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New Digital Collection

The University Archives is proud to announce that a project to digitize the early student newspapers of Brigham Young University is underway. We will be digitizing the Academic Review, the BYA Student, the Normal, and the White and Blue. Several issues of the Normal

Masthead of the Normal

Masthead of the Normal

and the White and Blue

Masthead of the White and Blue

Masthead of the White and Blue

are already online at the BYU History digital collections site.

Student publications got their start in 1884 when the Polysophical Society of the Brigham Young Academy began to publish the Academic Review. This literary periodical ran through May 1885 and contained information about the Academy, reports on campus events advertisements, and other interesting information. In 1891 a new student paper was begun and titled the BYA Student. This periodical featured content similar to its predecessor and lasted for about five months. Six years later (in 1897) students decided to give it another go and established The White and Blue. The paper was originally published every other month but eventually gained enough traction that it was decided to publish it twice a month. The White and Blue ran through 1921 when it was supplanted by the Y News. The White and Blue featured more original student writing and reporting than its predecessors. It included essays on the character of Brigham Young University, information from the various school classes, literary essays, poetry, information on sporting events, and other interesting details of student life. These early student papers are a wonderful window into student life from the 1890s through the early 1920s. They help us gain a better understanding of what it was like to be a student at Brigham Young University during an important transitional period in the university’s history.

If you have any questions about these early student newspapers, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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