the excellent work of the Fire Department, the fire was finally brought under control. Royal Cafe, McAdams Drug Store, Ladd’s Barber Shop, Lisco’s Barber Shop, and the City Bakery were completely destroyed. The Frisco Drug Store, Fallin’s Confectionary, Bates & Reubel Grocery Co. were badly damaged by water.

Although the Fayetteville weeklies were able to bring the story out faster, The Weekly did a good job of reporting on a part of town that was then and remains a hangout for many university students.

The University Weekly. March 30, 1911.

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Shortages During World War I

As at most student newspapers across the country, the editors of the papers at the University of Arkansas usually erred on the side of peace whenever the nation appeared to be drifting toward war. While many student newspapers editorialized against entanglement of the United States in the first World War, news reports and editorials of The University Weekly generally ignored the conflict except as it related directly to the campus.

In 1915, the business manager of The Weekly, S.E. Gilliam, organized a local chapter of the International Peace League. Gilliam told The Weekly that the war was “a retrogressive movement toward the goal of barbarism and I am for peace and harmony.”

The lack of coverage of the war during 1916 may have stemmed from the loss of the editor, Tap T. Gill, at mid-year because of his desire to finish his coursework in three years. The paper operated without an editor through the spring. The next year suffered similar problems when the editor, James W. Trimble, apparently quit the paper late in the fall semester of 1916. The United States joined the war in 1917.

In the next school year, the war came home to The Weekly. Editor Herbert Faisst announced early in the semester that he had been called to service but added that he had applied for a furlough for the school year. Faisst was eventually given the furlough. The Weekly added an American flag to its nameplate at the beginning of the semester, and the paper began running short briefs about military service and the draft. Another story looked at the drop in the number of students enrolling in German classes. The university’s first student to receive eligibility for study as a Rhodes Scholar was notified that he was unlikely to receive appointment to a school soon because of the war.

By the beginning of 1918, the paper started a column of general news about the war and military service and printed correspondence from former students serving. Former editor Gill, for instance, sent a note about training at Fort Russell, Wyoming. Another former UA student, “Skeet” Hinton, wrote about landing in England, marching in front of the King and Queen, and then shipping off to another country where his unit took over a narrow-gauge railroad behind enemy lines.  A month later, The Weekly reported the deaths of two former students killed during training.

Paper shortages forced The Weekly to suspend publication in the fall of 1918, but the paper resumed publication at the beginning of 1919.

The University Weekly. January 21, 1915.
Ibid. January 17, 1918.
Ibid. February 21, 1918.

1919-20

Joe C. Barrett             Editor-in-Chief
Pearl Cox                    Associate Editor
George H. Beasley       Managing Editor
Doris Shandy                Associate Managing Editor
Vivian Savage              Society Editor
Clara Baskin                Exchange Editor
Paul Gold                    Business Manager
William G. Hamilton    Assistant Business Manager
U.A. Lovell                  Circulation Manager
Claris Hall                   Assistant Circulation Manager
James C. Rutherford    Local Editor
Reporters: William Oliver, Bea Furr, U.A. Lovell, Edna Hood, Gussie Simpson, Blythe Trimm, Georgia Lee, W.D. Shinn, Doris Shandy, Vivian Savage, Waldersee Hendry, Effie Alley, D.B. Arnoff, Merriam Miles, Lyda Higgs, Robertelle Hamiter, R.E. Leflar, Hugh Leiper, Howard Powell, Pauline Cravens, Robert Leflar, Dorothy Gregson, Jesse Wood, Claris Hall, Martha Rule, Christine Williams, William F. Scarborough, Madge Spratt, Effie Alley, Jamie McConnell, Burton Vaughan, Guthrie Hassel, Blythe Johnson, Fred O’Kelly, Barbara Belzner, James E. Rutherford, Vivian Savage, Willis Hale, R.E. O’Kelly, Hugh Feemster, Waldersee Hendry, John I. Smith, Ben Askew and Ludlow Ritchie.

Oct. 30, 1919
Jesse Cox switched in as Business Manager

Pi Kappa Edition
  Pearl Cox              Editor-in-Chief
  Staff: Effie Alley, Doris Shandy, Elizabeth Crockett, Edna Hood and Pauline Cravens.
  Students of journalism who assisted: Barbara Belzner, Christina Williams, Vivien Savage, Jesse Wood, Mabel Webb, Opal Coffey and Margaret Gregg.

1918-19

Traveler didn't publish during fall of 1918. J. Byrnes Walker, who was to be the business manager, didn’t return to school for the spring semester.  Joe Torbett was elected business manager to replace him.

Brooks Hays                Editor-in-Chief
Amelia Hilton             Associate Editor
W.J. Knight                 Managing Editor
Olive Stewart              Associate Managing Editor
K.W. Markwell            Local Editor
Bess Hodges                Society Editor
Una Ross                     Exchange Editor
Business Manager        Joe Torbett
Circulation Manager    Joe Barrett

After briefly being listed as editor, L. Brooks Hays resigned as editor-in-chief to devote more time to being president of the local YMCA. W.J. Knight was elected to fill Hays’ position.

W.J. Knight                 Editor-in-Chief
Kenneth Markwell        Managing Editor
R.A. Cooper                 Local Editor
Byrnes Walker              Assistant Business Manager
Reporters: Bill Oliver, Curry Freeman, Bee Furr, U.A. Lovell, Edna Hood, Gussie Simpson, Blythe Trimm, Georgia Lee, W.D. Shinn, Doris Shandy, Vivian Savage, Mayme Sperry, Effie Alley, D.B. Arnoff, Merriam Miles, R.A. Cooper, Edna Clark, Lyda Higgs, Robertelle Hamiter, R.E. Lefler [sic], Hugh Leiper, William F. Scarborough, Hugh Evans, T.B. Johnson, Barbara Belsner, Jessie Woods, Thelma Kitchens, Christine Williams, Bonnie Lee Farrior, R.H. Thompson, O.H. Colvert, Clara Baskin and Robert Robinson.

Knight expelled for participation in the second X-Ray incident in which many students criticized the administration. Brooks Hays was reinstalled as editor.

April 10, 1919
L. Brooks Hays               Editor-in-Chief
C.B. Freeman                Managing Editor
Dixon Mason                  Circulation Manager

Pi Kappa Edition
  Olive Stewart                 Editor-in-Chief
  Pearl Ray Cox                Associate Editor
  Gladys McCullough         Assistant Editor
  Amelia Hilton                Assistant Editor
  Bess Hodges                   Society Editor
  Una Ross                        Exchange Editor
  Edna Hood                     Local Editor
  Business Manager            Bill Hamilton
  Reporters: Jim Rutherford, Ben Askew, Grace Newman, Velma Smith.

Leland S. Forrest, an alumnus, is listed as a contributor.