Since its establishment in 1959, The Oakland Post has served as Oakland University’s primary source of student news. The Post has gone through many iterations but has always stayed consistent in its efforts to inform, educate and enlighten the OU community.
Below, we take a look at some of the different eras of The Oakland Post –– from its founding to the present day.
The Oakland Observer 1959-1969
On October 23, 1959, The Oakland Observer released its first edition to the campus community.
The newspaper was written, edited and published by students under the guidance of OU’s faculty. Oakland’s charter class was asked to name the paper by choosing from a list of several names including “The Oaklander” and “The Egg Head.”
The early editions of The Oakland Observer covered mostly university and campus news but slowly became more politicized in the 1960s. Students from OU’s chapter of Society for a Democratic Society took control of the Observer’s editorial policy and chose to focus on issues such as the Vietnam War and other radical 1960s movements and sentiments.
Focus: Oakland 1969-1974
Focus: Oakland began publishing in the fall of 1969 and did not shy away from controversial topics. Following in the footsteps of The Oakland Observer in the late 60s, Focus: Oakland published articles on controversial topics such as women’s liberation, racism and national politics.
Focus: Oakland was at the forefront of reporting on national and international affairs, which impacted the student body. The final issue of Focus: Oakland came out in October 1974, as the faculty and students tried to find a better model for the student newspaper format.
The Oakland Sail 1975-1987
President Donald D. O’Dowd stated in the first issue of The Oakland Sail that “we thought it important that there be a newspaper, and it is clear that we can’t have one under that entirely independent policy; it just doesn’t work. So the effort was to find a policy that would be somewhere between the older policy, which truly is independence; and the other option is that the paper, as we used to have it, is sponsored and funded by students through a student fee, where in effect it’s totally a feature of the institution.”
Published bi-weekly, The Oakland Sail focused on campus-related events such as student government and parking issues. This was a shift from the political leanings of Focus: Oakland and the later years of The Oakland Observer.
The Oakland Post 1987-present
In the Fall of 1987, the newspaper changed its identity once more and became The Oakland Post. The Oakland Post is owned and operated by The Oakland Sail Inc., a nonprofit company that is entirely independent of OU.
The Oakland Post covers a variety of issues ranging from campus news to national and international affairs. The Post has become OU’s most trusted source of independent student journalism and offers students the opportunity to lend their voices to a variety of topics without direct involvement from OU faculty. Since 1987, The Oakland Post has stood for honest, objective reporting and treasured the right to a free press.
