It’s
the guardian, storyteller, and advocate.
The Daily Cougar, formerly known as The Cougar, is
the university’s longest-running student organization.
Originally created to boost the university, as an arm
of the administration, it soon became a vocal critic
and guardian of the University of Houston’s spirit
for more than seventy years.
The Birth
If you ask the staff of The
Cougar in 1934 when the
newspaper was born, they’ll tell you that it
was October 5, 1934, but it was conceived much earlier.
In fact, it was April 6, 1928, that The Cougar was
published as the official newspaper of Houston Junior
College. Even though its first volume contained only
two issues, the paper continued to publish sporadically
over the next six years.
But it was in 1934, with the birth of the University
of Houston, that The Cougar came into its own. With
a large banner headline, The
Cougar heralded the opening
of the school’s first regular term. In successive
editorials, the paper pushed for greater school spirit,
attention to the rules, and improved student life. |
Push for Progress
What’s most interesting is the role The
Cougar has played by being a proponent for positive change
and enhancements for the university.
One of the earliest examples was when campus crime
made its first headline. Citing a buildup of thefts
and burglaries, The Cougar called for the creation
of a campus police force.
During war time—as rationing kept business growth
stunted and advertising revenue low—The
Cougar kept publishing, breaking new ground with its first
summer issue on June 19, 1942. That issue featured “school
spirit is dying” and called for the creation
of a band, and later, a fight song. The paper also
created a UH Spirit Award, which went to the most spirited
campus organization, and sponsored Varsity Varieties,
a show used to raise funds for journalism scholarships. |
