The Brunswickan: Difference between revisions

Name: The Brunswickan

Previous/other names: University Monthly (1867-1922)

Prominent date(s) of activity: 1861? 1882 - present

Role/purpose: A change in student government in 1922 also entailed a change in the constitution of university publications and led to a redesign and renaming of the University Monthly (UM) to The Brunswickan. It also created a shift in focus, with the publication now defined as "the Students' Magazine" instead of the prior focus on promoting the university outside of the campus. The publication focused on student activities and campus events, as well as issues affecting students provincially and nationwide.

History: The earliest incarnation of University Monthly was published ca. 1867, but folded after a few years due to "diffidence and neglect on the part of the public, and want of support from graduates." Efforts by P.E. Cliff resulted in a new paper, the University Monthly, first published in March 1882. Saw a need for a university paper, as other universities in the Maritimes such as Dalhousie and Mount Allison already had their own papers, and believed the University Monthly would awaken public interest in the university which often had to fight claims that it was out of touch with the province in its classical education. "...our aim shall be that it shall be known and favorably known to the many, and that the poorest shall be led to see that the country's interest consists in having it efficiently maintained." The UM declared that it was not only a place for literary discussion, but also an agent of change, by helping to push reform in the marking system, improvements to the college library, among other various projects.

Published once a month on the last Thursday of the month, a subscription was $0.50 per term. It declared itself a "Journal devoted to Literature, Science and General Information"; intent on publication was to fill the lack of publications in the province (ie. saw there was a need for that type of periodical); motto of editorial column was "non nobis sed patriae" ("Not for ourselves but for our country")

Note(s): The Brunswickan is the oldest student publication in Canada.

Source(s):

• The Brunswickan, vol. 60, no. 15, 14 February 1941, p. 3.
• University Monthly, vol. 4, no. 8, May 1885, p. 113-144.
• University Monthly, vol. 1, no. 1, March 1882, p. 1.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 42, no. 1, October 1922, p. 1-2.
• Montague, Susan. A Pictorial History of the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton: University of New Brunswick, 1992, p. 233.

© UNB Archives & Special Collections, 2013