In 1890, during a time in which agriculture dominated the young minds in Amherst, a student-run newspaper known as Aggie Life was founded and began printing across the Massachusetts Agricultural College campus. That publication is today known as The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, and it continues to thrive as the University of Massachusetts’ leading independent media organization 125 years after its inception.

Today, we dedicate a special section of our paper to commemorating the Collegian’s 125th anniversary, taking our readers through time by looking at the various changes the paper has undergone, and how those before us covered some of the biggest events in that time – from national events such as World War I, Vietnam and 9/11, to local happenings such as the end of a curfew for women in 1966, the Collegian occupation by feminists in 1978 and the construction of the Mullins Center in 1993.

This edition is both a celebration of our history as a news organization, as well as world history and University history, and the role college journalism played throughout the past 125 years. Our hope is you find the same appreciation observing the various generations of Collegian reporting as we do. It’s taken weeks of planning and organizing, but the value of this commemoration makes all of it worth the time.

-Nick Canelas, Editor in Chief and Patrick Hoff, Managing Editor

What the Collegian means to us… a spotlight on the Board of Editors.

Editor’s note: The dates displayed reflect the date of publication for that day’s newspaper, not necessarily when these events occurred.

Here is a look at some of the moments we highlighted.

Oct. 1, 1890 – “The Progress of the College,” was the first article printed in the first edition of Aggie Life.

Jan. 12, 1915 – The Massachusetts Agricultural College budget was placed at half a million dollars for the upcoming year.

Nov. 13, 1918 – A peace celebration is held in response to the end of World War I.

Oct. 13, 1920 – Abigail Adams Hall became the chosen name of the first women’s dormitory at the University.

April 9, 1931 – Massachusetts Agricultural College officially changes its name to Massachusetts State College.

Dec. 11, 1941 – A special convocation is held on campus in response to the attacks on Pearl Harbor.

Feb. 26, 1942 – Dozens of students leave the college to join the war effort.

Sept. 30, 1942 – Twenty-two staff members enter the armed forces.

April 19, 1945 – Students and faculty mourn the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

May 10, 1945 – An address is made following the unconditional surrender of Germany in World War II.

Jan. 10, 1947 – Massachusetts State College officially changes its name to the University of Massachusetts.

Dec. 4, 1963– The assassination of President John F. Kennedy leads to the cancellation of events at the University.

March 15, 1965 – Thirteen students leave for Selma, Alabama in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement.

March 1, 1966 – The women’s curfew on campus is lifted following a special Collegian front page dedicated to ending the rule.

April 5, 1968 – Students react to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

May 6, 1970 – Two Kent State students provide the Collegian with their account of the demonstrations that turned tragic at their university.

June 24, 1970 – Dean Seymour Shapiro outlines student strike in a speech documented in the Collegian.

Summer edition, 1973 – World’s tallest library opens at the University of Massachusetts.

April 13, 1978 – A group of women, led by Collegian women’s editor Julie E. Melrose, occupied the newsroom as part of a demand for women’s pages to be featured in the Collegian. The occupation lasted 11 days.

Dec. 10, 1984 – Equal treatment for gays is demanded on the campus. The movement for gay equality at the University continued months later amidst that gay campus life was uncomfortable. The Stonewall Center was founded in 1985.

April 7, 1988 – Students were outraged following a ban on alcohol at all outdoor activities on campus.

April 26, 1988 – John Calipari is introduced as the new UMass men’s basketball coach.

Feb. 2, 1993 – UMass basketball hosted its final “Rage in the Cage” in the game prior to the Mullins Center opener, which the Minutemen won in overtime.

March 25, 1996 – UMass basketball beats Georgetown to earn the program’s first Final Four berth.

Jan. 26, 1999 – The UMass football team holds off Georgia Southern to clinch the 1998 national championship.

Sept. 12, 2001 – The University of Massachusetts campus was left in shock and disarray in following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The Collegian reflected on the anniversary of this tragedy 10 years later with an account of how the paper covered the event that day.

Sept. 19, 2003 – UMass Amherst is named the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system.