By Micah Friez
Published 12:00 pm on November 20, 2024
Happy birthday to the Northern Student!
Bemidji State University’s longstanding student publication ran its first issue on this date in 1929, marking today as its 95th birthday.
“This first issue of the Northern Student, a weekly publication, is the materialization of an idea that is not new in the college,” that original publication read. “… It will bring a better understanding between the individual and the college. It will show more clearly the relation of each student to the college. This is a student publication edited by members of the student body, and each student of the college is invited to join the staff in making this a paper to be proud of.”
That inaugural issue of the newspaper highlighted the latest campus happenings, from Sanford Hall residents entertaining classmates with a musical number during the college’s weekly “recreation hour” to the recap of an international musician performing on campus. Other news included the seniors ordering class pins, a recruitment visit from the U.S. Navy and a featurette on the Nautilus Club, a rather exclusive literary organization.
“The Northern Student is an invaluable source of information on Bemidji College, especially after it began publication regularly in 1929,” historian Art Lee penned in his book, University in the Pines. “Though much of the information in it might be labeled historical trivia, nevertheless a great deal of what went on at the College regarding enrollments, students and student life was recorded in these publications.”
How the Northern Student came to be
Manfred Deputy, the college’s first president, was the one who coined the “Northern Student” title. Deputy had recalled the name of his college newspaper, the Indiana Student, and he substituted “Northern” for “Indiana” for BSTC’s publications. The college first used the name on all of its printed materials, whether they were newspapers, bulletins or articles written by faculty members.
The first formal newspaper edition came on Nov. 20, 1929. Back then, Norman Widsten was the editor in chief and E.W. Beck was the faculty advisor. The other charter staff members were associate editors Walter Harvey, Linda Jokela and Roy Johnson; sports editor John Lucas; editorial writers Bjorn Hakkerup and Marion Brown; news reporters Clifton Kartinson and Nora Smith; and business manager Paul Koefod.
The Northern Student’s masthead was hand-drawn for those first editions, while the first photograph – a portrait of students Ellen Brooks and Marguerite Ogren – didn’t run until May 30, 1930. The Northern Student started as a weekly in 1929 and continued as a newspaper with various publication schedules into the 21st century.
Changes in technology led The Northern Student to reconsider how it published, and in 2011, it became a monthly color magazine with a website. It even kept running during the pandemic, when the university went remote with classes. The magazine shifted to producing four editions a year in the fall of 2021 following budget cuts.
No matter how often ownership has changed hands, the award-winning publication and its stewards have built its reputation as one to be trusted, dependable and entertaining. A 1950 staff writer once summarized it as such, saying, “As a person reads about the development of our school paper, we begin to realize the long hours that have been put in to make it the fine paper it is. In its years of existence, it has won many awards, which proved its content and organization is good.”
The Northern Student has churned through numerous styles, formats and regimes over the decades, but its footprint on campus has been a constant. It has reported seriously on unfavorable news that administration didn’t like – and then stood up for itself – and also goofed off with “faux” news in iconic April Fools’ Day editions. (It is run by college students, after all.) It has mourned the loss of presidents, celebrated the crowning of national champions and covered the biggest milestones and achievements to ever come out of the college.
And, perhaps above all, the Northern Student has faithfully upheld its duty: preserving the history of Bemidji State University.
An exhibit of the Northern Student’s history is currently on display at the A.C. Clark Library and is open to the public.
