The Western Activist, a 1960s alternative student newspaper, now available online
Posted by Angela Brcka on January 26, 2023
The 1960s was a decade defined by counterculture protests and the civil rights movement. College campuses saw students protesting against social injustices, racial inequality and the Vietnam War. At Western Michigan University, one way this activism emerged on campus was through The Western Activist newspaper, an uncensored alternative to the Western Herald.
The Western Activist was published weekly from 1966 to 1969. The student-produced newspaper “pushed the envelope a little bit on the use of language and images,” according to John Winchell, archives curator at Western’s Zhang Legacy Collections Center. “If there was a controversial issue of the time, they were going to take the more radical student viewpoint of it.”
“We don’t believe we have every issue created, but we do have a good representation,” said Winchell. “Even though it’s not a big collection, it does give you the flavor of what students were concerned about at the time, and it’s unfiltered.”
The collection also consists of several examples of alternative student newspapers from other campuses during the same era and a few articles about The Western Activist by local news organizations.
The University Libraries embarked on a project in 2022 to make the collection available online to preserve the originals and provide greater access. Partnering with Central Michigan University, 52 issues of The Western Activist were digitized and posted on Central’s website.
“CMU’s Clarke Historical Library specializes in the digitization of historic Michigan newspapers and provides access through a portal they maintain,” according to Amy Bocko, digital projects librarian. “Digitizing, and more importantly making newspapers useable, is particularly challenging.”
The online archive of The Western Activist allows members of the public to review and edit transcripts of the newspaper, ultimately making its content more searchable, readable and accessible.
Bocko added, “Working with The Clarke to make The Western Activist available online has breathed new life into this incredible collection. We’re excited to think of all the people that will discover this newspaper and how its availability will impact a larger number of students and researchers.”
The Western Activist has made a splash beyond WMU as well. Project STAND, an archival community and movement dedicated to highlighting and preserving student activism materials across the United States, has invited the Libraries to contribute The Western Activist to their highlighted collections.
From journalism and political science students to graphic designers and historians, the newspaper serves as a primary resource and a unique example of the climate on Western’s campus during the 1960s. Making issues of The Western Activist available online and preserving the collection means it will be available for future generations to study and learn from.