Column by Kenny Colston

The article below, reprinted from the Sept. 29, 1964 issue of the Kernel, is one of the most controversial, but important, editorial columns ever written at the Kernel.

The writer, David Hawpe, was one of many Kernel writers and editors who shaped the newspaper’s image into what it is today. Yes, the same principles that governed the Kernel 45 years ago, before its independence in 1971, still hold true in 2009.

That’s because whether it was Mr. Hawpe, the executive editor of the Kernel in 1964, his editor-in-chief William Grant, or Kernel editors of the recent past, there’s always been an inherent responsibility passed down year after year.

I wrote on the first day of school about how the Kernel was and remains the best source for campus news. Those students, faculty and staff who pick up the Kernel every day validate our claim.

But a trip down memory lane can serve as a reminder of how the Kernel came to that point. Editors back then worked hard to earn the proclamation on the paper’s opinions page masthead: “The South’s Outstanding College Daily.”

Hawpe’s column was one of many the Kernel editorial board wrote advocating against the segregation of UK Athletics in the ’60s. The legacy of tough reporting and editorial writing can be seen today.

Hawpe may not have been the first to take on the UK administration and he certainly wasn’t the last. But without the Kernelites of the 1950s and ’60s, the Kernel wouldn’t be what it is today.

Without those Kernelites, a bold front-page editorial taking on the UK administration in 1990 for the questionable way Charles T. Wethington was selected as UK president may not have happened. Nor would The Courier-Journal in Louisville have written an editorial the next day saying the university should let the Kernel select the next president.

And even recently, without the foundation laid by those early editors, the Kernel may not have taken the UK administration to task for lacking a safety plan for 90 percent of campus.

The movement that became WRFL was born on the pages of the Kernel. The desegregation of the athletics department, the fuss over the school’s budget, and its cuts, and the importance of diversity also began with the Kernel.

As any former Kernel editor can attest, the role is one that is not easy nor stress free. The responsibility to hold this university and this campus accountable for its actions hasn’t diminished.

“The Kernel is the most important organization at the university,” said Duane Bonifer, a former Kernel editor. “Every time I wonder about that, I’m reminded about how important the Kernel is.”

Bonifer hasn’t been a Kernel editor for nearly 20 years, but he still sums up his time at the Kernel in a few words: life-forming, enormous responsibility, and fun.

The process of selecting the editor-in-chief is the most grueling process I’ve ever been through. Weeks of preparation can evaporate in mere minutes. It’s the longest job interview I’ll probably experience — two hours in the basement of the Grehan Building, sweating through a brand new suit as I was being vetted to see if I could continue in the legacy left for me.

I somehow passed. But without the Kernel editors before me, it wouldn’t have meant half as much as it does.

The Kernel has been fighting for this campus for decades.

So thank you, Mr. Hawpe and all those who have preceded us.

A thriving newspaper is an integral part of a healthy campus. You established a tradition that has lasted 45 years. Our hope is that we can pass it on for 45 more.