A significant milestone has been reached in the basement of Renner Hall. This year celebrates the Chimes’ eighty-fifth birthday. Since 1926, the student newspaper has been informing and entertaining students and faculty at Capital University and members of the Bexley community. While the earliest archived paper is from January 12, 1950, the Chimes has been covering important and relevant events on campus since its conception. Because of the diligence of past staff, there is a unique history of campus that can be shared for generations of Capital students to come.
What is most evident in the past issues is the consistent quality of students and the institution. For instance, our debate team has been winning tournaments since before 1950, the Chapel Choir has been performing in front of sold-out audiences for decades, and our football team has handed Otterbein defeat too many times to count. In an issue dated December 13, 1950, Kerns Religious Life Center stands out amongst a grove of trees and inches of snow. These are just examples of how Capital has continued to value the traditions of the past while keeping up with the advances of the modern era.
Some differences in everyday life from then until now are worth noting. In an issue dated Feb. 23, 1950, an ad in the paper showcased a business proudly proclaiming they had a television students could come and watch. Free wireless Internet access is now what students look for in coffee shops.
In 1961, the Campus Council voted for mandatory chest x-rays for students, faculty, and administration due to continued fears of tuberculosis. Compare that to the concern surrounding swine flu just three years ago.
Reported in an issue dated January 16, 1970, the Board of Regents in their winter meeting the previous December gave women legal status at Capital by lifting the “25-woman student restriction.” Today, women outnumber men on campus.
The Chimes has been and continues to be a critical part of campus history. This issue celebrates the proud history of our university made possible through the hardworking students and faculty. They have developed the reputation that makes students apply year after year.
In June of 1926, the first issue of the Capital Chimes made its appearance on campus. According to the 1926 edition of the Capitalian (Capital’s year book), the newspaper was given the name “Chimes” because it was established in the same year the chimes in the tower of Schenk Divinity Hall were installed. Adrian Pfeiffer was the first editor-in-chief and Wayne Willmann was the first business manager.
Before the inauguration of the Chimes, campus received news from the Spectator, a monthly magazine. When the student newspaper took front and center, the Spectator gained a new role as the university’s literary magazine published twice a year, which has evolved into the present-day ReCap.
In 2011, the current Chimes staff hopes to continue to reflect the integrity and character that the “foremost burners of the midnight oil,” as the 1946 issue of the Capitalian called them, worked so hard to establish 85 years ago.
It’s worth noting that without student, faculty, and administrative support, this publication would have never been created nor continue to exist, and for that, the staff is eternally grateful.
