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Within six weeks of Evangel’s existence, the first newspaper was published. “That indicated that both the administration and the students felt it was important to have a student voice on campus,” said Shirley Hanson Shedd, Evangel Archive/Library mezzanine. Creating a paper was one of the first decisions made by the student body. The first editor was Nellie Moses along with six staff members. Mr. Bernard Bresson, the history and religion professor, was the first advisor. Mr. Carl Conner acted as consultant for the paper. At the time, he was the head of public relations for Assemblies of God Headquarters.
The Lance, originally called the Lancer, was read for the first time on Oct. 21, 1955. It was printed on 8 ½ by 11 inch paper varied before it became the current dimensions of 11 by 12 inches. The paper was generally 6 one-sided pages; it is currently 8 pages long.
In 1981-82, the tradition was to distribute the paper on the first day classes began. It was also the first year full-color photos were featured. The first two years, the paper was distributed irregularly. It was later published biweekly until 1985-86. Since 1986 it has been published weekly.
The Lance has been guided by numerous advisors through its history. In 1967, Rex Jackson was the advisor following Bernard Bresson. Jackson was followed by Dr. Douglas Tarpley in 1997. Dr. Tarpley made people aware that Evangel had a newspaper. He made a big impact during his time as an adviser. Shirley Shedd served as the Lance Adviser for 25 years. She was on staff from 1981 through 2006. The current adviser is Melinda Booze. Booze was the Lance editor during Shedd’s time as adviser.
The Lance has been receiving awards from the start. In the late 1990’s it was accepted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame. The association gives attention to papers for receiving the All-American award which is the top award.
Updated 02-28-2012