Tim Peeler, a Technician alum and University communications strategist, remembers his Technician colleagues cramming into his Gorman Street apartment to take a photo that would define an era of NC State.

“Members of the Technician staff got completely naked, we took pictures, and then we altered all the pictures, pre-Photoshop, and had the starting lineup for Carolina,” Peeler said.

Peeler, who was a humor columnist and sports editor during his run at Technician, knows this ‘80s-era humor wouldn’t go over today.

“It’s not the same kind of humor that you would have today because we would be roasted alive for some of the things that we did,” Peeler said. “It was sophomoric. It was inappropriate in a lot of ways. … If you look at it now, we would probably all be embarrassed by it in some ways, but it was humor in the ‘80s. It’s hard to believe that I had to put myself into that category, but humor in the ‘80s was a lot raunchier, a lot darker, a lot more inappropriate.”

The Daily Tar Hell, previously The Daily Tar Heal, is Technician’s satirical edition typically published ahead of the NC State vs. UNC-Chapel Hill men’s basketball game. This year, Technician is publishing The Daily Tar Hell to align with the women’s basketball matchup. 

The Daily Tar Hell issue is meant to memorialize the rivalry between the teams by satirizing UNC-Chapel Hill’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, and Carolina as an institution. While Technician is now taking steps to ensure the tradition is far removed from its problematic roots, that wasn’t always the case.

“We considered nothing off limits at the time, other than outright racism,” Peeler said. “But I don’t think college students have changed more than humor has changed. So that’s something people who remember my generation of spoof issues, are always like, ‘Oh, those kids today, they’re trying so hard not to offend anybody.’ But it’s a real concern, and it’s a real thing.”

Nicholas Schnittker, a sports writer and editor until 2021, said he was proud to see The Daily Tar Hell evolve during his time on staff.

“I think we’ve always done a really great job of making Daily Tar Hell incredibly fun, but doing it in a way that we’re never punching down at anyone,” Schnittker said.

Schnittker said satire writing at Technician is more than a means to poke fun at UNC and the rivalry — it’s a chance to learn another aspect of journalism.

“Satire is one of the hardest things to do,” Schnittker said. “Doing satire well is really difficult, and it always stands out when somebody does it really, really well. So DTH was more than just having that fun little rivalry jab, it was also a great learning experience for anyone that wants to be in the industry.”

Peeler said humor was particularly important not just to Technician staff, but to other students at the time, especially during the Wolfpack’s winning 1983 season.

“[A Technician employee] stripped naked on the center court, put a basketball over himself, took a picture, they came back and they printed in Technician the next day,” Peeler said. “Then the next day, State beat Carolina. … One of the reasons that the atmosphere was so absolutely insane, was that Technician spoof issue that they held up during the game of Dean Smith naked in the middle of his own home court.”

Peeler said the humor of Daily Tar Hell was ultimately the humor of him and the close knit Technician staff.

“It was our fraternity,” Peeler said. “We were all comfortable and happy with each other. … So we were comfortable using the same kind of humor we would do on production night.”