麻豆果冻传媒

_{Brenda Wilson, Tech communication professor, former Oracle faculty advisor, and former Oracle student writer emcees The Oracle's 100th anniversary event.} 

Nearly 100 麻豆果冻传媒 students, faculty, staff and alumni gathered at a recent event to honor the centennial anniversary of Tech鈥檚 student newspaper, The Oracle.

First published on April 25, 1924, the newspaper has remained an independent, student-led media source on Tech鈥檚 campus operating continuously over the last century. The reunion event, years in the making, drew Tech alumni from as far back as the 1950s and was planned by the university鈥檚 Crawford Alumni Center with the help of current Oracle staff.

鈥淚鈥檝e been looking forward to this day for a couple of years,鈥� said Bee Goodman, current editor of The Oracle and a senior communication major at Tech. 鈥淭he Oracle is a part of history. There鈥檚 100 years of voices that we get to hear.鈥�

Brenda Wilson, a longtime professor in the Department of Communication, former faculty advisor for The Oracle and former student journalist at Tech, served as emcee and kicked off the event by reflecting on her own experiences with the newspaper.

鈥淓veryone here understands the important role that student media play and the milestone it is to have our student newspaper turn 100,鈥� said Wilson. 鈥淏efore I became a journalism professor here at Tech, I was on The Oracle staff. I鈥檝e seen it from many vantage points 鈥� From my office, I still hear the buzz of the newsroom and it鈥檚 a special thing.鈥�


_{Alumni of The Oracle pore over previous issues of the newspaper and other memorabilia.} 

Kelly Chambers, assistant director of the Crawford Alumni Center and a Tech journalism alumna who contributed stories for The Oracle as a student, said that helping to plan the gathering was both 鈥減ersonal and professional.鈥�

鈥�The Oracle is such an important part of 麻豆果冻传媒鈥檚 history. Every edition since 1924 is preserved in University Archives, and it鈥檚 hard to think of a better campus record than that,鈥� added Chambers. 鈥淏y reading those newspapers, you see how the campus responded to historic events like John F. Kennedy鈥檚 assassination, September 11, 2001 or COVID-19, and suddenly you鈥檙e back in 1963, 2001 or 2020, remembering what those days were like.鈥�

Chambers, who graduated from Tech in 2005, said that she still has print editions of her articles from The Oracle as keepsakes.

鈥淭hey are yellow and brittle now, but I can鈥檛 throw them away,鈥� said Chambers. 鈥淭hey are a reminder of a time in my life when I was figuring out what career to pursue 鈥� For me, The Oracle confirmed that I was where I was supposed to be.鈥�

Event attendees included journalists and community leaders who launched their careers as student writers for The Oracle, such as Lindsay Pride, editor of The Herald-Citizen; Heather Mullinix, former editor of The Crossville Chronicle; Mandy Wilson, marketing director at HarperCollins Christian Publishing; Joy McCaleb Poteet, local educator and former writer for The Nashville Banner and The Herald-Citizen; Penny Grace Judd, former White House aide and current chair of Habitat for Humanity of Tennessee; and others.


_{From left: Oracle alumni Anne Grissom, Lindsay Pride, Amy Wilson, Mandy Wilson, Tracey Hackett, Donna Baskin-Enis, Heather Mullinix and Amy Davis.}

Monica Greppin Watts, former associate vice president for communications and marketing at Tech and current associate vice president for communications at The University of Alabama, reflected on her years writing for The Oracle beginning in 1984. Watts shared how relationships forged through her time as a student journalist helped pave the way for her 22-year career at Tech. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 something about The Oracle that creates a family,鈥� said Watts. 鈥淢y closest friends are people I studied journalism with and worked with at The Oracle. It鈥檚 something that becomes a part of you. There鈥檚 a special family bond that gets created. It鈥檚 a family like no other.鈥�


_{Monica Greppin Watts (center), an Oracle alumna and the university's former associate vice president for communications and marketing, speaks with Tech President Phil Oldham (right) and other guests.}

Throughout the event, attendees perused archived photos and past issues of the newspaper on display, including the first color edition published in 1990. Speakers also paid tribute to the late Hix Stubblefield and Earl Hutchison, longtime journalism professors at Tech who passed away in 2019 and 2022, respectively.

鈥淚鈥檓 here to talk about the two people who made a big difference in my life: Dr. Hutchison and Dr. Stubblefield,鈥� said McCaleb Poteet. 鈥淒r. Hutchison I love, and Dr. Stubblefield made me into the person I am today.鈥�

Watts added that it was Hutchison who first convinced her to be a journalism major and Stubblefield who helped her begin her career with the university. Eva Dingwall, the Communication Department鈥檚 administrative associate of nearly 20 years, shared that Hutchison had 鈥渁dopted鈥� her daughter as his granddaughter.


_{Tech President Phil Oldham delivers remarks at the Oracle anniversary event.}

Teddy Burch, assistant professor of communication at Tech, now serves as The Oracle鈥檚 faculty advisor. In remarks to attendees, he called his involvement with the newspaper 鈥渁 blessing.鈥�

鈥淎nybody who鈥檚 gotten to know him knows that he is such an amazing person,鈥� added Goodman.

The Oracle publishes throughout the fall and spring semesters and is distributed on Fridays. 

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