A dive into Kwantlen’s 1st student-funded newspaper, The Thorn

The Runner is not the first student newspaper at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In fact, it’s not even the second or third — it’s the fourth. 

The first publication was The Comment, later known as The Chronicle, which operated out of the journalism program and dates back to the beginning of Kwantlen College’s split from Douglas College in 1981. But being tied to the journalism program raised concerns about potential direct or indirect censorship of the paper. 

This concern motivated the creation of Kwantlen’s first student-funded newspaper, The Thorn. First published on Nov. 8, 1983, with an initial $250 starting grant from the Kwantlen Student Association, the paper’s name carried significant symbolism. 

“Like a rose this paper is a symbol of personal freedom as well as intellectual and aesthetic beauty. But a paper must be free of censorship and like the rose we will not allow ourselves to be squeezed,” then-editor Garry Halicki wrote in the first issue. 

True to its name, The Thorn made a sharp debut, covering a solidarity rally in Vancouver that opposed Bill Bennett’s provincial Social Credit Party government and its budget changes. 

The debut issue also highlighted various student clubs at the college, such as the Martial Arts Club, Ski Club, Pottery Guild, Young New Democrats, Young New Progressive Conservatives, Christian Varsity Club, Disarmament Committee, and the Philosophy Club. 

Notably, it featured a satirical student club called the Anti-Garfield League, dedicated to making Kwantlen College a “Garfield Free Zone,” accompanied by an illustration of the cartoon cat blindfolded before a firing squad. 

Tensions also existed between The Thorn and The Comment. In an issue published on Feb. 6, 1984, a staff member from The Comment criticized The Thorn, writing, “Many of the pictures in The Thorn are of poor quality and are often out of context with the story they are running with.” 

Reflecting on his time as editor, Halicki wrote in a statement to The Runner that he acknowledged interactions between students working for both papers, though he noted the structural constraints of The Comment. 

“I understood they were students just like us. However, I also realize they had to answer to their instructors. Who answered to the board. Who answered to the government. The provincial government that took Federal Transfer Funds earmarked for education by the federal government and used those funds for Expo 86,” he wrote.  

The team lacked the tools used today and manually assembled articles using tape and glue. 

“Not only did we not have access to the internet, we had very limited computer access, if at all. AI was but a dream,” Halicki wrote. 

While there were no standout moments from those days, Halicki wrote he valued the experience, and that “[they] built something from nothing.” 

As time passed, funding challenges plagued The Thorn. Efforts to transition to a semesterly magazine failed, and its final issue was published in the winter of 1990. In their farewell message, The Thorn staff urged students not to take their freedom of free expression for granted.

“Those of us who have been associated with The Thorn urge students to think carefully about the right they have just lost. Don’t take it for granted. Don’t be apathetic. Remember Tiananmen Square. In El Salvador today, there are students who are prepared to give their lives for the right to voice their opinions,” the issue reads.

“We have this freedom. Now, let’s use it.”