Underground Newspapers, circa 1965 - 2002

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.

Processing Information:

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online. SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

The term “gypsy” is considered derogatory by many Roma people. It comes from the word “Egyptian,” where many Europeans mistakenly believed the Romani came from. In 1971, at the First World Roma Congress, a majority of attendees voted to reject the use of the term “gypsy,” however some still use it to self-identify.

In this collection, the term “gypsy” is used to describe Romani people. Additionally, in the U.S., “gypsy” has also come to signify a free-spirited person, or someone who moves from one place to another without settling down. This use references the traditional migratory lifestyle historically practiced by Roma. In this collection, “gypsy” is used as an adjective in this manner. There are no references to this term in the finding aid, but it does appear in materials that have been scanned and uploaded to Oregon Digital.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the original wording. We acknowledge the racism represented by the term “gypsy” and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes or behavior depicted therein. For more information, please see our blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: November 2024]

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.