Dear Highlanders,
After decades of disinvestments from the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Liberal Education (HASSLE), the Highlander can no longer continue to function alongside an administration that has continued to shun a liberal education. With the discovery of an old printing press in the basement of the Rivera Library, the Highlander was able to publish this commemorative issue in print form for the first time since 2025. Due to these unfortunate circumstances, we regret to inform you that this is also the last ever issue of the Highlander newspaper.
As we peer into the centennial archives of the Highlander, we reflect on the critical events inspiring our weekly publications since 1954.
In an effort to embrace the technological age, the Highlander stopped its print edition and became permanently digital in 2025. A deadening strike to our newspaper took place in 2055, when the undergraduate student body voted to remove all funding to the Highlander newspaper during a period of unrest commonly referred to as the UCR Civil War. During this time, the campus sought to integrate a more practical and career-oriented agenda, amidst rising differential tuition among majors and limited funding for the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Wounding the livelihood of a liberal education, Watkins Hall has become collateral damage in an ongoing political war between colleges for academic resources, student services and classroom space.
The technological divide within the university has proven beneficial by increasing student involvement, along with supporting a more practical and career-oriented agenda. It was detrimental to a fault, however, because students are subjected to limited cultural exposure, historical insight, communal discourse and debate. Many students undergo technological self-isolation, resulting from inventions such as the dorm pill and I-Doser.
At the same time, the rise to prominence for UCR is greatly attributed to discoveries made by our researchers, who discovered a vaccine for malaria in 2030. The athletics department has also made enormous strides in improving our baseball team now led by Troy Percival III, along with our Quidditch team which won a national championship in 2032.
Despite the university’s overall achievements in career-oriented research, the newspaper could not continue to survive continual defunding from the student body. Compared to the dorm pill, departing is a bitter pill to swallow. Yet, the Highlander must also take its leave.
Sincerely,
The Highlander Editorial Board
