Online Exclusives

In 1901 two publications came into being. The Barnard Bulletin and the Jester may share the same founding year, but not much else. The Bulletin was founded as a weekly newspaper, and the Jester, a humor magazine. With the Jester’s humor came controversy, so it’s no surprise that the Bulletin has tracked this publication’s highs and lows over the past century. But as history shows us, this relationship isn’t just one-sided.

In 1935, according to the Bulletin archives, the Jester Editor-in-Chief stormed the Bulletin office, begging for Barnard writers and free press. The haughty headline reads “Columbia Jester Spurned by Bulletin As Pleas for Succor Go Unheeded.”

Fast forward to 1983. In scathing op-ed, a Barnard senior calls for the Jester to be cut off completely from SGA funding, describing it as an offensive and distasteful publication. She ends with, “It is a shame; I would love to open my mailbox and find a giggle inside. However, since I won’t, I no longer wish to pay for what I do not receive.”

Today, the Jester no longer receives any financial support from the University, and is coming back from a brief hiatus in the early 2000s. Our centerpiece article, “’Jest’ What the Doctor Ordered” on page 16 explores the Jester’s presence on campus today as an outlet for what is often seen as outrageous and controversial humor. By contrast, the Bulletin continues to be financially dependent on the College.

Despite completely separate identities and relationships to institution, the Bulletin and the Jester still have overlap in content because we have the same audience: the student body.