Technician has been running for nearly 100 years, with the first issue published on Feb. 1, 1920. Throughout the years, NC State has seen many different events, from great successes to terrible tragedies and everything in-between. Time, and language itself, has changed over the years, but for almost every major event, Technician was there.
Since the election of NC State’s first student body president in 1921, Technician has covered candidates’ platforms, election mishaps and everything in between.
1970 saw the election of the University’s first female president. Cathy Sterling wasn’t initially a candidate, but rather a write-in of the student body. After the Board of Elections decided to hold a re-election for all student body officers, Sterling won by a landslide.
One of Sterling’s many endeavors during her time in office was the organization of a university-wide peace retreat following the march to the State Capitol from campus to protest the Vietnam War a few days prior. In a Technician article on May 11, 1970 titled “6000 Students March To Capitol, Sterling Calls For Peace Retreat,” Sterling spoke out about her plan for the day, which included a boycott of all classes, a Faculty Senate meeting and an open forum, among other things.
On April 10, 1987, Technician reported on the election of NC State’s first African-American SBP, Kevin Howell, in an article titled “Howell elected study body president.” In the article, Howell described the experience of being a minority student in Student Government.
“I would rather a person not even vote for me if it’s just because I’m black,” Howell said.
The article was accompanied by a piece titled “Students and faculty react favorably to Howell’s election.
2005 was deemed the “Year of the Pirate” by Technician on April 14 after Whil “The Pirate Captain” Piavis won the student body president election. The front-page article, which was designed to look like parchment, announced Piavis’ win. The article also noted Piavis’ pirate-themed rhetoric that peppered his platform, using words such as “plank,” “crew” and “scrogs.
The Technician headline on April 10, 1987 reads "Howell Elected student body president" in regards to the result of the student government election.
