By Elizabeth Nielsen
Title: Underground Newspapers, circa 1965 - 2002
Predominant Dates: 1968-1971
ID: PUB 013-3
Primary Creator: Black Student Union (Oregon State University)
Extent: 0.5 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: The Underground Newspapers are arranged in 12 series: 1. Biweekly Daily Planet, 1970-1971; 2. Scab Sheet, 1969-1970; 3. Spark, circa 1970; 4. Élan, 1976; 5. The Fact Sheet, circa 1970; 6. Mutha, undated; 7. Poor Jensen's Almanac, undated; 8. Pensée, 1971; 9. Rye Grass, 1969; 10. The Tin Can, 1968; 11. OSU This Weak, 1990-1993; and 12. The Underachiever, 2002.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
The Underground Newspapers consist of publications, primarily by Oregon State University students, that were produced as alternatives to the mainstream press. In keeping with the nature of underground publications, the authors and individuals or organizations responsible for publishing are not identified for many of these materials.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of multiple issues of the Biweekly Daily Planet and the Scab Sheet. These were published in 1969-1971 and address primarily the war in Vietnam and racial issues at Oregon State University. Single issues of several other publications advocating opposition to the war in Vietnam and supporting protests and other actions are also part of the collection. Militarism, nuclear weapons, and the environment are also addressed in these materials. In contrast, an undated one-page publication, The Fact Sheet , was a call to Oregon State University students to stand in opposition to campus protest movements.
The Underground Newspapers also include issues of OSU this Weak -- a spoof of Oregon State's weekly staff newsletter, OSU This Week -- that was written and published by Kevin Ahern in the early 1990s. A 2002 zine, The Underachiever, is the most recent publication in the collection.
All of the items in this collection are available online in the Oregon State University Student Protest and Underground Publications digital collection.
The 1960s and early 1970s were turbulent times on many college and university campuses and Oregon State University was no exception. While Oregon State was relatively staid by comparison to other insitutions in Oregon and beyond, protests, sit-ins, and underground publications were present. The war in Vietnam and civil rights were the top issues associated with protests and free speech movements at Oregon State.
The most notable protest was the Black Student Union walkout in spring 1969. In February 1969, the Oregon State University head football coach, Dee Andros, required Fred Milton, a black athlete, to shave his facial hair. This requirement was declared unreasonable by the Black Student Union and brought racial issues at Oregon State University to the forefront of the campus for the remainder of the spring of 1969. The Black Student Union organized protests, class boycotts, and a campus walkout. The Scab Sheet was published by the Black Student Union, as an alternative to the mainstream student newspaper, to communicate to the campus regarding these racial issues and the resulting actions. Many of the other underground publications document these racial issues and the resulting protests as well.
More Extent Information: 2 boxes, including 1 oversize box
Statement on Access: The collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: These publications were acquired by the University Archives and later the Special Collections and Archives Research Center from the 1970s through 2000s. The Scab Sheet was transferred from the Memorabila Collection in 2017 at the time this guide was prepared. Several of the publications were formerly part of the Student Affairs Records (RG 102) and were also transferred to this collection in 2017.
Related Materials:
Further documentation of student protests at Oregon State University is available in the Memorabilia Collection (MC), the Oregon Multicultural Communities Research Collection (MSS OMCRC), and the Associated Students of Oregon State University (ASOSU) Records (RG 011). The Student Publications (PUB 10-22) include other "non-mainstream" student publications, including the Gad-Fly and the Oracle. Another copy of the Biweekly Daily Planet is available in the HistOSU collection. Aditional copies of Elan are available in the Memorabilia Collection and the HistOSU collection. A full run of the Pensee is available in the Libraries' main circulating collection with the call number AP2 .P35.
An oral history interview of Kevin Ahern was conducted in 2015 as part of the Oregon State University Sesquicentennial Oral History Project.
Preferred Citation: Underground Newspapers (PUB 013-3), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid was updated in May 2018 to incorporate links to digitized content.
Black Student Union (Oregon State University)
Ahern, Kevin G.
Oregon State University. Experimental College
African Americans--Civil Rights--Oregon.
Ahern, Kevin G.
Black Student Union (Oregon State University)
College students' writings, American--Oregon--Corvallis.
Oregon State University--Student strike, 1969
Oregon State University. Experimental College
Student movements--Oregon.
University History
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Oregon.
The Biweekly Daily Planet was a community publication not directly connected with Oregon State University. It lists many campus events and, according to the paper, was sponsored on campus by "A.C.T.S.". In addition to pieces protesting the war in Vietnam and calling out civil rights issues, it includes articles critical of Oregon State University administrators and listings of OSU Experimental College classes. Ten issues were published between November 1970 (no. 1) and May 1971 (no. 10). This collection includes two copies of numbers 1 and 2.
In 2016, one of the editors of the Daily Planet identified himself (Mike Warwick) and the other editors -- Daniel Bergsvik, Carl Stomsens, and Linda Bays. The editors are pictured on page 2 of issue no. 4 (left to right: Bergsvik, Warwick, Stomsens, and Bays).
The Black Student Union printed and circulated this mimeographed underground newspaper during the Black Student Union protests and walkout in spring 1969. The publication was in response to "biased coverage of events" by the mainstream student newspaper, The Barometer. Publication was sponsored by the Student Action Committee; authors remained anonymous to prevent retaliation citing a "fear of harassment and repressive action".
Fourteen issues of the Scab Sheet were published -- eleven in March-May of 1969 (volume I) and three in the spring of 1970 (volume II). This collection includes multiple copies of all issues.The issues of volume I are focussed on racial issues at Oregon State University, specifically the Fred Milton incident and the resulting Black Student Union walk-out over racial controversies in the Oregon State University athletic department. The issues of volume II address the Vietnam War and American military action in Cambodia.
A 2012 blog post about The Scab Sheet describes the publication and its digitization.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.