by Andrew Novak
Research Editor

Courtesy University Archives The 1957 Hatchet staff poses for its yearbook photo.

The Hatchet of the conservative post-World War II years was similar in style to earlier decades, dominated by articles about fraternity and sorority life and sports events. This would radically change in coming years, as Greek-letter life and athletics declined and as world events began to influence student life.

In the wake of campus desegregation, a young black student from Alabama began her education at GW. Peggy Cooper Cafritz, today the president of the D.C. Board of Education, had an intense interest in politics when she enrolled in 1964. Soon after her arrival, she organized a protest against the last all-white bastion of University life ­ the fraternities and sororities ­ after she, along with four other black students, was dropped from sorority recruitment.

As the founder of the Black Student Union, Cafritz's actions led to an unequivocal University response to the discrimination: all Greek-letter chapters must integrate or close. Because many were required to discriminate by their national by-laws, half the chapters on campus closed by 1971. No longer would Greek life dominate campus events.

Athletics, too, went into decline, especially the football team, which was once the centerpiece of GW sports. On Nov. 24, 1966, the football team played its last game, which it lost to Villanova. The team was dissolved the following year.

The Hatchet underwent drastic physical changes. Switching to a five-column format that provided more white space with bolder headlines and more photos, the paper began to look more like the modern-day Hatchet.

Technological advances permitted the paper to begin a twice-weekly publication schedule Jan. 30, 1967. For the first time, the editors could print the stories on camera-ready paper and see what each issue would look like before it was sent to the printer. The painstaking process of hand-typing each story and compiling the paper layout by hand became obsolete.

Vietnam and its legacy

Like the rest of the GW community, The Hatchet became intensely involved with the Vietnam War protests. With the center of U.S. government nearby, GW became a magnet for protesters from all over the country.

The protests started small and were fairly mild. By 1968, however, they had grown intense and dangerous. Hatchet staff members from the time recalled an ever-present smell of tear gas and constant rallies and marches. Persistent editorials decried the war, insisting "the moral fiber of America" was at stake.

In May 1970, the largest protests in the history of the school followed the shootings of four students at Kent State. For the first time since the Civil War, GW was forced to close and classes were cancelled. The protest left damages of $30,000.

During the protest, students seized the student union building and renamed it the Kent State Memorial Center. When the building was dedicated as the Cloyd Heck Marvin Center the following year, some students, backed by The Hatchet editorial staff, protested the dedication, citing Marvinıs alleged support of segregation. The last major student protests were held that year.

Post-Vietnam Era: the 1970s

Although The Hatchet underwent serious financial troubles, coverage continued as usual. In 1972 the paper endorsed former presidential candidate George McGovern, and reporters covered the abolition and reinstatement of student government. Computerized equipment streamlined the publication process.

The 75th anniversary of The Hatchet was marred by a serious fire in Thurston Hall in which 34 students were injured. The staff worked through the night covering the story, making sure the paper was out by 9 a.m.

This turbulent period came to a close with the beginning of the 1980s. Although the student body found new causes ­ opposition to apartheid, globalization, support of workers rights and AIDS activism ­ the era of great student protests was over. But the newspaperıs role did not diminish during the coming decade; it remained the voice of the student body.