Lauren Loftus 05 Jun 2023 “We’re Off.” So says the very first issue of The Santa Clara newspaper, printed on Feb. 17, 1922. In a bombastic note, the editorial team asserts the paper is a response “to a genuine need to record history in the making.” In the 101 years since, student reporters and editors have wielded their journalistic independence—as promised in that first issue—to serve as “the voice and work of all.” THE SCOOP On October 25, 1926, faulty wiring in the north tower of the Mission Church sparked a fire that swept rapidly across campus. Front page columns of the October 28 paper applauded students who gathered to fight the flames and save relics, crosses, paintings, and statues from burning buildings. One of the bells sent to the Mission Santa Clara from Spain in 1777 was salvaged from the burning chapel by a group of determined students. The Santa Clara reported its office, then located in the Alumni Lodge, had a wall scorched but editors vowed to continue printing. BREAK A LEG In this editorial cartoon, The Santa Clara staff wish luck upon the graduating class of 1950. The fedora- and coat-clad man (of course) looks dapper, diploma in hand, striding through the door into “The Big Wide World.” It would be 11 more years before SCU admitted its first class of women and the paper, in a headline fit for a gossip rag, screamed “TRADITION SHATTERED.” CINDERELLA SWEEPS “They were not supposed to be that good,” declared the front page of The Santa Clara after the Bronco men’s basketball team—ranked lowly No. 15—toppled second-seed University of Arizona in the 1993 NCAA Tournament. The paper included a photo of a swarm of students in Santa Clara jerseys celebrating the 64-61 victory on Market Street just west of campus. LAUREATES In 1995 and 2004, the paper received the coveted Pacemaker prize from the Associated Collegiate Press, the oldest and largest membership organization for college student media in the U.S. Additionally, The Santa Clara has won regional awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, the California Collegiate Media Association, and California Newspaper Publishers Association. GUMSHOES Notable past staffers of TSC include former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ’79 and Dee Dee Myers ’83, the first woman ever to serve as White House Press Secretary during the Clinton Administration. Journalist Jeff Brazil ’85 honed his chops at SCU before winning a Pulitzer for an investigation on racially motivated traffic stops at the Orlando Sentinel.
Rafael Luciani discusses synodality—the Catholic Church’s efforts to create a faith reflective of all members A global expert on synodality and a new professor at the Jesuit School of Theology aims to help the Santa Clara school become a worldwide resource on this process of prayer, listening, and communal discernment. By Deborah Lohse, 11 Nov 2025 share 6 min read
The Plant Custodian Biology Professor Justen Whittall explains the ethics and science behind rescuing a rare, endangered Bay Area succulent. Nic Calande, 06 Nov 2025 share 2 min read
How We Journey Together: One Practitioner on Accompaniment Today, the rector at SCU-JST, Tom Smolich, S.J., walks with students. Before, he walked with refugees. Here are his lessons on how listening and accompaniment can improve our world. Leslie Griffy, 30 Oct 2025 share 6 min read
What about the boys? A study finds stigma around mental health influences how parents seek support for sons vs. daughters There’s an established difference between how and if adult men and women seek help for their mental health. A Santa Clara public health professor wants to know if those differences are imposed by parents. Lauren Loftus, 15 Oct 2025 share 4 min read