In 1992, Nubian Message set out to do what Technician failed to: provide a voice and platform for Black and marginalized students on campus.
Thirty-one years after its founding, the student-run paper continues to transform and push the boundaries of student journalism on NC State’s campus.
Patrick Neal, director of Student Media, said Technician, which was founded in 1920, was historically primarily white and male-dominated. The founding of Nubian Message in 1992 gave Black students a voice on campus.
Black students held a protest in March of ‘92 calling for an African American Cultural Center. Following this protest, a Technician writer released an article comparing those participating in the protest to terrorists.
Kanton Reynolds, the director of undergraduate studies in industrial and systems engineering, was on campus at the time. He said the racist article was only part of a growing issue concerning Technician’s ignorance of Black voices.
“I think as African American students on this campus, we did not feel like the Technician was really representing the issues that were important to us as a community,” Reynolds said.
As a result of the article, students took to the Brickyard to burn copies of Technician. After this, Tony Williamson, a student at the time, decided to create the first issue of Nubian Message. Reynolds said when Nubian first circulated, NC State’s Black students finally felt they had a voice.
“I think we were excited because we finally had something that reflected all the positive things that we felt like we were contributing to this campus,” Reynolds said. “And now everybody has to acknowledge that because it’s in print. You can see it, right? And I think it was an opportunity for us to have our voices heard. And you think about, again, the things that were going on in this time period. It allowed us to have really strong intellectual discussions because no community is a monolith.”
Despite Nubian Message’s formation in 1992, it took until March 1994 for the publication to become part of Student Media. Originally, Nubian Message held an office in the African American Cultural Center in Witherspoon Student Center.
Milan Hall, a fourth-year studying communication, is the current editor-in-chief of Nubian Message. She said Nubian Message has grown considerably since her start at the paper three years ago. Beyond in-outlet changes, Hall said campus culture has embraced Nubian Message since its creation.
“A lot of people don’t just view us as this niche topic anymore,” Hall said. “They see the value in it and see how, even if they aren’t really a marginalized person of color, they still see that reading us and supporting us has value.”
Neal said major change came around in the 2010s, when both Nubian Message and Technician made the move online. Neal said Nubian Message paved the way for NC State news online.
“Nubian Message has had a very incredibly strong presence on Twitter,” Neal said. “They embrace that and really have had a good following over the years there and connected with their readership and really built up a community.”
Today, Nubian Message continues to take strides in on-campus journalism.
Ellen Meder, former editorial advisor for both student news outlets, said the papers help shape the history of NC State as a whole.
“Journalism is the first draft of history,” Meder said. “And it’s really neat to be part of that draft.”
