SC021 Shimer College Newspaper

Sub-Series

Identifier: RG04-S01-SS07

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Shimer College Newspaper collection, ranging from November-December 1980, consisted of two newspapers detailing campus news, information about financial aid and graduate school applications, and a three-part interview (the final two of which are included in the collection) with Andy Armstrong, a Shimer faculty member who would soon retire.

Dates

1980 - 1980

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

The Shimer College Newspaper was published in 1980, and included submissions from Shimer students and faculty regarding campus news and information about financial aid and graduate school applications. It was published about a year and a half after Shimer’s move from Mt. Carroll to Waukegan, Illinois due to growing financial struggles. As such, many columns printed in the newspaper were concerned with Shimer’s shifting identity, as well as its ability to sustain itself and bring in new students. At the time of the newspaper’s publication, after all, Shimer had less than one hundred students.

The three-part interview included in Shimer student Brian Westrich’s “Cowboy or Indian?” column alluded to these concerns. Andy Armstrong, the interviewee and soon to be retired professor had begun his work at Shimer when it was still in Mt. Carroll. He was largely questioned about his views on Shimer’s evolving state, and spoke about his concerns regarding Shimer’s need for more students.