Student Newspaper (The Index)
Permanent URI for this collection
The Index is the primary student newspaper at Kalamazoo College. Founded in 1877 as a quarterly publication, early editions centered around student poems, events, and essays discussing history and world politics; a subscription at that time cost 50 cents per annum. In 1878 it began to be published bi-monthly before switching to a monthly schedule by 1885. Finally, in 1916 it was published on a weekly basis. During this time the Index shifted to focusing on local and statewide news much more in addition to increasing its coverage of student life. Since then the topics covered by it have expanded to political debates and commentary about global and social developments.
In recent decades The Index has undergone notable changes. Beginning in 1986 a humor section began to appear at the back of every edition. Originally consisting of student-drawn comics, it was known as the Backpage and has undergone numerous name changes since then, variously being known as the Frontpage, Windex, and now Buzzkill. Additionally, since 2003 it has only been published during the tenth week of each term. The first digital editions were published in 2010, and due to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020 paper editions were discontinued for the time being. It also moved to a bi-weekly publication schedule beginning in 2018.
This collection includes digitized versions of the Kalamazoo College student newspaper, The Index, from 1877 to present. Most years come in two types of PDF files: PDF Portfolio and PDF File.
About PDF Portfolios
PDF Portfolios are collections of PDF files. For this collection of student newspapers, we have organized the issues by calendar year. In the PDF Portfolio, each issue for that year is a separate file, all organized into one portfolio. These files are named Index[year].pdf and are labeled "Searchable PDF Portfolio." Once opened, click the toggle sidebar at the top left corner to view a list of available issues.
About PDF Files
This collection includes official academic catalogs from Kalamazoo College. Over the years, the academic catalog has gone by several names (Kalamazoo College Bulletin, Annual Catalogue of Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo College Academic Catalogue, etc.). To make browsing more convenient, here all are titled "Kalamazoo College Academic Catalogue" with the academic year.
We have also included all the issues in a calendar year in one large PDF file. These files are named Index[year]File.pdf and labeled "Searchable PDF (one file)."