page_title: The Ubyssey
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: The Ubyssey / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ubyssey, October 17, 1918
context_page_description: The Ubyssey is the University of British Columbia's official, independent student-run paper and is published every Tuesday. Founded on October 18, 1918, The Ubyssey is the most read student-run paper in Canada. Notable writers throughout its history include Pierre Berton, John Turner, Allan Fotheringham, Michael Valpy, Joe Schlesinger, Danny Stoffman, Stephen Scobie, Vaughn Palmer, Bruce Arthur, and Earle Birney. Other notable alumni include cartoonist Arn Saba, journalist and author Katherine Monk, and photographers Jeff Wall and Richard Lam.
  The Ubyssey is an independent publication funded by a $6.89 annual fee, from which students can opt out. The staff functions as a collective; current UBC students who have contributed to the paper and attend staff meetings are eligible to become staff members. The staff elects the full-time editors on an annual basis. The Ubyssey Publications Society board and president, who deal chiefly with management of the business affairs of the paper and do not play any editorial role, are elected by the general student body annually.
context_section_description: The first issue of The Ubyssey was printed on October 17, 1918. Over the years the paper took stances supporting the demands for the building of UBC campus at Point Grey and the right of Japanese-Canadians to continue their studies after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It also spoke out against fraternity hazing, which was banned on campus in 1924, and racist policies at some fraternities were exposed in the paper by Allan Fotheringham in the 1950s.
  In 1955 The Ubyssey was ranked the student publication with the most freedom and least faculty control in Canada. Rev. E. C. Pappert was then the faculty advisor with direct editorial control over the student newspaper at Assumption College in Windsor, which had been ranked bottom in that survey. Pappert's response was that “The Ubyssey is the vilest rag you can imagine and is the best argument for censorship that could be produced.” The Ubyssey embraced Pappert's remarks and adopted “the vilest rag west of Blanca” as its unofficial slogan.
  Irreverence and controversy have indeed been part of The Ubyssey's history. In 1959 the entire staff was fired by the Alma Mater Society (AMS) when a photo was published during the Easter period showing a UBC student crucified on a totem pole. The last issue of the fall term satirizes campus issues and news stories. The spoof issue, published closest to April 1 spoofs another publication. Recent examples included The Grope and Flail, The Georgian Taint, Sports Inundated, Breitbarf, and a nude calendar spoofing a fundraising effort by the UBC men's rugby team. In 1974, a report, quoting the Pope, that Patty Hearst had given a speech to students in the Totem Park cafeteria prompted the arrival on campus of a KOMO-TV news team from Seattle which had taken it seriously.
caption: Ubyssey, October 17, 1918
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