About the Herald

The Xavier Herald is an award-winning newspaper produced by, for and about students at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, La.

The Herald was first published the same year the College of Liberal Arts was established at Xavier University. The paper was originally called “La Cigale,” or cicada in French. In 1928, the name was changed to the Xavier Herald to reflect the affiliation with the university better. Throughout the decades since the Herald has served as an outlet for Xavier students to express the developments and their thoughts on and around the Xavier community and the black community as a whole. The newspaper was instrumental in movements such as advocating for more black faculty on campus and for reporting on certain events from the Civil Rights Movement.

In May 1929, nearly four years after Xavier University of Louisiana was established as an institution of higher education, the student-led newspaper “The Xavier Herald” printed its first edition as a singular college-level paper. Now, over 9 decades later, the paper was recently celebrated as the third-best college newspaper in the south for 2022 during the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) with its revamped print edition winning 2 “Best in South 2022” awards. Out of seven states, Xavier University is recognized as one of the leading institutions for journalism in the region. Several student Herald staff members also received awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) for their work on print editions of the Herald.

While The Herald is housed in the Department of Mass Communication, its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the department or Xavier University. The Herald is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and as such adheres to the collegiate journalists’ code of ethics. The Herald staff reserves the right to accept, edit, or refuse content.