Fulcrum (newspaper)

Last updated
The Fulcrum
Fulcrum Newspaper Logo.png
TypeWeekly student newspaper
Format Newspaper
Owner(s)The Fulcrum Publishing Society
Editor-in-chiefBridget Coady
Founded1942
Language English
Headquarters631 King Edward Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 6N5
Circulation Online only
Website The Fulcrum

The Fulcrum is the English language student newspaper at the University of Ottawa. [1] The paper dates back to 1942 and co-exists on the bilingual campus with La Rotonde , the University of Ottawa's French newspaper. The two newspapers are not simply translated copies of the same material, rather, the two are completely separate—and sometimes rivalling—entities. [2]

Contents

The newspaper covers news, arts and culture, and sports information relevant to University of Ottawa students and nearby community, and contains a feature article each week. It is published weekly during the school year and less regularly during exam and break periods.

The Fulcrum is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), and recently hosted NASH 70 (the 70th annual Canadian University Press National Conference) in January, 2008. At NASH 71, held in Saskatoon during January 2009, the Fulcrum officially became the sister paper of the Muse at Memorial University. At NASH 76, held in Edmonton during January 2014, the Fulcrum won the bid to host NASH 77, titled "ACCESS," in January, 2015. [3]

The Fulcrum was awarded the Student Publication of the Year in 2019 at NASH 81 hosted by The Gauntlet Publications Society at the University of Calgary.

The Fulcrum debuts

In 1942, The University of Ottawa's English Debating Society published the inaugural edition of their newsletter, entitled The Fulcrum. The newsletter was supervised by Rev. Lorenzo Danis, OMI, and its first editor-in-chief was John Beahen. The premiere edition included as its mission statement the following: "The Fulcrum is dedicated entirely to the interests of our students of today and yesterday."

In its first year, The Fulcrum was funded almost entirely by alumni donations and published only 8 issues per year. Due to its conservative Catholic editorial policies, The Fulcrum was fairly non-controversial compared to its more outspoken counterpart, La Rotonde . The inclusion of advertising starting in its second year allowed the paper some slight financial freedom and The Fulcrum continued in this manner until 1946, when it came under the supervision of the English Students' Association and the SFUO. In 1947, The Fulcrum became a member of the Canadian University Press, a national cooperative linking student newspapers across Canada. [4]

In the 50s and 60s

In 1951, the SFUO (suffering from serious financial problems) proposed that The Fulcrum and La Rotonde be combined into one publication and renamed The Ottawa. The proposal was rejected, but operations at the two papers were condensed into one workspace in the house the SFUO occupied at the time.

Throughout the 1950s, La Rotonde and the University of Ottawa administration had a combative relationship, inciting the Canadian University Press to label La Rotonde as "the most censored student newspaper in Canada" in 1956. The ill-will between the two groups reached a climax in 1958, when three editors from La Rotonde were expelled for an article criticizing Queen Elizabeth II. La Rotonde ceased publishing after this and was not re-formed again until January 1959. Despite the atmosphere on campus, The Fulcrum continued to publish during this time.

Both The Fulcrum and La Rotonde continued to publish unabated throughout most of the 1960s, with La Rotonde continuing with its outspoken approach, and The Fulcrum often playing the mediator and aiming criticism at both parties. However, this began to change in 1964, when the University of Ottawa administration censored an article in La Rotonde espousing the opinion that Queen Elizabeth II was not welcome in Quebec. The Fulcrum spoke out on the issue and in an editorial at the time stated that: "We feel that the administration should have given the publishers of La Rotonde a chance to act. The publishers (the Students' Union) are the ones who should have the right to confiscate an issue of a student newspaper, or any part thereof". Following from this, The Fulcrum became a more outspoken voice on campus.

In 1969, both publications were canceled and replaced with a bilingual monthly entitled Id, directed by Ian Green. The official reason for the cancellation of The Fulcrum and La Rotonde and the subsequent launch of Id was a lack of student interest in both newspapers; however, it was during this time that Canada was enveloped in the polarizing events of the October crisis, and many attribute the climate on campus and cancellation of the opposing-language newspapers to these events.

In the 70s, 80s, and 90s

In 1970, both newspapers were re-instated and continued to publish regularly as services of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (which incorporated in 1969). The next three decades were quieter and both newspapers were able to achieve a stability on campus, buoyed by the receipt of a guaranteed student levy voted on in a referendum by U of O students.

The relationship between the university administration and both newspapers gradually became more distant during this time, and (as the publisher of both papers) the SFUO began to step in to moderate and control content when the SFUO felt it was needed. However, the ability of the SFUO to pull any content they deemed questionable quickly lead to dissent on the part of both newspapers and questions of censorship arose. The SFUO stepped in several times during these decades to censor issues that were objectionable or could have been construed as libel, much to the chagrin of editors at both papers. Fueled by their lack of control over their publication and an increasing move towards autonomy in student newspapers across the country, editors at The Fulcrum began formulating plans to go "autonomous" as early as 1998, but many stalled attempts meant that they were not successful until many years later.

It was during this time that The Fulcrum moved to offices located between University of Ottawa's Thompson Residence and Morriset Library (later occupied by CHUO-FM, and now known as the Déjà Vu lounge). In 1989, The Fulcrum was relocated to the basement of 631 King Edward Ave. across from the main campus in a University of Ottawa building.

In the 21st century

The Fulcrum's official logo, 2010-2014 Fulcrum Logo.jpg
The Fulcrum's official logo, 2010-2014

In 1999, after several years of a rocky relationship with the Ottawa Gaming Club (who occupied the first floor of 631 King Edward Ave.) The Fulcrum was granted the first and second floor of the building as their new offices. It was also in 1999 that "The Fulcrum" began to make more use of digital technology, switching from more traditional layout techniques to computer layout, and switching over to digital photography, beginning with digital contributions by Steven Meece.

Beginning in the 2003–2004 school year, the paper began referring to itself as University of Ottawa's Fulcrum, rather than The Fulcrum, on the cover.

In the summer of 2004, recently elected editor-in-chief Mary Cummins and managing editor Marcus McCann once again looked into plans to become an autonomously incorporated organization. This push was spurred on by the SFUO attempting to pull the Summer 2004 issue of the Fulcrum for featuring a mug of beer and using the term "Frosh" (the SFUO had recently stopped using the term frosh in favour of welcome week and later 101 week due to negative connotations associated with the term). Aside from this, the separation was due to several reasons. The main reason being that the editorial board felt it was an inherent conflict of interest to be owned by the student government while attempting to write fair, unbiased, and often critical stories about them. The secondary reason was that as an autonomous corporation, the Fulcrum was able to directly control its own finances and spur further growth of the paper.

After discussing the situation with then-president of the SFUO Philippe Laliberté, plans were made to begin the process. In October 2004, a letters patent was granted to "The Fulcrum Publishing Society", the corporation that would take over the governance of the Fulcrum, and negotiations between the SFUO and the Fulcrum continued throughout the year. After approval by the SFUO's Board of Administration, ownership of the Fulcrum officially transferred to The Fulcrum Publishing Society on June 1, 2005.

The Fulcrum Publishing society was set up to be governed by a ten-member board of directors made up of students, community members, Fulcrum staff, U of O faculty, and Fulcrum alumni. Ultimate responsibility for the governance and management of the corporation was left with the board while the president, who acted as the business manager, made decisions on a day-to-day basis. To avoid a similar conflict of interest, provisions were put into the corporate bylaws prohibiting the board from interfering in editorial content unless faced with possible legal action.

After a turbulent first year, the Fulcrum settled into a financially stable position as an autonomous corporation.

Recent changes to the governance structures of the Corporation have led to slight changes, such as the Business (now General) Manager no longer being permitted to hold a seat on the Board, and the roles of the corporation's executives being clarified.

In 2014–15, the newspaper received a complete visual redesign including a new layout and logo.

National defence ad boycott

On March 19, 2008, the Fulcrum held its Annual General Meeting, normally a fairly subdued event. However, the 2008 AGM saw a group of students mobilize to try to create an ad boycott for the purpose of stopping recruitment ads for the Canadian Forces being run by the Department of National Defence, which those students found objectionable. The meeting was contentious, and the first vote, which came out against the boycott 73–69, was challenged and retaken. On the second vote, it passed by a vote of 93–85, binding the Fulcrum to cease accepting ads from the Department of National Defence as of May 1, 2008. Most of the Fulcrum's editorial board and staff members were against the boycott.

On February 6, 2009, the Fulcrum held its Annual General Meeting and the topic of boycott lists emerged again. A motion was presented to remove the advertising boycott list and it was passed unanimously by a vote of 38–0.

Transition to online

The Fulcrum transitioned to an online only news source for the 2019/2020 publication year. This completed the transition which saw the paper only publish one print paper a month for the 2018/2019 publication year.

University of Ottawa's 2020 debate on academic freedom

On October 2, 2020, the Fulcrum published an article detailing the use of a racial slur by a University of Ottawa professor in an online classroom. The article and student outrage on social media led to the university temporarily suspending the professor sparking a nationwide debate on academic freedom at Canadian universities.

Editorial board

YearEditor-in-chiefProduction managerManaging editorNews editorArts & culture editorSports editorFeatures editorVisual editor/art directorSocial media managerOpinions editorScience & tech editor
2023-2024Bridget CoadyMatthew McConkeyAmira BenjaminKavi Vidya Achar, Shailee ShahSydney GrenierAndrew WilimekN/ASanjida Rashid, Kai HolubAyai OfforKeith de Silvia-LegaultEmma Williams
2022-2023Jasmine McKnight & Hailey Otten
2021-2022Charley Dutil
Aisling MurphyBridget Coady & Zoë MasonZofka Svec/Desiree NikfardjamJasmine McKnightAmira BenjaminHailey OttenJelena MaricSanjida RashidEmma Williams
2020-2021Charley Dutil
Emily WilsonKarli Zschogner/Bridget Coady and Paige HollandAisling MurphyJasmine McKnightAmira BenjaminDasser KamranLeyla AbdolellJasmine McKnightRyan Matte/Hannah Sabourin
2019-2020Matt Gergyek
Meagan Casalino/Aaron HemensRyan PepperCharley DutilZoë MasonRame AbdulkaderSafa Saud
2018-2019Anchal SharmaJaclyn McRae-Sadik/Adam GibbardSavannah AwdeMarissa Phul/Eric Davison and Sarah CrookallIain SellersAndrew PriceMatt GergyekRame AbdulkaderChristine WangHanna Methot
2017-2018Eric DavidsonJaclyn McRae-SadikGraham RobertsonZainab Al-Mehdar/Anchal SharmaRyan PepperNico Laliberté/Daniel BirruSavannah AwdeChristine WangDmitri Bakker/Anchal Sharma and Ryan PepperDavid Campion-Smith
2016-2017Savannah AwdeKim WiensKyle DarbysonGraham RobertsonAnchal SharmaSpencer Murdock/Nico LalibertéAlexa-Eliza Carter/ Nadia Drissi El-BouzaidiJaclyn McRae-SadikAllegra Morgado/ David Campion-SmithEric Davidson
2015-2016Nadia Drissi El-BouzaidiDevin OrsiniSavannah AwdeEric DavidsonAllegra MorgadoSpencer MurdockKyle DarbysonKim WiensReine TejaresDavid Campion-Smith
2014-2015Sabrina NemisAdam GibbardAdam FeibelNadia Drissi El-BouzaidiJessica EritouSarah NoletteJesse ColauttiMarta KierkusSpencer Van DykKyle Darbyson
2013-2014Adam FeibelRebecca PotterRachel LessardSpencer Van DykSabrina NemisMarc Jan/Sarah NoletteVictoria DudysTina WallaceKayCie GravelleJesse Colautti
2012-2013Kristyn FilipKyle HansfordJulia FabianAndrew Ikeman/Adam Feibel/KayCie GravelleAdam FeibelMaclaine ChadwickAli SchwabeMathias MacPheeDarren SharpSofia Hashi
2011–2012Mercedes MuellerMichelle FergusonJaclyn LytleJane LytvynenkoSofia HashiKatherine DeClerqKristyn FilipMico MazzaCharlotte Bailey
2010–2011Amanda ShendrukJessie WillmsMercedes MuellerKatherine DeClerqCharlotte BaileyJaehoon KimJaclyn LytleAlex MartinChelsea Edgell
2009–2010Emma GodmereAmanda ShendrukDavid McClellandLaura ClementsonJaclyn LytleAndrew HawleyLaurel HoganAlex Martin
2008–2009Frank AppleyardBen MyersMichael OlenderEmma GodmerePeter HendersonDavid McClellandSarah LeavittMartha Pearce
2007–2008Melanie WoodBrian BosmaTravis BoisvenueNick Taylor-VaiseyTina HassanniaBen MyersMichael OlenderMeaghan Walton
2006–2007Drew Gough/Melanie WoodPeter RaaymakersMaureen RobinsonMelanie Wood/Nick Taylor-VaiseyTravis BoisvenueNick Taylor-Vaisey/Frank AppleyardJessica MorrisJason Chiu
2005-2006Drew Gough
2004-2005Mary Cummins

Board of directors/general manager/executive director

Current board of directors

[5]

Presidents

Executive Directors/General Managers

Notable alumni

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Ottawa</span> Bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

The University of Ottawa, often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on 42.5 hectares directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa across the Rideau Canal in the Sandy Hill neighbourhood.

La Rotonde is the official French-language student newspaper at the University of Ottawa. It is the oldest French-language student paper outside of Quebec.

<i>The Harvard Crimson</i> Harvard College undergraduate daily newspaper

The Harvard Crimson is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Daily Illini, commonly known as the DI, is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1871. Weekday circulation during fall and spring semesters is 7,000; copies are distributed free at more than 100 locations throughout Champaign–Urbana.

The Ontarion is an independent English-language student newspaper published at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. It publishes each month with over 10,000 copies distributed on and off campus during the fall and winter semester and, until the summer of 2017, it published bi-weekly during the summer semester. It has since ceased summer publication, while it continues regular publications throughout the traditional school year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian University Press</span> Newswire service

Canadian University Press is a non-profit co-operative and newswire service owned by more than 50 student newspapers at post-secondary schools in Canada. Founded in 1938, CUP is the oldest student newswire service in the world and the oldest national student organization in North America. Many successful Canadian journalists got their starts in CUP and its member papers. CUP began as a syndication services that facilitated transnational story-sharing. This newswire continued as a private function until 2010 when it was turned into a competitive source for campus news in the form of an online public wire at cupwire.ca.

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa was the official students' union representing undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa from 1969 to 2018.

The Charlatan is the independent weekly student newspaper at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

<i>The Carillon</i> (Regina)

The Carillon is the student published newspaper at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It began publication in 1962 and has a reputation for producing notable journalists. Like many university newspapers, it has had a colourful, precarious existence. Among its many alumni are Canadian broadcaster Norm Bolen and novelist Ken Mitchell.

The Varsity is the official student newspaper of the University of Toronto, in publication since 1880. Originally a broadsheet daily, it is now printed in compact form. The paper's primary focus is on campus affairs and local news.

<i>The Cord</i> Student newspaper at the Wilfrid Laurier University

The Cord is a student newspaper at Wilfrid Laurier University. Founded in 1926, it features stories about current events on campus and the community as well as student life, sports, arts and opinion. The paper's website compiles all the content from the print edition as well as web-exclusive content. The Cord publishes every Wednesday of the fall and winter semester and monthly over the summer.

The State Press is the independent, student-operated news publication of Arizona State University. In August 2014, it became an all-digital publication. It published a free newspaper every weekday until January 2013, at which point its print distribution was reduced to once per week. The editorial board announced that ASU Student Media will begin to focus on "a host of new digital products and special print products."

The Muse, successor to the Memorial Times, began publishing in 1950 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, as an unnamed paper. That paper held a contest to choose a new name, the winner being a professor who named the paper after all of the following:

<i>The Red & Black</i> (University of Georgia) Student newspaper serving the University of Georgia

The Red & Black is an independent weekly student newspaper serving the University of Georgia (UGA), updated daily on its website.

Portland State Vanguard, formerly known as the Daily Vanguard and Vet's Extended, is an independent student newspaper for Portland State University, in Portland, Oregon, United States.

<i>The Ubyssey</i> University of British Columbias student-run paper

The Ubyssey is the University of British Columbia's official, independent student-run paper and is published bi-weekly on Tuesday. Founded on October 18, 1918, The Ubyssey is an independent publication funded by a $7.09 annual fee, from which certain students can opt out. The staff functions as a collective; current UBC students who have contributed to the paper and attend staff meetings are eligible to become staff members. The staff elects the full- and part-time editors on an annual basis. The Ubyssey Publications Society board and president, who deal chiefly with management of the business affairs and strategies of the paper and do not play any editorial role, are elected by the general student body annually at the AMS elections.

The Concordian is an independent, entirely student-run newspaper published weekly for the students of Concordia University; its offices and hard-copy distribution centres are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Rancourt</span> Canadian physics teacher

Denis Rancourt is a former professor of physics at the University of Ottawa. Rancourt is widely known for his confrontations with his former employer, the University of Ottawa, over issues involving his grade inflation and "academic squatting," the act of arbitrarily changing the topic of a course without departmental permission.

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa was the student union representing undergraduate students at the University of Ottawa.

Francis James "Jock" Turcot was President of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa in 1965 and a leading figure of the Canadian student movement in the 1960s.

References

  1. "The Fulcrum - About Us". The Fulcrum. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. "Two papers, two languages, one student community - University of Ottawa". University of Ottawa. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. "Canadian University Press - Blog". Canadian University Press. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  4. "Canadian University Press - About Us". Canadian University Press. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. "Board of Directors - The Fulcrum". The Fulcrum. Retrieved 2020-10-27.