There is a time-portal behind the editor’s desk.
Veterans from both world wars, 16 U.S. administrations and 1966 NCAA champions. Suffragettes and Chicano movement activists live in this roughly 12-by-6-foot dimly lit room accompanied by thousands of cigarettes, zoot suits and classic Cadillac’s.
They are bound together with time and mauve covers, the yellowed pages slowly crumbling underneath the sepia-toned newsprint.
Stepping into this portal, looking at 100 years of UTEP and El Paso history from the point of view of the students, we are reminded that eventually these words will be bound and we will join them.
The centennial year is more than just an anniversary, it’s a tilt of the hat to all of the people who came before us that made it possible and to everything they have done for the El Paso community.
Through all of UTEP’s accomplishments, failures, successes and strife, The Prospector has been there to write the first draft of its history.
From the 1915 issues with blocks of text next to an illustration and a cigarette ad, to our now colored pages, photographs and website complete with videos and podcasts, it is clear that our publication has grown just as much as the university.
Our award winning staff will continue to be at the forefront of everything that happens here and throughout El Paso, setting the bar high for future generations. This year you can expect a myriad of videos, slideshows, podcasts and more on our website at theprospectordaily.com.
One hundred years from now, when the editors of The Prospector are working on their bicentennial issue, they will look back at our work and see exactly what life was like in 2014.
They will see that things were not entirely easy, the university was not perfect and our generation faced many obstacles, but they will also see that our school was as unique as the community it served and was filled with just as much heart.
We are a lucky few to be able to say we attended the university during this milestone. We are a part of two millenniums.
Editor’s note: To the future Prospector editors, if time travel has been invented please visit us at 1 p.m. Jan. 21 in the office. Thanks!
The Prospector staff may be reached at [email protected].
