University of Toronto Online Student Newspaper: The Independent Weekly

The newspaper is the largest independent student newspaper in Canada with circulation on and around the University of Toronto. It is published by non-profit corporation Planet Publications Inc. and has been since it was founded in 1978. It was briefly circulated as The Independent Weekly before returning to its original title, which is now commonly stylized as the newspaper with intentional lowercase. To see the latest news from the newspaper go to their website: www.thenewspaper.ca/.

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The was the website when the newspaper was renamed The Independent Weekly.

About the Independent Weekly

The Independent Weekly has been the University of Toronto's respected campus wide voice since 1978. Founded as the newspaper by three U of T students, and one of two campus wide papers serving the 70,000-strong university community, the Independent is funded entirely through advertising revenues.

We circulate 17,000 copies every Thursday across U of T's campus and in the surrounding community.

You can reach us at the following numbers:
Editorial: 416 593-1552
Advertising: 416 593-1559
Fax: 416 593-0552<
... or feel free to e-mail us at editors@independentweekly.net

Our offices and mailing address are at:
The Independent Weekly
1 Spadina Crescent., Suite 245
Toronto, ON
M5S 1A1

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Issue 29 - 2003-04-10

Editorial -25 years of Paper

The Independent Weekly, then called the newspaper, published its first issue 25 years and eight months ago today, give or take a day here and there. We were going to work out the exact number of days, but then we remembered that whole leap year thing and decided we’d rather sit back and have a cold beer.

Things sure have changed in the world in the past 25 years. No more U.S.S.R. No more Berlin Wall. No more Cold War. At least, that’s what we’re told by the International Relations people. We don’t get out much with these jobs.

But it’s even more remarkable what hasn’t changed. The Colonel’s secret recipe. Y-fronts. And – coincidentally, we’re sure – the newspaper. The name may be different, but the approach remains the same: give students something relevant, something informative, and most importantly, something fun.

This is all the more remarkable when we consider the wide fluctuations in the quality and approach of other campus papers over this period.
We’ve survived 25 years because we’ve given the U of T community what it wants. We don’t have a choice. With no levy to support us, we have to keep ahead of the competition.

We, by which we mean this year’s editors, really had no idea what we were getting into when we signed on. But over the year, it slowly dawned on both of us just how fantastic this operation really is. As the only unfunded student paper in Canada, we’re unique.

More than that, each year the editors come on board with precious little experience and training. From that, they’ve got to learn how to run this paper. Some crash and burn, but not many. Most of us stumble a few times before (we hope) getting things down.

As you’ll see, next year’s paper will have a few changes. It’ll take on a life of its own, as ours did. They’ll “improve” it, like we “improved” last year’s.

One of the past “improvements” was the name change, which happened in the summer of 1998. the newspaper was dropped in favour of The Independent Weekly. That, we hope, everybody knows by now. But what most people don’t know – and our bylaws have valiantly hidden – are the names we’ve rejected over the years:
1979: Disco Fever!
1983: the newspaper Strikes Back
1985: The Worker’s Daily
1989: The Even Newer Republic
1991: The Globe and Mail
1993: Smells like teen newspaper
1997: The Irresponsible Sort-of-weekly
2001: Bastards!!!!
2003: Operation U of T Freedom

And despite all this, in another 25 years, we think that certain things will still be true. We’ll still be independent from U of T funding, though perhaps we won’t be the only campus paper in Canada able to say that.
We’ll still work hard to bring together the best and craziest (not mutually exclusive) minds on campus.
And we’ll still be the best damn paper U of T has ever seen.

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Inside this issue: Features

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - Archive photos you should see

A U of T tradition of 25/100 of a century - Men’s bowling team is no longer pinned in gutters

Despite toiling in the relative obscurity of the OAAU (Men’s) Bowling League, U of T head coach “Pins” McPhee feels his sport is ready to take off on an intercollegiate level.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - U of T drops entrance grade to 70

The possibility of falling enrolment and last year’s high attrition rate (which represents the number of students who fail to return after first year) has caused the U of T administration to increase the number of first-year students it will admit and at the same time to lower the U of T minimum grade requirement for admission.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - PSY 100 in Con Hall next year

There is a great possibility that all sections of Psychology 100 will be held in Convocation Hall next year.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - Springsteen is god

Last Thursday’s Bruce Springsteen concert demonstrates that Springsteen is, if only by default, the world’s greatest living rock and roller. With the Stones, Dylan and now The Who in decline, at this point in time, no one else comes close. His live presentation provides all the necessary elements for quality rock. It inspires, it is all-consuming and sexually arousing, and it is both danceable and dramatic

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - Bruce proves success doesn’t spoil a deity

Last week Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played two sold-out nights down at the Gardens. When the fans finally filed out of the building Wednesday night at almost one o’clock, everyone was talking but not screaming and yelling.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - The playgoing habit is erratically rewarding

The playgoing habit, if you have not picked it up already, may be acquired at the university. It will bring you countless hours of pleasure, and it will last as long as you can hobble to the box office

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - China takes her place in the international

Someone once said that the Chinese revolution would be over the day Coca Cola arrived in China. The events that have been molding a new “New China” since the death of Mao just over two years ago have been dramatic.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - Gay faculty should come out

Campus closets are still crowded with gay faculty and students. It’s been a lonely liberation for the handful of gay professors and students who have “gone public” at the University of Toronto.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - The great books are the best path to knowledge

The core of a university is the liberal arts – the kind of knowledge which prepares a human being to be free and self-legislating. And the core of that core is philosophy – understood to be the quest for knowledge of the good life.

A U of T tradition for 25/100 of a century - What’s the most popular song ever recorded? None other than Louie, Louie, of course.

Richard Berry. The name probably does not ring a bell – which is a shame, for Berry is the composer of one of the most popular tunes ever in rock ‘n’ roll: Louie, Louie.

More Background On IndependentWeekly.net

IndependentWeekly.net serves today as a historical and contextual gateway into one of Canada’s most enduring student-run media institutions: the University of Toronto’s fully independent campus newspaper. Although the publication is now known simply as the newspaper, and currently operates under a different web address, IndependentWeekly.net preserves a critical period in the publication’s evolution — the years when it adopted and circulated under the title The Independent Weekly. This legacy period reveals the struggles, achievements, and distinctive character of a newspaper that has operated outside of student-fee funding for almost half a century.

Beyond offering a summary of the paper’s past, IndependentWeekly.net also contextualizes the changing landscape of student journalism, website design, and digital sustainability. It stands at the intersection of archival preservation, institutional memory, and modern-day reflection on how technology shapes long-running publications. To understand IndependentWeekly.net fully, one must explore not only its text but the broader historical and cultural ecosystem in which the Independent Weekly emerged, thrived, and transformed.

History and Origins of the Newspaper

The publication behind IndependentWeekly.net was founded in 1978 at the University of Toronto by a small group of students who believed there was room on campus for a newspaper that was not tied to university administration, student government, or faculty organizations. Instead of relying on mandatory student fees — a common model for campus newspapers across North America — this new publication made the bold choice to rely entirely on advertising revenue. That decision shaped every aspect of its identity and remains one of its defining features.

From the outset, the newspaper aimed to:

offer high-quality student journalism,
give space to alternative opinions,
maintain full editorial independence,
avoid institutional pressure from campus authorities,
and operate as a professional training ground for students with little or no experience.

This ambitious experiment quickly grew. By the early 1980s, the publication had already become a recognized campus-wide voice. Its longstanding editorial office at 1 Spadina Crescent placed it at the heart of the university’s downtown campus, where students, contributors, and staff worked collaboratively to produce a weekly print edition.

Archive.org captures early digital traces—simple HTML pages, scanned PDF issues, and transitional designs from the late 1990s and early 2000s—revealing how the publication slowly embraced the web. These archived versions show a paper evolving cautiously into digital formats while still rooted in its print tradition.

The Era of “The Independent Weekly”

During the late 1990s, the newspaper experimented with rebranding. In 1998, the publication adopted the name The Independent Weekly, a title intended to reflect both its editorial autonomy and its regular print schedule. IndependentWeekly.net preserves content from this era, including issue summaries, features, commentary, and the editorial voice that defined the publication.

This period coincided with several major changes at the University of Toronto:

rising enrollment numbers,
intensifying academic competition,
debates about student union governance,
increased campus activism,
and the early stages of significant campus redevelopment.

The Independent Weekly often covered these issues with a tone that was a blend of sharp humor, irreverence, and investigative awareness — a combination that endeared it to many students. Its editorial pages from the early 2000s include reflective pieces on the publication’s 25-year anniversary, noting how much had changed in the world since its founding (from the fall of the Berlin Wall to shifting cultural norms), yet how much remained constant in student life.

The 2003–2004 archived materials accessible through IndependentWeekly.net show a vibrant editorial structure with:

annual humor traditions,
tongue-in-cheek lists of rejected alternative masthead names,
cultural reviews,
event coverage,
and political commentary reflecting campus sentiment.

These snapshots reveal a confident paper aware of its unique position: it was, and remains, the only major Canadian student newspaper not supported by student levies, making its survival an annual accomplishment.

Return to the Original Name and Modern Branding

Although the Independent Weekly name was distinctive, it eventually gave way as the publication aligned more closely with its historical identity. The paper reverted to its original title, now stylized as the newspaper, a lowercase identity that signals a modern, minimalist approach while gesturing back toward its foundational era.

IndependentWeekly.net explains this branding history clearly: that the Independent Weekly title was a temporary chapter, and the primary identity of the publication remains tied to its original name. Readers looking for current editions, digital archives, or recent news are directed toward the newspaper’s modern web presence, which replaced the IndependentWeekly.net domain as the primary home for new content.

Still, IndependentWeekly.net remains a meaningful digital artifact because it documents a transitional era that otherwise might have been lost in the rapid evolution of online publishing.

Location, Distribution, and Audience

At its peak circulation, the Independent Weekly distributed approximately 17,000 copies every Thursday across the University of Toronto’s three campuses (St. George, Scarborough, Mississauga) as well as in nearby Toronto neighborhoods. This placed it among the largest student newspaper distributions in Canada.

Its audience historically included:

undergraduate and graduate students,
faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants,
local Toronto residents,
arts and culture enthusiasts,
and recent alumni who continued to follow campus trends.

The publication’s physical proximity to major cultural sites — including the ROM, Toronto’s theatre district, Queen’s Park, and the Annex — influenced the topics it covered. Arts reviews, political commentary, and city-focused reporting were natural complements to purely campus-centered news.

Editorial Philosophy and Core Goals

The Independent Weekly and its parent publication have consistently adhered to several guiding editorial principles:

1. Independence

The publication was established to remain free from university funding, student levies, and political influence. Its editorial board is self-governed, with new editors learning on the job each academic year.

2. Accessibility

Anyone — regardless of experience — could join the team. Many writers from the Independent Weekly era went on to careers in journalism, law, government, academia, and media production.

3. Honesty and Humor

Even when tackling serious subjects such as academic policy changes or administrative disputes, the paper maintained a trademark wryness that students appreciated.

4. Community Building

In addition to delivering news, the newspaper created a sense of continuity and camaraderie among students by:

highlighting clubs and events,
discussing local traditions,
bringing humor to campus life,
and documenting student perspectives.

5. Accountability

As one of the few publications with complete independence from the university, the newspaper did not hesitate to critique institutional decisions. Its investigative pieces often challenged university administration or student-government bodies.

These goals continue to shape the publication’s identity in its modern form, and IndependentWeekly.net serves as a digital record of these commitments during a vibrant era of the paper’s development.

Notable Features and Editorial Highlights from Archived Issues

Archive.org captures a wide range of content that circulated under the Independent Weekly banner. These issues help reconstruct student culture from the early 2000s and illuminate the editorial diversity of the paper.

Examples of notable recurring features include:

Campus Culture

Articles addressed traditions, orientation-week antics, shifting academic requirements, and university policies such as the lowering of minimum entrance grades during periods of enrollment fluctuation.

Arts and Entertainment

Reviews of concerts, films, plays, and indie music were staples. A memorable article from the archives declared Bruce Springsteen “god,” reflecting both cultural enthusiasm and the publication’s humorous tone.

Commentary on Global Affairs

Pieces explored China’s rapid transformation in the post-Mao era, the evolving role of LGBTQ+ faculty and students, and philosophical reflections on liberal arts education.

Humor and Satire

Every year, editors compiled lists of humorous or intentionally absurd alternative names for the paper — a tradition that demonstrates the self-awareness and creativity of the publication’s staff.

Sports Coverage

While U of T is not typically known for powerhouse sports programs, the Independent Weekly featured lively coverage of niche activities, such as the men’s bowling team, documenting both athletic performance and the personalities involved.

These articles show how the Independent Weekly balanced entertainment, opinion, humor, and hard news — an editorial blend that remains evident in the modern incarnation of the paper.

Digital Evolution and the Role of IndependentWeekly.net Today

IndependentWeekly.net does more than preserve old text — it also reflects on the evolution of website design itself. The site contrasts older web layouts with modern digital standards, highlighting how student newspapers struggled during the early days of the internet to adapt print workflows to web publishing systems.

One central theme the site discusses is software sustainability. Legacy systems like FileMaker Pro were once widely used in newsroom workflows for managing content, advertising, layouts, and archives. As commercial software ages out of support, organizations must decide whether to:

pay for costly upgrades,
transition to entirely new platforms,
or commission custom-built digital tools.

IndependentWeekly.net stresses that custom software offers greater long-term stability, allowing organizations to “own” their infrastructure instead of being dependent on changing vendor roadmaps. This technical reflection, though not directly about the newspaper’s history, illustrates how digital preservation and operational sustainability are deeply interconnected in media organizations.

In this sense, IndependentWeekly.net functions not just as a historical site, but also as a commentary on the challenges student newspapers face in keeping their archives alive.

Cultural and Social Significance

The legacy represented by IndependentWeekly.net embodies several important forms of cultural significance:

A Living Record of Student Thought

Student newspapers are often the earliest platforms where future journalists, professors, filmmakers, lawyers, and policymakers publish their first ideas. The Independent Weekly archive documents decades of student voices.

A Chronicle of Toronto and University History

Because U of T is located in a major metropolitan center, its student newspaper often reflects broader social change. Topics like immigration policy, urban development, arts festivals, and political activism appear frequently.

A Rare Model of Non-Levy Student Journalism

Operating without compulsory fees is extraordinarily uncommon. The Independent Weekly demonstrated that financial independence can produce editorial independence and foster accountability journalism even within a university setting.

An Archive of Humor, Culture, and Identity

Generations of students identify certain jokes, traditions, and article styles as part of their personal U of T experience. IndependentWeekly.net preserves that emotional and cultural memory.

IndependentWeekly.net stands today as both a digital monument and a narrative bridge. It preserves the era when the University of Toronto’s independent student publication operated under the name The Independent Weekly, and it connects that era to the newspaper’s modern identity and ongoing mission.

By combining historical summary, editorial excerpts, archival captions, and reflections on digital sustainability, the site helps readers appreciate not just a newspaper, but an entire tradition of independent student journalism. The Independent Weekly era remains a vivid, defining chapter in that tradition — one captured, contextualized, and memorialized in the enduring digital footprint found at IndependentWeekly.net.

IndependentWeekly.net