Even though IU East began in 1971, the student newspaper wasn’t organized until the spring of 1973. It started with a staff of seven and the first thing needed was a name for the paper, so the staff held a contest to “name your newspaper.” Janis Haines won the contest with The Pioneer Press, winning an IU-East t-shirt and $10 dollars. The first issue was released November 5th, 1973. The Pioneer Press was originally published by students with funds provided by the IU East student senate. The views expressed in the paper were of the individual newspaper staff and not necessarily those of the student body, administration, or faculty. Students and local businesses were also allowed to take out classified ads in the paper.