By: Hayden Kobza – Editor-in-Chief & Yoly Viera – Office Manager
Hello everyone! On behalf of the Accent team, I hope the rest of your week wraps up well as Southern’s campus transitions into finals season. A few weeks ago, the Accent Office Manager, Yoly Viera, and I were planning an event and special issue of the paper next semester to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Accent, as the paper has proudly stated “The student voice since 1926” for as long as I can remember. I had a sneaking suspicion that we needed to fact-check the date to ensure we weren’t inaccurate. So, I asked Yoly to research the Accents’ origin. The question was—when was the Accent first published?
Yoly Viera:
Initially, I believed the answer was simple—The Accent was established in 1926. However, my inquiry became more complex after I reached out to Jessica Spears, a research services librarian at Southern.
Upon receiving her response, I found myself confused. Spears informed me that the earliest publication in The Accent’s archive dates back to 1929. This information came as a shock, as we had already started planning the 100th anniversary celebrations.
After numerous emails and further searches through the archives, I immediately emailed Hayden to inform him of the information I had just received. At first, he was in disbelief.
Hayden Kobza:
I just couldn’t believe that there was no student voice in 1926. I knew that the Southland Scroll, the student newspaper before the name was changed to the Southern Accent in 1945, only had archives up to 1929, but I thought perhaps they were incomplete.
The nail on the head came from Mills McArthur, assistant professor in the school of history.
“It appears that 1929 is in fact the correct date,” McArthur stated after briefly researching. “The June 5, 1929, issue of the Southland Scroll is listed as Volume 1, Number 1. There’s also a 1929 story in the Field Tidings announcing that this was the start of the paper. And Dennis Pettibone’s book says that there was a competition in 1929 to choose the title of the paper. Everything points to 1929.”
I was shocked, yet relieved that we had double-checked this detail before moving forward with an event and special issue. I found myself with one remaining question—when did the paper begin using the tagline, ‘The student voice since 1926?’
Searching the archives online, I found out that in the 1997-1998 school year, the paper added ‘The student voice.’ The next academic year in 1999-2000, the Accent added the infamous date of 1926. Case closed.
Yoly Viera:
The realization that this year would not mark the 100th anniversary was somewhat disappointing.
On a positive note, in just a couple of years, we will celebrate the Accent’s 100th anniversary while I’m a senior, and I will have the chance to contribute with more knowledge and experience. As a freshman, being part of The Accent has been an incredible experience. I have learned a great deal during my first semester and am grateful for this opportunity.
Hayden Kobza:
It wasn’t all bad finding out that the year was off. When I was perusing the archives, I found an official Accent magazine from 2000 titled Kaleidoscope, which explored various perspectives by posing questions to students. The publication ran only one issue, but we plan to bring it back next semester for our special investigations, student and community voices on campus.
While it would have been an honor to be the Editor-in-Chief for the Accents’ 100-year anniversary, I know we have some amazing years ahead of us, and I can’t wait to work on bringing a new publication to you sponsored by the Southern Accent, ‘The student voice since 1929.’
See you next year,
Hayden Kobza
Yoly Viera
