The Paper (newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Paper was a weekly underground newspaper
published in East Lansing, Michigan
beginning in December 1965. It was one of the five original founding members of the Underground Press Syndicate
. Started by Michigan State University
student Michael Kindman as a radical, counterculture alternative to the official MSU campus newspaper, it was sympathetic to the politics of SDS
. Initially tolerated by the MSU school administration, The Paper briefly received funding from a campus publications board before controversial content caused it to be banned from the MSU campus, but it continued to grow in popularity after the ban.
In the summer of 1966, shortly after the founding of UPS, Kindman met Thorne Dreyer
and Carol Neiman from the University of Texas at an SDS summer project in San Francisco -- and told them about The Paper. Afterward, on their return to Austin, Texas they were inspired by Kindman's example to found their own pioneering radical college underground paper, The Rag
, which was to play an important role in the development of the underground press around the country.
In the Spring of 1966, MSU students James Friel and Stuart Jones, working from an idea by fellow student Steven Badrich, whom they had met at a fund-raising party at Kindman's house, created the comic strip Land Grant Man. Land Grant Man would appear on a nearly-weekly basis for the next two years, and sporadically after that. Friel drew all installments of the strip. Jones was succeeded as writer by Jane Munn, and later by several others, including Friel. Land Grant Man, beginning in May of 1966, was an early example of underground comics, although its style owed more to the "straight" Marvel comics of the period than to any counter-cultural influence.
The Paper continued publishing on a regular basis for several years, generally circulating about 5000 copies. In late 1967 founder Michael Kindman left East Lansing for Boston, where he joined the Mel Lyman
cult and briefly served as managing editor of Boston's leading underground paper, Avatar, before its demise.
The Paper continued to appear under that name until June 1969. It subsequently went through a number of title changes, including goob yeak gergibal and Generation East Lansing, before merging with another paper, the Bogue Street Bridge, to form Joint Issue, which lasted until May 20, 1974. The successor to Joint Issue was the Lansing Star, a local alternative paper which published at first weekly and later biweekly and monthly until 1983, when it was succeeded by Lansing Beat, which survived until at least November 1986.
Underground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
published in East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located directly east of Lansing, Michigan, the state's capital. Most of the city is within Ingham County, though a small portion lies in Clinton County. The population was 48,579 at the time of the 2010 census, an increase from...
beginning in December 1965. It was one of the five original founding members of the Underground Press Syndicate
Underground Press Syndicate
The Underground Press Syndicate, commonly known as UPS, and later known as the Alternative Press Syndicate or APS, was a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines formed in mid-1966 by the publishers of five early underground papers: the East Village Other, the Los Angeles Free Press, the...
. Started by Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
student Michael Kindman as a radical, counterculture alternative to the official MSU campus newspaper, it was sympathetic to the politics of SDS
Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization)
Students for a Democratic Society was a student activist movement in the United States that was one of the main iconic representations of the country's New Left. The organization developed and expanded rapidly in the mid-1960s before dissolving at its last convention in 1969...
. Initially tolerated by the MSU school administration, The Paper briefly received funding from a campus publications board before controversial content caused it to be banned from the MSU campus, but it continued to grow in popularity after the ban.
In the summer of 1966, shortly after the founding of UPS, Kindman met Thorne Dreyer
Thorne Webb Dreyer
Thorne Webb Dreyer is an American writer, editor, publisher, and political activist who played a major role in the 1960s-1970s counterculture, New Left, and underground press movements...
and Carol Neiman from the University of Texas at an SDS summer project in San Francisco -- and told them about The Paper. Afterward, on their return to Austin, Texas they were inspired by Kindman's example to found their own pioneering radical college underground paper, The Rag
The Rag
The Rag was an underground paper published in Austin, Texas from 1966-1977. The sixth member of the Underground Press Syndicate, The Rag was one of the most influential of the early underground papers, known for its unique blend of radical politics, alternative culture and humor.- Early history...
, which was to play an important role in the development of the underground press around the country.
In the Spring of 1966, MSU students James Friel and Stuart Jones, working from an idea by fellow student Steven Badrich, whom they had met at a fund-raising party at Kindman's house, created the comic strip Land Grant Man. Land Grant Man would appear on a nearly-weekly basis for the next two years, and sporadically after that. Friel drew all installments of the strip. Jones was succeeded as writer by Jane Munn, and later by several others, including Friel. Land Grant Man, beginning in May of 1966, was an early example of underground comics, although its style owed more to the "straight" Marvel comics of the period than to any counter-cultural influence.
The Paper continued publishing on a regular basis for several years, generally circulating about 5000 copies. In late 1967 founder Michael Kindman left East Lansing for Boston, where he joined the Mel Lyman
Mel Lyman
Melvin James Lyman was an American cult leader, musician, film maker and writer.-Musician:Lyman grew up in California and Oregon...
cult and briefly served as managing editor of Boston's leading underground paper, Avatar, before its demise.
The Paper continued to appear under that name until June 1969. It subsequently went through a number of title changes, including goob yeak gergibal and Generation East Lansing, before merging with another paper, the Bogue Street Bridge, to form Joint Issue, which lasted until May 20, 1974. The successor to Joint Issue was the Lansing Star, a local alternative paper which published at first weekly and later biweekly and monthly until 1983, when it was succeeded by Lansing Beat, which survived until at least November 1986.