The New Review today is beginning another era in its 90-year development from a bi-monthly magazine to a bi-weekly newspaper.

Back on April 1, 1874, volume one, number one of the Oberlin College Review was presented to students, faculty, and alumni as “A Semi-Monthly Journal, devoted to the Interests of Oberlin College.” Its first article was entitled “A Visit to Waldbach, the Home of Pastor Oberlin,” and was written by a certain “Rev. Jas. H. Fairchild.”

One of the major purposes in beginning the paper was to preserve the strong familial connections between the students and alumni and their college. During the earlier years the paper is often referred to as “home correspondence.”

The Review began as an eight page paper with two columns on approximately notebook size paper. By 1888 it had expanded to 32 pages and become, in actuality, a magazine. This magazine format remained until 1908. It attained its largest dimensions in 1935, when it was eight columns wide and 24 inches long. This newspaper never resembled the one commonly recognized by Oberlin students until 1948.

News, as the word is accepted today, is non-existent in the earlier Reviews. Articles entitled “Hamlet’s Indecision,” “The Pleasurable in the Mysterious,” and “The Relation of Ozone to Disease” appeared in 1875. Book reviews were often published.

A large portion of the 19th century Reviews was taken up with a column entitled, “Personals,” the content of which would be dismissed as gossip today but which was prevalent then. There was a joke column, an obituaries column and one of “timely interest” to the students entitled De Rebus Temporis.

The World War II years provoked more change in the Review. Women took over most of the key positions, including editorship. A column entitled “From the Boys” was begun with letters from College men overseas.