Student Publications at the University of Michigan: More Than a Century of Editorial Freedom

As the nation adjusts to living in an era of terrorist threats and homeland security issues, people continually turn to the media for information, insight and analysis.

On the pages of the Los Angeles Times, Robin Wright analyzes national security and the tinderbox known as the Middle East. On National Public Radio, Beth Fertig shares the thoughts of high school students coming to terms with war in Iraq. Her NPR colleague, Daniel Zwerdling, explains the threats of bioterrorism. Amy Harmon tells New York Times readers how technology is changing the military and the way it trains for combat. In USA Today, columnist Walter Shapiro writes of Americans living with fear. TIME magazine's James Poniewozik explores the role of television and the presidency. Gannett photographer Warren Zinn files heartrending images from Afghanistan and Iraq.

These journalists share more than their accounts and interpretations of the post-9/11 zeitgeist. Well before becoming voices of the country's leading media outlets, Robin Wright, Daniel Zwerdling, Walter Shapiro and others spent their days, and nights, in the Student Publications Building at the University of Michigan, where they wrote and edited The Michigan Daily.

For more than 70 years, the Student Publications Building at Michigan has been the training ground for some of the nation's top writers, columnists, photographers, editors and business managers, as they learn on the job while producing the Michigan Daily newspaper, the Michiganensian yearbook and the Gargoyle humor magazine. This stately building has consistently housed nationally honored publications run by students who have gone on to win the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award and other honors. It has long been a proving ground for the ideas and opinions of thousands of students who have huddled over typewriters, computers and layout tables, all convinced they are producing the best issue yet, while also acknowledging the legacies they must uphold. It is, simply, a laboratory for excellence.

The Legacy

University regents recognized the important role of student voices and a free press when, in 1926, they authorized the construction of a building exclusively for a student-run newspaper, yearbook and magazine. The Chicago architectural firm of Pond & Pond, whose principals were brothers and U-M graduates, designed the Student Publications Building, which opened in 1931 during the throes of the Great Depression.

The regents' investment -- $60,000 for the land and $74,000 for the two-story brick building - has been repaid many times. An impressive collection of Michigan graduates contributing to American media and popular culture credit their time spent at the Daily, Ensian and Gargoyle. A sampling: the playwright Arthur Miller; Ann Marie Lipinski, a Pulitzer Prize winner and the first woman to serve as editor of the Chicago Tribune; and Neal Gabler, award-winning author, cultural historian and teacher. Still other alumni went on to influential careers outside of journalism, including Alexa Canady, M.D., noted Detroit pediatric neurosurgeon, Bruce Wasserstein, a leading New York financier and investment banker, and Laurence Kirshbaum, chairman and chief executive officer of Time Warner Trade Publishing.

Today, student publications at the University of Michigan continue to play a vibrant role in educating several hundred students each year in the rights and responsibilities of a free press. The student experience of managing and producing independent publications is particularly important given the absence of a journalism curriculum at the University.

While the goal of supporting student publications at a leading public university has changed little since the 1930s, the way journalism is practiced and the demands on the venerable building at 420 Maynard Street have undergone a dramatic metamorphosis. The Student Publications Building, essentially untouched since 1931, is in critical need of an extensive renovation to allow for much-needed technological, safety and accessibility improvements. Students continue to produce quality publications despite the building's numerous shortcomings, yet it is no longer possible to ignore the need for a major upgrading of the facility.

The Need

Working with the Boston architecture firm of Finegold Alexander & Associates, which specializes in historic building preservation, the Office of the University Architect and the Board for Student Publications have identified needed building improvements totaling $6 million. These renovations will retain the building's much-loved architectural features - the arched ceiling of the second-floor newsroom, stained glass windows and Pewabic tiles.

The second major need of student publications is an endowment fund to provide ongoing scholarship support. Student employees at all three publications receive small stipends for their work averaging a few hundred dollars per month, or less. While the motivation to work at any of these publications typically has little to do with personal income, the minimal pay can be a barrier to participation for some students. Many of today's student writers, editors and photographers are able to work the long hours required of these publications because they have other means of support, typically strong family finances. The creation of an endowment fund would provide modest scholarships for students who otherwise might not be able to work at the Daily or other publications because of the financial hardship.

An endowment fund also would allow the staffs to bring well-known journalists to campus to provide insightful commentary to University audiences. A speaker series would be both a public service of student publications and a learning opportunity for aspiring journalists.

An endowment fund of $2 million would provide an annual distribution of $100,000 the first year and increasing amounts as the fund grows over time. This would allow for the provision of significant student support not currently possible.

The Work

Renovation of the Student Publications Building includes:

• Mechanical systems - The systems in the building are generally poor. Improvements call for central air conditioning; renovated restrooms with modern plumbing and fixtures; and cleaned, upgraded and new radiators, steam pipes and controls.


• Accessibility - Renovations will bring a passenger elevator, widened doorways and accessible restrooms to allow a full use of the building by people with disabilities.


• Safety - Needs include an upgraded fire alarm system, automatic sprinklers and emergency lighting, as well as exit signs and a security system to control off-hour access.


• Space reconfiguration - A change in office and storage space is required to allow students to be more productive and use the building to its maximum potential. For example, the first floor of the building is currently designed to accommodate linotype machines and a printing press, icons of a publishing process that changed dramatically with the introduction of computers. This space will become a greatly expanded and improved area for Daily business operations.


• Telecommunications - The existing telephone system is inadequate for today's media demands. Phones cannot handle more than one caller or allow a caller to be placed on hold. There are too few long-distance lines, voice mailboxes or phones in semi-private areas for reporters to conduct interviews without background noise. A new telecommunication system will remedy these shortcomings.


• Electrical systems - Both the electrical substation feeding the building and the primary circuit are in good condition. Significant improvements are needed with secondary equipment and cables, and the existing power distribution system must be replaced. Renovations include replacing wiring, outlets and switches; correcting hazardous conditions; separating electrical loads; and replacing obsolete lighting with energy-efficient units.


• Building envelope - The exterior of the building is in good condition. Improvements include repairing the roof and gutters where necessary; replacing windows with energy-conserving units; and installing attic insulation.

The Future

When the Michigan Daily marked its 110th anniversary in 2000, alumnus and former Time editor-at-large Daniel Okrent delivered a keynote speech that fondly recalled his many hours at the Student Publications Building, as well as the varied experiences of other alumni. “I went, day and night, for four stirring years, to the Michigan Daily,” he told his fellow alumni. “If college is the place you go to find out who you are, the Daily itself is the best college anyone could possibly hope to find.”

Working for the Daily, the Ensian or the Gargoyle is a life-shaping experience. Along with learning the editorial and business sides of journalism, students discover the important, lifelong lessons that come with a liberal arts education. Independently produced publications provide students the opportunity to work together, to argue persuasively and think creatively. Students experience failure and humility, success and pride. It is a wonderfully intense microcosm of the college experience.

Investing in the future of University of Michigan student publications, which have continually produced some of the brightest minds of American culture, ensures that this remarkable aspect of student life at Michigan will continue for generations to come.