The Other Press has hit a special milestone this year: everyoneâs favourite student publication is 40. Sure, 40 may not be that old in the grand scheme of things, and compared to other papers (such as the University of New Brunswickâs The Brunswickanâset to hit their 150th year of existence in 2017), the OP is fairly young, but itâs there. From the early days when amusing headlines such as âDisco-pub nights discontinuedâ and âStudent Council meeting: Boringâ graced the pages of this well-loved rag, to the graphically charged covers of today, the OP has stuck with it.
The Other Press was actually started in opposition to the other Douglas College publication at the time, The Pinion. While clearly having about as much imagination in naming the paper as a scientist (âdark matterâ?âmake an effort please), the OP nevertheless managed to prevail over their garbage competition. âGarbageâ simply because the winners get to write the history books.
You may ask, âForty? But the paper is on Volume 42? Also, didnât you have a 40th birthday feature not too long ago?â Yes, we are on Volume 42 but the paper came into being in 1976. Our hunch is that some years were split into two volumes. Fascinating, we know. And yes, we did have a feature two years ago on the history of the OP, but this issue isnât looking to be nearly as self-gratifying.
Rather than give ourselves a good pat on the back about an accomplishment we personally have precious little to do with, the theme for this paper is that every single article is written as if it were from 1976âattempting to give a brief snapshot into the past. Old news, ancient arts, dated and/or offensive opinions, and even some articles genuinely from the time period can be found in this issue.
Why the focus on the time and the school less than on the OP? Because the Other Press is, as noted at the top of every paper, âThe Douglas College Newspaper Since 1976.â The Douglas College Newspaper. This publication exists for the students of the college and any others who care to pick it up. Even the feature this week is a look at the college over the years rather than another autobiography of sorts.
Thatâs not to say the OP doesnât have an interesting past though, and several of us have immensely enjoyed poring over old papers. The writing. The feel. The look. Itâs all completely different.
So, without further ado, please have a gander through and let us know what you think. Hopefully the issue is as much fun for you to read as it was for us to put together.
Danke danke,
Eric Wilkins
