TIMELINE: A look back at 40+ years of UHCL’s student-run newspaper

• In May 1975, UHCL published its first student newspaper. The newspaper did not have a name for the first three publications.

• Gene Goodhart, management major, won a mint plant for winning a contest and naming the paper the “UHCLidian.” The name UHCLidian is a homonym for UHCL and Greek mathematician, Euclid.

• The UHCLidian first faculty advisor was Nan Bruckner.

•  In 1978, a class in newspaper publication was added to the curriculum. Gloria Morris became the UHCLidian second Faculty Advisor.
• The student paper has published consecutively since 1978.

• In 1996, Morris retired after 18 years.
• Patrick Wier was hired as the UHCLidian third (interim) advisor for one year while the university conducted a search for Morris’ replacement.

• In 1997, Ashley Packard became the UHCLidian’s fourth faculty advisor.

• In 2001, UHCLidian staff created a website and began posting PDFs of the newspapers online to supplement the print editions.

• In 2002, Taleen Washington became the fifth faculty advisor of UHCL Student Publications.

• By 2004, the UHCLidian began including videos on its website.
• Staff members celebrated Halloween by filming a comedy/horror video about a writer who saved her own life from deadly zombies.

• In 2007, staff members changed the name of the newspaper to The Signal.

 
"The feedback from readers/sources off campus was that 'UHCLidian' sounded like a female body part or a venereal disease," Washington said. "We wanted a name that transcended the campus' physical boundaries now that we had an online presence, something that represented both print and electronic mediums."

• In 2009, The Signal added social media as a component to its website.

• In 2014, when UHCL became a four-year university, The Signal went completely digital.
• The Signal also began publishing issues weekly instead of bi-monthly.

• In 2016, the Signal began publishing year-round. Prior to this, The Signal published issues during only fall and spring semesters because the Media Production course was not offered during the summer.
• The Signal won the Silver Crown Award from Columbia Scholastic Press Association for overall excellence in digital newspapers naming it one of the top three digital student newspapers nation-wide.

• The mission of The Signal’s staff is to use their platform to address social issues, entertain, and educate their audience. For example, staff members created a powerful video in 2017 to promote and spread the awareness of the #MeToo campaign.

• In 2018, Brandon Peña was promoted to editor-in-chief.

 
“Being part of The Signal’s 40 years of consecutive reporting milestone is really awesome!” Pena said. “Looking back at how far the student-run newspaper has come and now having an opportunity to influence its future, is something that motivates me to work harder. Our new tagline, ‘Your Voice, Your Community, Your Signal’ encompasses what The Signal strives to achieve in regards to being a platform the UHCL community can rely on.”
 

• Student publications has won hundreds of awards in state and national collegiate competitions. In the past 16 years, since Washington stated, they have won 439 awards, “and who knows how many before then,” Washington said.

• The Signal received a perfect score in critique from Columbia Scholastic Press Association for the first time.

 
"Media Production is a capstone course for the communication program, which means that the students take everything they have learned from all of their other classes/professors and apply those skills toward producing the student paper," Washington said. "The reason we do so well in competition with other student newspapers is because it's a team effort ... and we have the best students in the world."
 

• The student newspaper at UHCL celebrates 40 years of continuous publication.

 
"The student newspaper at UHCL has gone through a lot of physical transformations since its first appearance – from mimeographed copies to WordPress," Washington said. "It's been an honor to be a part of its evolution. The one constant has been, and will always be, the students. It's considered a student newspaper because its content is decided, created and produced by students. It's their work and their voice."