The Pacer, founded in 1928, is the name of the student newspaper of the University of Tennessee at Martin. The Office of Student Publications at UT Martin publishes The Pacer every Tuesday morning throughout the semester except for holidays and exam periods. As of 2006, the newspaper has a circulation of 3,000 copies. Throughout its history, the newspaper has also been named The Checkerboard and The Volette.
History
According to Robert L. Carroll's book, The University of Tennessee at Martin: The First One Hundred Years, the forerunner of UTM was a Baptist school, Hall-Moody Institute, established in 1900. A student newspaper called The Crimson and Gold (the institute's colors) was printed for several years, and two annuals, or yearbooks, also were published. The Crimson and Gold run ended when the institute closed in 1927 because of financial troubles, and all students were given the opportunity to transfer to nearby Union University in Jackson, Tennessee.
The University of Tennessee Junior College opened in the fall 1927, and a student newspaper, The Checkerboard, followed in 1928.
The Checkerboard
A group of students decided in the fall of 1927 that UTJC needed a student newspaper. They called themselves the Checkers, and the first evidence of their dream, the Checkerboard, appeared in the Weakley County Press in January and February 1928. They also published a standalone issue of the Checkerboard later in the spring of 1928 and then published a magazine by the same name at the end of the 1927–28 academic year. The magazine is also considered a forerunner of the present-day UTM yearbook, The Spirit. Its first Editor was Lloyd Lynn.
The first edition of The Volette, which evolved from the Checkers' vision and grew into the permanent student newspaper at what is now UTM, was printed Dec. 17, 1928. It paid tribute to the Checkers on page 2, for "the spontaneous enthusiasm of this group of students", who "actually published a paper weekly; without money, without anything but the passive approval of the faculty and their own native ability coupled with a boundless determination. ..."
The Volette
The first Volette was a four-page publication that contained a few advertisements but no pictures. Sports news led the way on many of the headlines on Page 1:
Football team closes successful season
Prospects good for girls basketball team
Coach Grantham attends conference at Memphis
Other headlines included:
Large number make Honor Role
Faculty members make speeches
U.T. Student admitted to the Bar
On Page 2 of The Volette were a freshman's letter home (with all spelling and grammatical errors included, perhaps as a joke), newspaper staff information, subscription information (a year's subscription was only $1.50), a brief on the naming contest held to name The Volette and an editorial from the newspaper staff on the first edition of the paper.
The editorial included an apology for why the paper was printed so late in the fall, as well as a plea for stories from the student body that The Pacer continues to make to this day. It reads "... It is evident that no group of reporters, however good they may be, can cover all interesting items without the cooperation of the student body at large. Therefore, we ask that any student will report such interesting occurrence as shall come under his observation. Moreover, we wish to state that it is policy of this paper to accept worthwhile contributions from any and all sources."
A column down the side of the page was called "Newsettes," personal notes of college students. Tidbits from the column include:
Lucille Kirk and Kennedy Laws went to Fulton Saturday night. Charles Johnson attended the Cow Sale at Gleason Saturday Marie Wells spent the weekend at her home in Obion. Tater Jones and Fatty McDonald have accepted position as skating managers in the skating rink here. Paul White spent several days in Nashville, Christmas shopping. The Terrible Two were out of the dormitory last weekend. John McDonald was the guest of Mr. Matthew Enochs at his home in Newbern. Burnie Orr called on Dr. C.R. Galloway of Greenfield Tuesday afternoon to have the lens of his glasses changed. (Orr was the business manager for The Volette.)
While The Pacer no longer contains such personal items on students, local papers like the Weakley County Press and the Dresden Enterprise still feature the same type of "community news."