The group of students that launched The Varsity 125 years ago this fall were nothing if not ambitious. Their aim, outlined in the inaugural edition published Oct. 7, 1880, was that “the University of Toronto shall possess the best university paper in [North] America.” The modest booklet that once sold for five cents each Saturday has now grown into Canada’s largest student newspaper, with a twice-weekly circulation of more than 20,000 and an online edition that has about 12,000 visits per week.
Last year more than 300 U of T students contributed to The Varsity “for no money and not much glory,” says current editor-in-chief Graham F. Scott. “Our volunteers do most of the day-to-day thankless work of going out and pounding the pavement for stories that are important but not glamorous, and there are a lot of those at universities.”
One thread has persisted throughout The Varsity‘s history – spirited criticism of the university’s administration. This censure of U of T sometimes landed editors in trouble. While the paper began as an independent venture, by the late 19th century it was owned by the university-sanctioned students’ council – which often suspended editors. The entire newspaper was axed temporarily in 1952, when editors published U of T president Sidney Smith’s speech on remedial English instruction, substituting “sex” for “English” throughout the text. The Varsity regained its autonomy in 1980 by forming a non-profit corporation financed partly through an annual student levy.
The Varsity has always been a barometer of wider social change. There was a female co-editor-in-chief in 1955, but it was not until 1979 that a woman held the top position on her own. In 1969, The Varsity published a four-line ad that marked the launch of Canada’s first gay and lesbian campus group. The late 1960s and early 1970s were activist years, with editors leading sit-ins and petitions against the administration. The 1980s saw fewer confrontations between The Varsity and university governance – perhaps reflecting the more conservative ethos of the “me generation.” In the late 1990s, the paper frequently censured U of T for accepting corporate donations, alleging that academic freedom was at stake.
Scott says Varsity staff members are now expanding coverage but are choosier about the political issues they address. Like all of his predecessors, he and his staff are passionate enough that they will stay up all night, sacrifice their social lives and even delay graduation to get it on the stands each Monday and Thursday. “There’s a real feeling of heritage,” he says. “Of being part of an institution that has done great things and continues to do great things.”
Meet the (Past) Press
The university’s unofficial school of journalism has seen many of its staff go on to illustrious careers.
William Lyon Mackenzie King (BA 1895 UC, LLB 1896, MA 1897)
Varsity assistant editor, 1893-1895
Former prime minister of Canada
Peter Gzowski (DLitt Hon. 1995)
Varsity editor,1956-1957
CBC Radio host and author
Michael Ignatieff (BA 1969 TRIN, DLitt Sac Hon. 1999)
Varsity review editor, 1968-1969
Scholar, author and the Chancellor Jackman Visiting Professor in Human Rights Policy at U of T
Linda McQuaig (BA 1974 UC)
Varsity co-editor, 1971-1972
Investigative journalist who penned It’s the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil and the Fight for the Planet
Mark Kingwell (BA 1985 St. Mike’s)
Varsity editor, 1983-1984
U of T philosophy professor. His latest book is Nothing for Granted: Tales of War, Philosophy, and Why the Right Was Mostly Wrong
Isabel Vincent (BA 1990 UC)
Varsity editor, 1988-1989
National Post reporter and author of Bodies and Souls: The Tragic Plight of Three Jewish Women Forced into Prostitution in the Americas
Naomi Klein
Varsity editor, 1992-1993
Author of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies
Recent Posts
U of T’s 197th Birthday Quiz
Test your knowledge of all things U of T in honour of the university’s 197th anniversary on March 15!
Are Cold Plunges Good for You?
Research suggests they are, in three ways
Work Has Changed. So Have the Qualities of Good Leadership
Rapid shifts in everything from technology to employee expectations are pressuring leaders to constantly adapt
3 Responses to “ Yesterday’s News ”
This article contains a serious oversight concerning the role of women in the paper's history.
The late Betsy Mosbaugh (BA 1945 UC) of Huntsville, Ontario, was the paper's sole editor-in-chief in 1944-45. Betsy maintained a high standard and encouraged many of her staff in their careers. (The late writer Hugh Kenner [BA 1945] is an example.)
Betsy's greatest triumph came during the huge winter storm of December 1944. The university, indeed most of the city, closed down: the TTC gave up, leaving streetcars and buses abandoned in the streets; the Toronto Globe, Telegram and Star made no attempt to publish.
But Betsy insisted (as only she could insist) that The Varsity come out. It was the only Toronto newspaper to appear during the height of the storm.
George Garland
BASc 1947, MSc 1948
Huntsville, Ontario
After reading this article, I came across my grandmother's copy of The Varsity from Dec. 8, 1905. It contained two items relevant to President Naylor's installation address, and to the importance of providing greater contact between professors and students.
An article noted that the student representative from the School of Practical Science (now Applied Science and Engineering) had complained to the University Commission that there was only one lecturer for every 25 students, but in the Faculty of Arts the ratio was one to 13. There also appeared an advertisement as follows: "The president will be in his office daily, except on Saturdays, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m."
David Ouchterlony
BPHE 1962, MD 1966
Toronto
As someone who worked as a Varsity reporter between 1983 and 1987, I take issue with Megan Easton's description of the paper's editorial stances in the 1980s, which she feels may have reflected the "more conservative ethos of the 'me generation.'" During the early- to mid-1980s, The Varsity relentlessly attacked the university for investing in companies that did business in apartheid South Africa. We invited the South African ambassador to speak on campus, and asked corporate executives with close ties to U of T why they could tolerate doing business with such a regime. The editorial board pushed hard for "disinvestment" and demanded that the university recast its investment policies with a view to human rights and corporate conduct. Hardly the work of a self-involved editorial staff, I'd say.
John Lorinc
BSc 1987 UC
Toronto