‘I absolutely feel that there is a loss here’: Fanshawe students lose campus newspaper and its independent voice

Fanshawe’s Student Union is shutting down the Interrobang student newspaper after over 50 years of publication. CTV London’s Sean Irvine reports.

The independent voice of Fanshawe College will vanish next month unless a petition drive succeeds.

The student-run newspaper, the Interrobang, will publish its final edition on April 4.

It has been a key part of the college community for over 50 years.

However, the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) leadership recently decided to wind down the paper.

Some of its journalists and supporters have started a petition to save it.

“We’re not just getting rid of the student voice, but it’s a reliable source,” argued Briar Wilson, who started writing for the Interrobang in the fall of 2024.

The petition contends the Interrobang holds both the FSU and Fanshawe administration accountable while at the same time offering stories and features that students will not find anywhere else.

“And even just having an outlet to vent about anything, right?” said editor Hannah Theodore. “I love our op-ed section of the student paper. There’s nothing more impassioned than that. And I’ll be I’ll be sad to lose that, I think.”

Theodore has been with the Interrobang for half a decade, “I absolutely feel that there is a loss here. I’m deeply saddened that this was the decision that was made.”

The outgoing president of the FSU admits the move was made without broad feedback, but he contends changing communication trends justify the move.

Siddharth Singh, FSU president, said online views of the paper have fallen since the Meta block of Canadian news websites.

He contends the paper copy is also waning in demand, “It was evident, I would say, that students are not interested anymore in physical copies of newspapers.”

If the paper stays out of print, Singh suggests its budget will be allocated to other forms of student engagement.

Yet, he conceded, the new channels might not have the same power as an independent voice for students.

That leaves the door open to the petition creators.

Singh told CTV News London that if the document hits 2,300 signatures he would support a referendum to potentially collect $2 from each student to keep the paper going.

“If they want that, then yes,” said Singh.

Now, it is up to this group to rally students to maintain an alternative voice at Fanshawe.

“I think it’s important that every student on this campus has something that they can turn to,” concluded Wilson.