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The Student Life

Type	Weekly newspaper, during the academic year
Format	Broadsheet
Editor	Meghan Joyce
Staff writers	Approx. 100
Founded	1889; 136 years ago (1889)
Language	English
Headquarters	Claremont, California
Circulation	1000 print copies, plus digital readership
Website	www.tsl.news

The Student Life is a student newspaper covering the Claremont Colleges (5C's), a consortium of liberal arts schools in Claremont, California. It is published weekly each Friday during the school year, spans 12-16 pages per issue, and is primarily funded by the student governments of the colleges. In shorthand, the newspaper is styled using the acronym "TSL."

The paper is the oldest college newspaper in Southern California, having been published since 1889. It is also the largest and most widely distributed campus newspaper at the 5C's, with a significant readership among students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the Claremont community. It maintains a staff of around 100 students, including writers, columnists, photographers, videographers, designers, copy specialists, business associates, and editors.

TSL operates out of Room 101 in Walker Hall on the northern portion of Pomona College's campus.

History

TSL was founded in 1889 (two years after the founding of Pomona College) as a four-page monthly called the Pomona Student. Initially an informal bulletin for campus happenings for Pomona, it adopted its current name and became a weekly in 1893. By 1926, it was publishing five issues a week; many were filled largely with advertisements. In 1939, this was reduced to two issues per week to save money, and in 1944, these issues became only two pages long to conserve paper during World War 2. In 1956, it returned to weekly publication. In 1965, it merged with other Claremont Colleges newspapers to form the Claremont Collegian, which covered all 5C's, but it resumed as a Pomona-only publication two years later (except for a two-page weekly insert focusing on newly-established Pitzer College. In the 2000's, it gradually shifted its focus to cover the entire consortium, and its coverage and staff makeup today reflect all 5C's.

Many TSL alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in journalism, and some (such as Bill Keller PO '70, former executive editor of The New York Times) hold Pulitzer prizes.

Sections

TSL has four primary sections that appear in each issue: News, Life & Style, Sports, and Opinions.

The news section appears at the front of the paper, and covers a range of campus politics, issues, and current events, and often includes investigative pieces. The content specifically focuses on the 5C's and life on campus, and does not usually include coverage of national or international stories.

The Life & Style section includes feature stories on campus life, as well as a number of weekly or bi-weekly columns. TSL is well known for its sex column, which appears regularly and is credited to an anonymous author or pseudonym.

The Opinions section includes opinions pieces by columnists and guest columnists, as well as editorials. The content in this section reflects a broad range of the ideological views found at the 5C's, which tend (with the exception of Claremont McKenna College) to lean strongly progressive compared to other college campuses.

The Sports section covers the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags and Athenas.

Once a year, typically on the Friday nearest to April Fool's Day, TSL releases a mock edition of the newspaper with funny articles and satirical news stories.

Notable Coverage

As the Claremont Colleges' paper of record, TSL has provided much of the original reporting for major events at the 5C's throughout their history. In recent years, TSL's reporting has been frequently referenced by national media outlets reporting on campus controversies.

In November 2015, TSL's reporting on racial tensions at Claremont McKenna College that led to the resignation of a dean of students was widely cited by national media outlets covering the episode.

In March 2017, TSL leaked an internal Harvey Mudd College report which criticized the severe workload at the school. The leak triggered widespread protests which led the college to cancel classes for two days.

In April 2017, TSL's coverage of a blockade of a speech by conservative pundit Heather Mac Donald (as well as the sanctions subsequently imposed on some blockaders) was widely cited by national media outlets.

TSL's coverage has sometimes drawn criticism from conservative national media outlets, many of whom are fed stories by the conservative 5C Claremont Independent publication. Following the 2015 racial tensions protest, Fox News criticized TSL for providing a space specifically for students of color in an issue.

Leadership

The newspaper's editorial board is composed of an editor-in-chief and two managing editors. All three positions have a semester term. The editor-in-chief is selected by a committee generally composed of senior staff members. TSL's spring 2018 editor-in-chief is Meghan Joyce, a sophomore at Scripps College. She was preceded by Liam Brooks PZ '18 (fall 2017), Lauren Ison PO '18 (spring 2017), Alexa Strabuk PZ '17 (fall 2016), Carlos Ballesteros CM '16 (spring 2016), Kevin Tidmarsh PO '16 (fall 2015), Julia Thomas SC '17 (spring 2015), and Caroline Bowman CM '16 (fall 2014).

References

1. ^ "The Student Life". Engage @ Claremont. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
2. ^ "TSL Staff". The Student LIfe. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
3. ^ "Finding Aid for The Student Life". Online Archive of California.
4. "What does TSL stand for?". Acronym Finder.
5. ^ "About Us". The Student Life. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
6. "1889". Pomona College Timeline.
7. "1893". Pomona College Timeline.
8. "1926". Pomona College Timeline.
9. "1939". Pomona College Timeline.
10. "1944". Pomona College Timeline.
11. "1956". Pomona College Timeline.
12. "1965". Pomona College Timeline.
13. "Bill Keller". enacademic.com. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
14. Song, Jason (November 19, 2014). "Fading elsewhere, sex columns thrive at Claremont Colleges paper". The Los Angeles Times.
15. "Fall 2017 Joke Issue Insert" (PDF). The Student Life.
16. Dureya, Bill (June 6, 2004). "An education in hate". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
17. "California college students object to 'white feminist' Madeleine Albright as commencement speaker".
18. Dean-Bailey, Yvonne. "All-women's school lets students choose between 10 different gender identities". Retrieved 11 February 2018.
19. Jaschik, Scott. "Hoop Earrings and Hate". Inside Higher Ed.
20. Theresa Watanabe; Carla Rivera. "Amid racial bias protests, Claremont McKenna dean resigns". Los Angeles Times.
21. New, Jake. "Protests Spur Another Resignation". Inside Higher Ed.
22. Kellen Browning; Samuel Breslow (March 24, 2017). "Harvey Mudd Addresses Workload: Leaked Report Advocates Reform". The Student Life.
23. Baur-Wolf, Jeremy (April 18, 2017). "Ground to a Halt". Inside Higher Ed.
24. Breslow, Samuel (April 7, 2017). "Students Blockade Athenaeum to Protest Conservative Speaker". The Student Life.
25. Mac Donald, Heather. "Get Up, Stand Up". City Journal.
26. Rod, Marc. "Claremont Independent Funded, Republished by National Conservative Groups". The Student Life. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
27. Editorial Board. "Do No Harm: Sensational Stories Endanger Students". The Student Life.
28. "California college newspaper creating 'safe space' for minority students". Fox News. November 22, 2015.
29. Fu, Julianne. "News Above the Fold: This Semester 'The Student Life' Named First Scripps College Student Editor-in-Chief". Scripps College. Retrieved 11 February 2018.

External links

• The Student Life

• Claremont Colleges
• Student newspapers published in California