The Student Life

The Student Life (abbreviated TSL)[6] is a student newspaper covering the Claremont Colleges (5Cs), a consortium of liberal arts colleges in Claremont, California. It is published weekly each Friday during the academic year, typically spans roughly ten pages per issue, and is primarily funded by the student governments of the colleges.[1]

For the student newspaper of Washington University in St. Louis, see Student Life (newspaper).
The Student Life
The Student Life's logo, which depicts a splash from the Bosbyshell fountain outside its office
TypeWeekly newspaper, during the academic year[1]
FormatBroadsheet
Editor-in-chiefMaria Heeter[2]
Staff writersApprox. 120[3]
FoundedNovember 1889 (1889-11)[4]
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersClaremont, California
Circulation1000 print copies, plus digital readership[5]
Websitewww.tsl.news

The paper is the oldest college newspaper in Southern California, having been published since 1889.[4][7] It is also the largest and most widely distributed campus newspaper at the 5Cs, with a significant readership among students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the Claremont community.[1] It maintains a staff of around 120 students, including writers, columnists, photographers, videographers, designers, copy specialists, business associates, and editors.[2][3]

TSL operates out of Room 101 in Walker Hall on the northern portion of Pomona College's campus.[7]

History
Cover of TSL's first edition, 1889
External images
TSL staff photo, February 23, 1925
TSL editors, c. 1950

TSL was founded in November 1889 (two years after the founding of Pomona College) as a four-page monthly called the Pomona Student.[8] Initially an informal bulletin for campus happenings, it adopted its current name and moved to weekly publication in 1893.[9]

By 1926, it was publishing five issues a week; many were filled largely with advertisements.[10] In 1939, this was reduced to two issues per week to save money,[11] and in 1944, these issues became only two pages long to conserve paper during World War II.[12] After the war, it gradually expanded, and in 1956, it returned to weekly publication.[13]

In 1965, it merged with other Claremont Colleges newspapers to form the Claremont Collegian, which covered all 5Cs, but it was revived two years later as a Pomona-only publication (except for a two-page weekly insert focusing on newly-established Pitzer College).[14]

In 2008, it began shifting its focus to cover the entire consortium, and its coverage and staff makeup today reflect all 5Cs.

Sections
Front page of The Student Life (April 6, 2012)

TSL has four primary sections that appear in each issue: News, Life & Style, Sports, and Opinions.

The News section appears at the front of the paper, and covers a range of campus politics, issues, and current events, and often includes investigative pieces. The content specifically focuses on the 5Cs and life on campus, and does not usually include coverage of national or international stories.

The Life & Style section includes feature stories on campus life, as well as a number of weekly or bi-weekly columns. TSL is well known for its sex column, which appears regularly and is credited to an anonymous author or pseudonym.[15]

The Opinions section includes opinions pieces by columnists and guest columnists, as well as editorials. The content in this section reflects a broad range of the ideological views found at the 5Cs, which tend (with the exception of Claremont McKenna College) to lean strongly progressive compared to other college campuses.

The Sports section covers the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas, as well as national sports.

Once a year, typically on the Friday nearest to April Fool's Day, TSL releases a mock edition of the newspaper with funny articles and satirical news stories.[16]

Notable Coverage
TSL's office is located inside Walker Hall at Pomona College.

As the Claremont Colleges' paper of record, TSL has provided much of the original reporting for major events at the 5Cs throughout their history. In recent years, TSL's reporting has been frequently referenced by national media outlets reporting on campus controversies.[17][18][19][20][21]

In November 2015, TSL's reporting on racial tensions at Claremont McKenna College that led to the resignation of a dean of students was widely cited by national media outlets covering the episode.[22][23]

In March 2017, TSL leaked an internal Harvey Mudd College report which criticized the severe workload at the school.[24] The leak triggered widespread protests which led the college to cancel classes for two days.[25][26]

In April 2017, TSL's coverage of a blockade of a speech by conservative pundit Heather Mac Donald (as well as the sanctions subsequently imposed on some blockaders) was widely cited by national media outlets.[27][28]

TSL's coverage has sometimes drawn criticism from conservative national media outlets, many of whom are fed stories by the conservative 5C Claremont Independent publication.[29][30] Following the 2015 racial tensions protest, Fox News criticized TSL for providing a space specifically for students of color in an issue.[31]

Leadership

The newspaper's editorial board is composed of an editor-in-chief and two managing editors.[2] All three positions have a semester term. The editor-in-chief is selected by a committee generally composed of senior staff members.

Editors-in-Chief
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
NameTermCollegeYear of Graduation
Maria Heeter[32]Fall 2020Scripps2022
Hank Snowdon[2]Spring 2020Claremont McKenna2021
Meghan BobrowskyFall 2019Scripps2021
Kellen BrowningSpring 2019Pomona2020
Ariel SoFall 2018Scripps2020
Meghan JoyceSpring 2018Scripps2020
Liam BrooksFall 2017Pitzer2018
Lauren IsonSpring 2017Pomona2018
Alexa StrabukFall 2016Pitzer2017
Carlos BallesterosSpring 2016Claremont McKenna2016
Kevin TidmarshFall 2015Pomona2016
Julia Thomas[33]Spring 2015Scripps2017
Caroline BowmanFall 2014Claremont McKenna2014
Zoë JamesonSpring 2014Pomona2015
David Prescott Barrows[8]Spring 1894Pomona1894
Guenevere Metkiff[9]Fall 1893Pomona1894
David Prescott Barrows[8]1889Pomona1894

Further reading
  • Henderson, Richard (1967). The Student Life: 77 years of journalism at Pomona College.

References
  1. "The Student Life". Engage @ Claremont. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  2. "TSL Staff". The Student LIfe. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  3. "The Student Life". LinkedIn. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  4. "Finding Aid for The Student Life". Online Archive of California.
  5. "The Student Life Fall 2018 Advertising Information". The Student Life. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  6. "What does TSL stand for?". Acronym Finder.
  7. "About Us". The Student Life. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  8. "1889". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  9. "1893". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  10. "1926". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  11. "1939". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  12. "1944". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  13. "1956". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  14. "1965". Pomona College Timeline. 2014-11-07.
  15. Song, Jason (November 19, 2014). "Fading elsewhere, sex columns thrive at Claremont Colleges paper". Los Angeles Times.
  16. "Fall 2017 Joke Issue Insert" (PDF). The Student Life.
  17. Dureya, Bill (June 6, 2004). "An education in hate". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  18. "California college students object to 'white feminist' Madeleine Albright as commencement speaker". Fox News. 2016-04-04.
  19. Dean-Bailey, Yvonne. "All-women's school lets students choose between 10 different gender identities". Campus Reform. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  20. Jaschik, Scott. "Hoop Earrings and Hate". Inside Higher Ed.
  21. Richman, Jackson (March 1, 2018). "Student newspaper protects anti-Israel students' identities so they won't get 'banned from entering Israel'". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  22. Theresa Watanabe; Carla Rivera (2015-11-13). "Amid racial bias protests, Claremont McKenna dean resigns". Los Angeles Times.
  23. New, Jake. "Protests Spur Another Resignation". Inside Higher Ed.
  24. Kellen Browning; Samuel Breslow (March 24, 2017). "Harvey Mudd Addresses Workload: Leaked Report Advocates Reform". The Student Life.
  25. Baur-Wolf, Jeremy (April 18, 2017). "Ground to a Halt". Inside Higher Ed.
  26. Kamenetz, Anya (August 2, 2017). "A College President On Her School's Worst Year Ever". National Public Radio.
  27. Breslow, Samuel (April 7, 2017). "Students Blockade Athenaeum to Protest Conservative Speaker". The Student Life.
  28. Mac Donald, Heather (2017-04-09). "Get Up, Stand Up". City Journal.
  29. Rod, Marc (2017-04-07). "Claremont Independent Funded, Republished by National Conservative Groups". The Student Life. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  30. Editorial Board (2017-03-09). "Do No Harm: Sensational Stories Endanger Students". The Student Life.
  31. "California college newspaper creating 'safe space' for minority students". Fox News. November 22, 2015.
  32. Heeter, Maria (10 May 2020). "Maria Heeter on Twitter". @HeeterMaria. Twitter. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  33. Fu, Julianne. "News Above the Fold: This Semester 'The Student Life' Named First Scripps College Student Editor-in-Chief". Scripps College. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
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