Student Critiques

1965 Hilltoppper cartoon about hippies and dress code on campus.

An alien cartoon created by a St. Edward's student.

    The social climate 1960s to the 1970s, like Anti-War and Counter-Culture, resulted in students being free and open about their opinions in the school newspaper. The students of St. Edward’s were represented in The Hilltopper, the student newspaper, as people who wrote what they believed, even if they were punished or provoked controversy. The 1960s showed a lot of exploration and desire for freedom in these students. In particular, one 1965 edition of The Hilltopper included a cartoon strip, titled “Little Man on Campus” by Bill Roberts, that shows a hippy-like student talking to the dean of students about dress code [2]. This was not because everyone looked like hippies, but rather it was a call of attention to the limitations students face, even in how they could dress. This kind of direct action didn’t stop at the dress code, but grew into a widespread trend.

    The students created and published a comic strip in The Hilltopper, titled "The Big Laugh," that referenced cannabis use and depicted naked aliens [3]. The eccentric comic shows the creativity and boundary-pushing attitude the students embraced. They had freedom to publish what they wanted, without much concern for other opinions. This freedom did bring out some critics, however, in the letter to the editor section. The concern was about the nudity depicted in the aliens, called pornography by Mrs. Magliolo at St. Edward’s [4]. The students decided that freedom and self-expression eclipsed tastefulness, even if the older administration and faculty do not agree with those same beliefs. In the same way, the newspaper allowed for complete freedom of speech in the letters to the editors published, exemplifying the ability of students to speak their mind and comment on anything they supported or completely disagreed with.

    Many students during the 1970s, were concerned about national issues at the time. A 1970 Hilltopper newspaper included a political cartoon depicting the Silent Majority, showing a rich family sleeping in a well-decorated, elaborate living room in front of a TV showing a suffering family in a war stricken home [5]. This cartoon shows the students' concern for neglect of world issues because some people were comfortable enough to not care or notice. The students at St. Edward's continue to show concern for not just local and student issues, but the country and world, as well.