Campus life at the University of Montana encourages students to come together as a community. Throughout the years, this has taken many forms. Student newspapers, dances, cultural celebrations, political protests, and more. How have long-lasting traditions shaped our experiences at UM? Which traditions remain and which have faded away? The examples provided here further exploration of our past. Which Griz traditions would you highlight?
One of UM’s oldest and most recognizable traditions is its ongoing commitment to student journalism. Visible online and across stands all over campus, the University’s official student newspaper, The Montana Kaimin, is central to student life. Like all things, the Kaimin has evolved over its lifetime. For generations, it has provided a space for students and faculty to contemplate Grizzlies’ roles in the world. It also provided a crucial link between campus and the wider world. Sometimes, the paper offered stellar analysis and thought-provoking opinion. At others, it devolved into partisan debates more notable for their close-mindedness than their thoughtful insight.
The Kaimin, meanwhile, was far from the only student-run publication in UM’s history. In 1970, UM's Black Student Union began publishing the Watani. Intended as an alternative to the Kaimin, the Watani included interviews, essays, and poetry, for and by Black students. During the 1974-1975 academic year, the Watani transformed into a yearbook “of the continuous growth and progress of the Black Studies program" at UM. A few years later, in 1974, the Women's Resource center published the first issue of The Montana Women’s Resource. This short-lived newsletter covered a range of topics. It empowered women through essays about feminism and women’s history. It also condemned campus “rape culture” while providing resources for abuse prevention and recovery. Today, these voices endure in UM’s campus culture and student expression. You can find them in current editions of the Kaimin and orientation materials for incoming students.
In addition to journalism, the campus culture has been at times defined by student responses to national and global events. Student political engagement surged, for example, during the 1960s. On Wednesday, October 15, 1969, over 2,000 students, faculty, clergymen, and Missoula residents marched to protest the Vietnam War. The march began at UM’s Oval and continued across Missoula. The Kaimin both followed these events closely and published different points of view on the conflict and the wave of activism it sparked.
Around that time, Black and Native American students created campus groups that represented their identities, perspectives, and experiences. The University of Montana Black Student Union (UMBSU) organized during the 1967-1968 academic year. Like similar organizations on campuses across the United States, the BSU has continued to serve the distinct needs of UM's Black students for decades. The Kyiyo Native American Student Association officially organized the year after the BSU. Known nationwide for its competitive powwow, Kyiyo celebrates Indigenous heritage and advocates for UM's Native students. The Kyiyo Powwow is the oldest continuously running competitive powwow in the country. First known as “Kyi-Yo Indian Days”, the original powwow included a banquet, Indigenous art exhibition, and a parade in downtown Missoula. The powwow is open to participants from every reservation in Montana and guests from other tribal nations across the country.
UM's campus is also a place of fun and playful traditions. Every year, many students build and foster community by joining a club, a Greek organization, or attending a sporting event. Greek life and other campus clubs bring small groups of students together, often in service to the campus or Missoula community. Sports connect campus to alumni and communities across Montana and beyond.
Like any college, UM is home to many unique traditions. Some, like the annual Can the Cats food drive, are specific to sports. Others, like the Aber Day kegger, seek to raise money for various charitable causes. These traditions bring members of the campus and surrounding community together.
However, not all campus traditions at UM aligned with its mission. Throughout its history, UM students have also created many traditions based on exclusion. Some traditions reinforced harmful racial, gender, and sexual stereotypes. Others incorporated public humiliation and even physical violence. Hazing was a common occurrence throughout UM's history. Early in its history, UM students saw hazing as a normal aspect of college life. Experiencing a common humiliation, they thought, created a bond of friendship.
In all these expressions of student life and culture on campus, we develop a sense of where we came from and who we are today.
Click on each image to explore different ways community has manifested on UM's campus.
One of UM’s oldest and most recognizable traditions is its ongoing commitment to student journalism. Visible online and across stands all over campus, the University’s official student newspaper, The Montana Kaimin, is central to student life. Like all things, the Kaimin has evolved over its lifetime. For generations, it has provided a space for students and faculty to contemplate Grizzlies’ roles in the world. It also provided a crucial link between campus and the wider world. Sometimes, the paper offered stellar analysis and thought-provoking opinion. At others, it devolved into partisan debates more notable for their close-mindedness than their thoughtful insight.
The Kaimin, meanwhile, was far from the only student-run publication in UM’s history. In 1970, UM's Black Student Union began publishing the Watani. Intended as an alternative to the Kaimin, the Watani included interviews, essays, and poetry, for and by Black students. During the 1974-1975 academic year, the Watani transformed into a yearbook “of the continuous growth and progress of the Black Studies program" at UM. A few years later, in 1974, the Women's Resource center published the first issue of The Montana Women’s Resource. This short-lived newsletter covered a range of topics. It empowered women through essays about feminism and women’s history. It also condemned campus “rape culture” while providing resources for abuse prevention and recovery. Today, these voices endure in UM’s campus culture and student expression. You can find them in current editions of the Kaimin and orientation materials for incoming students.
In addition to journalism, the campus culture has been at times defined by student responses to national and global events. Student political engagement surged, for example, during the 1960s. On Wednesday, October 15, 1969, over 2,000 students, faculty, clergymen, and Missoula residents marched to protest the Vietnam War. The march began at UM’s Oval and continued across Missoula. The Kaimin both followed these events closely and published different points of view on the conflict and the wave of activism it sparked.
Around that time, Black and Native American students created campus groups that represented their identities, perspectives, and experiences. The University of Montana Black Student Union (UMBSU) organized during the 1967-1968 academic year. Like similar organizations on campuses across the United States, the BSU has continued to serve the distinct needs of UM's Black students for decades. The Kyiyo Native American Student Association officially organized the year after the BSU. Known nationwide for its competitive powwow, Kyiyo celebrates Indigenous heritage and advocates for UM's Native students. The Kyiyo Powwow is the oldest continuously running competitive powwow in the country. First known as “Kyi-Yo Indian Days”, the original powwow included a banquet, Indigenous art exhibition, and a parade in downtown Missoula. The powwow is open to participants from every reservation in Montana and guests from other tribal nations across the country.
UM's campus is also a place of fun and playful traditions. Every year, many students build and foster community by joining a club, a Greek organization, or attending a sporting event. Greek life and other campus clubs bring small groups of students together, often in service to the campus or Missoula community. Sports connect campus to alumni and communities across Montana and beyond.
Like any college, UM is home to many unique traditions. Some, like the annual Can the Cats food drive, are specific to sports. Others, like the Aber Day kegger, seek to raise money for various charitable causes. These traditions bring members of the campus and surrounding community together.
However, not all campus traditions at UM aligned with its mission. Throughout its history, UM students have also created many traditions based on exclusion. Some traditions reinforced harmful racial, gender, and sexual stereotypes. Others incorporated public humiliation and even physical violence. Hazing was a common occurrence throughout UM's history. Early in its history, UM students saw hazing as a normal aspect of college life. Experiencing a common humiliation, they thought, created a bond of friendship.
In all these expressions of student life and culture on campus, we develop a sense of where we came from and who we are today.
Click on each image to explore different ways community has manifested on UM's campus.
