SF State celebrates 100 years of student publications

A century of amplifying student voices and serving campus communities

For more than 100 years, student journalists at San Francisco State University have given voice to their generations. And for the next 100, that voice will continue to evolve — stronger, sharper, and more vital than ever.

In 2025, SF State Journalism proudly celebrates more than a century of campus publications, marking 100+ years of bold, independent reporting that began with The Vigilante in 1922, continued through The Bay Leaf in 1927, The Golden Gater in 1931, and lived on through Phoenix and Prism Magazine in the 1980s and ’90s. That tradition continues today with Golden Gate Xpress and Xpress Magazine, now celebrating 25 years of publication since launching in 2000.

The university’s student press traces its origins to The Vigilante, a mimeographed newsletter launched by the all-female Good English Club in November 1922, just two years after American women won the right to vote. Written, edited, and distributed by women students, the paper reflected a post-suffrage generation eager to define its own voice.

By 1924, students called for a publication that would serve the entire campus — not just the English Club. As one editorial stated:

“The Vigilante will therefore no longer appear as an English Club paper but will give place to a much larger and better project — a real paper.”

By 1925, the mimeographed editions had given way to full-sized, printed versions of The Vigilante, before students chose to change the name to The Bay Leaf, officially launched at a public assembly in March 1928. According to the student press:

“The Bay Leaf was the name… The rector, Miss Rosalie McBride, ordered water sprinkled on the book. The newspaper was then christened ‘Bay Leaf.’”

From hand-finished sheets of paper to today’s realtime digital updates and social video, SF State student publications have chronicled war, protest, policy shifts, and public health crises with clarity, empathy, and conviction.

A defining moment came in 1988, when student journalists at The Golden Gater produced Helpers in the War on AIDS, a 64-page photo essay documenting everyday San Franciscans providing hospice care during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The edition earned the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, one of the nation’s highest honors for reporting on human rights and social justice. Since then, SF State photojournalism alumni have gone on to national acclaim — including Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Wells and Pulitzer finalist Mary Calvert.

“This centennial honors generations of students who stepped up to tell stories no one else would,” said Jesse Garnier, Chair of the Department of Journalism. “It began with women speaking out after suffrage, and continues today with students using every available platform — print, photo, video, audio, digital — to report with empathy and urgency.”

To mark the occasion, SF State Journalism will host a yearlong celebration in 2025, including:

• Staff reunions with former student journalists, supporters, and faculty from across the decades
• A special exhibition of historic editions from The Vigilante to Golden Gate Xpress, to be displayed this fall in the Journalism Department
• 25th anniversary events for Golden Gate Xpress, including an Alumni and Graduation Reception on Wednesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at Round1 in Stonestown Galleria