CELEBRATING THE 145TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUBLICATION Vol. 142, No. 4
ITHACA, N.Y., SEPT. 17, 2025
The History of The Sun
THE SUN
By MARISA CEFOLA and BREANNA FERREIRA Sun Senior Writers
The Cornell Daily Sun has been an independent newspaper serving Cornell’s community since its foundation in 1880 and has continued to be enjoyed by Cornellians and Ithacans alike. With the oldest continuously independent college daily’s 145th anniversary commencing on Sept. 16, The Sun compiled the history of its founding, its growth and the legacy its alumni have left. 1880: The Sun Rises for the First Time On Sept. 10, 1880, Editor in Chief William Ballard Hoyt 1881 and The Sun’s first editorial board released a notice to all Cornell students. The letter announced the inception of an independent newspaper dedicated to publishing exclusive college news. “Our books contain pledges enough already for advertisers, alumni and other former students, to pay every dollar of our expenses for the year, and we are, therefore, sure not to come to an untimely death,” the notice stated. Six days later, the first edition of the Cornell Sun was published. The first copy of The Sun was eight pages and measured nine inches by 12 inches. No editors’ names were listed. Eight pages was twice the size of a standard newspaper at the time and marked a bold heritage for The Sun, according to Robert Quick ’29, who was a senior editor in 1928. “The [first copy of the Sun] gave the impression that The Sun was a noxious upstart — newspapers were hardly respectable anyway — and that all good people should avoid it,” Quick wrote in “A Half Century at Cornell,” a compilation of stories honoring the first 50 years since the paper’s founding. The Sun’s first business manager, George F. Gifford 1880, printed the early Sun copies in the Andrus and Church Store in downtown Ithaca. He was also in charge of setting up the type, looking after the copy distribution and soliciting merchants in Ithaca. While receiving subpar reviews in Ithaca, some daily papers described The Sun’s early copies as “bright” papers that “shine for the first time on the college world” and have “glowing promises.” George Beebe 1882 recalled his time on The Sun’s first editorial board in “A Half Century at Cornell.” With a Cornell student body as small as 384, editors initially found generating content to be difficult. A presidential election in 1880 was one of the first opportunities for The Sun to report breaking news content. The first editorial board worked through the night —- recruiting as many Cornell students as possible —- to be the first paper to inform Ithaca about the election result. “Each fraternity member of the staff dug up all the news he could get about the men of his society, which gave us an unfailing supply of personals,” Beebe wrote. “After a few weeks, it became apparent that the paper will succeed and we had no fear for the future.” None of the original editors thought the paper would last even 50 years, according to Hudson P. Rose 1884, who was the freshman editor at the time. The Sun’s First 50 Years The first version of the linotype machine was invented in 1885, marking a large step forward in the journalism field. It allowed editors to mass produce papers at a quicker rate than ever before. To do so, editors used a combination of linotype and other industrialized methods to print the “type,” or words and images compiled on the paper, on a continuous sheet of paper. The newspaper business became an industry, according to Frank E. Gannett 1898, who was on The Sun editorial board from 1896 to 1897. “Out of it all there came to be the big modern newspaper, full of news, illustrations and advertising, all produced at a low cost, and sold to the public for a few cents a copy,” Gannett wrote in “A Half Century at Cornell.” After his time at The Sun, Gannett founded the Gannett Company, which owns USA Today and directs the third largest newspaper group in the United States, and he received high praise from President Livingston Farrand, Cornell’s president at the time. See HISTORY page 3
is published during term time by the Students of Cornell University. It is free at 80+ on and off-campus locations every Wednesday, or will be forwarded to subscribers at the rate of $35 for the fall term, $37 for the spring term or $72.50 for both terms if paid in advance. For questions regarding advertising, classifieds, subscriptions or delivery, please call (607) 2733606 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or email sunmailbox@cornellsun.com. The Sun is located at 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850
Donate to The Sun on its 145th Anniversary
In 1980, Kurt Vonnegut ’44 said: “We on The Sun were already in the midst of real life.” 145 years later, Vonnegut’s words could not ring truer. Pressing administrators, tracking budgets and investigating both silences and statements, The Sun reports what truly happened, not just what was in the press release. We cover the campus that Cornell wants to show and the parts that it does not, connecting the campus community into one. Our reporters profile young scientists, artists and athletes. The Sun’s opinion page captures campus dialogue and our lifestyle pages share advice that actually matters. Our videographers bring Cornell to life, from the cheers of a hockey game to the chants of a rally and the quiet moments in between. And our photographers document the faces behind the headlines, from TCAT drivers to club leaders. The weekly weather forecasts and game recaps keep readers informed. The comics and crosswords keep them entertained. But most importantly, every word, graphic and crossword grid is produced by and for the Cornell community. The Sun provides 24/7 breaking news coverage, uploaded on our website and posted on our Instagram, Facebook and X pages. And every Wednesday, our 16-page print issue hits over 80 on and off-campus locations, free of charge and institutional oversight. For 145 years, The Sun has been Cornell’s independent, student-run historical record. For 145 years, Sun reporters have been the first to the scene and the last to leave. But journalism, especially the fearless kind our newsroom carries out every day, is not free. We rely on your support to buy technical gear, to keep the lights on and to protect the one thing we won’t compromise on: our independence and your trust in it. On The Sun’s 145th birthday, give a gift that never stops printing. Make a tax-deductible donation. Buy some exclusive anniversary merch. Advertise your club, business, event or idea in The Sun. With your present, The Sun can shine for generations to come. — Julia Senzon, editor-in-chief
Julia Senzon is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is the editor-in-chief of the 143rd Editorial Board and was the managing editor of the 142nd Editorial Board. She can be reached at jsenzon@cornellsun.com or 908-672-3047.
20 Pages — Free
How Women Paved a Path at The Sun By MARIAN CABALLO and ANUSHKA SHOREWALA Sun Senior Editor
Since 1870, women have accessed academic opportunities at Cornell — the first Ivy League institution to admit female undergraduates. Yet many organizations limited women’s participation in activities, including at The Sun. The Sun took a look into its complex history of women’s roles on the paper, speaking to a former Sun women’s editor and former Sun women’s advertising managers about their experiences in these now-defunct positions. Until World War I — when institutions nationwide began embracing women’s contributions while men served in the military — The Sun did not include any women on its editorial board. Female students were then permitted to join The Sun’s editorial board as “women’s editors.” Harriet Parsons 1919 and Alice Street 1919 took on the roles of women’s business manager and women’s editor, respectively. The women’s business manager oversaw advertising that appealed to women, while women’s editors’ stories would often be featured under a dedicated “Women’s Page” or “Women’s Note” section. The Sun examined previous issues of the newspaper housed at The Sun’s office in Ithaca Commons and the Keith R. Johnson ‘56 digital archive. By the 1964-1965 editorial board, there was no women’s editor on the masthead, with Elizabeth Gordon ’65 serving as the last ever women’s editor at The Sun. By March of that year, only women’s advertising manager Penny Skitol ’65 was listed, and by the fall, The Sun no longer had women’s roles featured on the masthead. There was no written announcement of this decision. Despite numerous women assuming the role of women’s editor, it is noteworthy that, while rare, some women held non-gendered positions throughout the same period. The Sun broke a 63-year streak of male editors in chief with the promotion of Guinevere Griest ’44, who briefly served in this role during World War II. Anne Morrissy Merick ’55, scorned during her term as a “lady sports editress” and a “sportswriting doll,” captured national media attention by triumphing over three male students to become The Sun’s first female sports editor in 1954. A little less than a decade later, Elizabeth Bass ’72 was elected as editor in chief in 1971 and was deemed the “first female editor in chief” in the newspaper’s history. Bass was the first woman to be elected to the role of Sun editor in chief, though Griest had been promoted to the role during World War II. (Sun File Photo) The Sun spoke to former students at Cornell who took on various roles within the women’s sections on The Sun as they reflected on their time as Sun employees and Cornell undergraduates. Elizabeth Gordon ’65: The Last Women’s Editor For Elizabeth Gordon ‘65, the last women’s editor at The Sun, serving on the editorial board was an “inevitable” decision due to her experience as an editor for both her elementary and high school papers. “Even with the restrictions on my participation [at The Sun], I loved it,” Gordon wrote in an email to The Sun. During her time at the helm, Gordon, who also served as president of the Panhellenic Council, covered a variety of stories about women on campus while honing her journalistic expertise. “The most memorable article for me was the opening of Helen Newman Hall — finally a women’s athletic facility close to the girls’ dorms,” Gordon said. “As someone who had to trek all the way from Teagle to Donlon my freshman year when I took [a course in] advanced life-saving, this was nothing short of life-changing.” Gordon said the restrictions for women on campus made it so that she had no choice but to take on the women’s editor role. “Women had a curfew, and, therefore, could not be relied upon to cover certain stories and, most importantly, could not put the paper to bed,” Gordon wrote. See WOMEN page 3