"Parma nostra veritas est, argumentum jaculum nostrum." Placed just below a masthead engraving depicting the building we know as Clet Hall, that devise served as a motto atop the front page of the first issue of a journal known as Niagara's Tribute. That journal has evolved, over 125 years, into the Niagara Index, the United State's third oldest college newspaper. That was January 1, 1870, and the young Seminary of Our Lady of Angels, as Niagara University was then known, clung to Monteagle Ridge, overlooking the panorama of the mighty Niagara River and its awesome gorge. Niagara's Tribute was founded by Fr. John W. Hickey, C.M., who served as its first editor. Fr. Hickey did so with the blessings and assistance of St. John Chrysostom, and the members of Chrysostom's Literary Society.

On January 1, 1871, the paper was rechristened as Index Niagarensis, from the Latin. The English title, Niagara Index, was introduced on December 15, 1874, and continues to the present day. The first issue of Niagara's Tribute was printed by the Courier Co. of Buffalo, but some accounts indicate that the Index had its own printing office. The paper was controlled by the Seminarians until 1916 and bore more of a resemblance to a religious journal than a college newspaper.

It was in the late '20's or early 30's when the Index started a new series and took on a new look and style to match.  The layout format now resembled a contemporary newspaper--with highly decorative and artistic mastheads--as opposed to a journal or a book. During this period, the paper covered all sorts of news. It was a golden age for the athletics at NU, and the papers were full of stories praising the exploits of Niagara's basketball, baseball, and YES football teams, among others. Aged alums would be shocked to learn that several generations of students have no idea that a large, outdoor stadium once stood on campus, and was home to a real football team, which wore Gipper-Era outfits.

Publication of the Index was suspended from 1943-1945 due to WWII. The years following that conflict were momentous ones for the U.S. and the world, and the Index would come to reflect many of these changes.  In 1956, the paper took a big leap forward when it was "manned," for the first time, by a female: Miss Margaret Banks, Class of '57. The "war" against sexism had reached the Index at last!!

The Index would go into drydock at least once more before reaching the present era. Below the masthead of the October 26, 1984 issue, when the paper was restarted, was the motto: "No, the INDEX is not dead!" Since then, student involvement on the Index has increased steadily, bringing new life and new ideas to the paper with each passing year.  The world has changed a great deal since 1870, and those changes have visited our campus and its newspaper. It's intriguing to think that the paper, which is now laid out on a computer with disks and laser printers, is a direct descendant of that journal which was probably hand-written by candles or gaslight before going to press.

While the staff, technology, guidelines, and subject matter have all changed to meet the needs of each passing generation, there is continuity. The Niagara Index has strived to inform and enlightened the members of the Niagara University for over 130 years. How well its staff does this job has, is, and will continue to be a hotly debated topic on this campus. One thing that is certain: Those who work so hard each week on stories and layout do so with a passion and precision that make this paper worth the students' time to read. Everyone on the staff knows that their work is very appreciated, and, hopefully, the students at Niagara appreciate the time and effort put forth each week to give them the news they have the right to know.