By Arpan Josan, Ava Geaniotis, Ciara Salinas, Jazlyn Baptise, and Kennedy Nashe

As part of Adelphi’s annual spirit weekend, The Delphian celebrated its 75th anniversary with the help of the Office of Alumni Relations. On Oct. 17, 2026, former writers and editors were able to relive the past and exchange stories from their time serving on The Delphian.

The event took place in Swirbul Library’s Special Collections Reading Room (5S), which was transformed by Prof. David Ranzan into a Delphian museum filled with Delphian artifacts, photographs and past copies and archival issues of The Delphian. The exhibit will be on display through the end of the current semester.

Class of ‘74 – Anita Leibowitz

Anita Leibowitz ‘74 was The Delphian’s editor-in-chief. She said she knew she wanted to be a journalist since the 6th grade, and that her time with The Delphian was the best experience of her life.

“I learned more working my way up that newspaper: leadership skills, designating skills, listening skills, deadline skills, teamwork—plus the news biz. I can’t even tell you how much I loved being at The Delphian and at this college.”

According to Leibowitz, Adelphi wasn’t so diverse in the ‘70s. She describes that time as tumultuous, having both negative and exciting memories to look back on.

She recalls the school being mandated to have open enrollment for students of different backgrounds. Sixty students from the city were enrolled, but stayed together throughout their time at Adelphi.

This was the time of the Black Panther Party, an African American revolutionary movement. According to Leibowitz, the students had a club named Black Students United. She said at the time when the club came about, they wanted a checking account. However, she said no club at the school had one, and the treasurer of the student government association was the one who gave money when needed. So, the SGA decided to put it to a vote.

During the ensuing SGA meeting Leibowitz said she sat near the door reporting on the event. Nearby was then Dean Maples, overseeing it all.

Ultimately, the student government voted no. Once this was decided, Leibowitz said the club surrounded the room for hours. Eventually, Dean Maples got up to leave and Leibowitz snuck out with her.

Leibowitz said she was chased away by some members, while others disorganized the libraries and banged on doors as protest.

Everything worked out in the end, according to Leibowitz, and the event even made it onto the front page of the paper. She said that the whole situation was exciting, but scary for her.

Leibowitz said this was one of many passionate, newsworthy stories at Adelphi.

Class of ‘76 – Jack Kaye, Barbara Bakry, Amy Tietz and Janet Oussaty

The Delphian reunion event was attended not only by former writers and editors, but by readers, supporters and friends as well. From the Class of 1976, alumni Jack Kaye and Janet Oussaty were joined by Barbara Bakry and Amy Tietz in their celebration.

Bakry and Tietz were roommates during their time at Adelphi, and though they weren’t writers or editors, they were still connected to the paper and friends with its writers. Tietz, a political science major, described herself as a “gadfly” who would inform The Delphian of school happenings – particularly due to her unique position. According to an article by Jack Kaye, Tietz was a student member of the University Council Executive Council.

Kaye, a chemistry major, joined The Delphian as a newswriter in his freshman year. During high school, he was a member of the newspaper and yearbook, so he said that continuing felt natural. He later became the paper’s sports editor, associate editor and finally its managing editor.

Oussaty, a physical education major, joined the paper during her sophomore year while Kaye was its sports editor. She recalled that, at the time, she faced difficulty getting coverage for women’s sports – so she stepped forward and joined The Delphian. Later, she became the assistant sports editor. Then, she became the sports editor.

Oussaty said that during their time writing in the ‘70s, investigative reporting was key – since they were journalists during the Watergate era.

“It was just so, so very important – something we really took to heart, and really investigated down to the minutiae to make sure, indeed, what is being printed is accurate,” she said.

It was this necessity for accuracy and quality that encouraged members to work so closely together – whether that was in editorial meetings spent proposing accurate and helpful ideas, work-time spent giving each other feedback or late nights spent putting together the paper.

Oussaty said that members would spend close to all night preparing the paper. With the technology of the time, the process was extensive. They had to cut the copy, paste it on the page in a visually appealing way that made sense for its content, do typesetting and then take it to the printer in Westbury.

Still, Oussaty said that her favorite memories with The Delphian came from those all-nighters. At the time, the paper was located on the third floor of the University Center. After completing their hard work on those long nights, members would look out its big windows and watch the sunrise before heading to the Lantern Diner for breakfast.

Kaye said his time with The Delphian taught him how to be part of a group and complete tasks.

“There’s really no substitute for those kinds of experiences,” Kaye said. “They’re enormously valuable in ways that, you know, people probably don’t even think about at the time that they’re doing it,” he added.

Patrick Wallach ‘90, Lori Wallach ‘89, Jeff Schwartz ‘84, John Falcioni ‘83 and Eric Newman ‘93

As alumni poured into the room, current editors were able to gain insight into how The Delphian operated in the past. Patrick Wallach, who served as the editor-in-chief from 1989-1990, discussed how they would print 15 paper copies per semester – a stark contrast to The Delphian digital-focused operations while printing only twice a semester.

“We put it together on Tuesday nights and kind of stayed up as late as it took, or sometimes five or six in the morning we would finish,” Wallach stated.

Patrick Wallach also commented on how his time on the newspaper impacted his professional career. He said,“When I was editor and working my way up, those leadership skills helped me to decide to go into teaching.”

Lori Wallach served as the arts editor from 1986-1987 and as editor-in-chief from 1988-1989. Her experience with The Delphian helped her earn an internship with Hoke Communications, a local publishing company, during the summer of 1988. This internship led to a part-time job, and she was hired full-time after graduation.

Lori Wallach now works as a researcher and writer and still uses the skills she learned on The Delphian in her current job. She said, “I now work as an archivist and freelance researcher/writer, all of which make use of skills I refined while working on the Delphian, especially attention to accuracy and language, proofreading, working closely with a team, and the importance of making deadline.”

For Lori Wallach, personal connections have made a huge impact on her life. She added, “ That is where I met my husband Patrick, and many of the friends we still have today.”

Alumni explained how The Delphian faced many challenges over the years. Specifically, during the ’80s, Adelphi University wanted to incorporate the school newspaper. At the time, Eric Newman served as the treasurer and explained that if the newspaper was a separate entity, the newspaper would not be provided protection from the university.

Newman said, “They [the university] wanted to incorporate The Delphian, and the fear was that they could sue us.”

Even through the tough times, The Delphian was able to stand strong and continue writing for the Adelphi community.

Victoria Grinthal ‘20 and Christine Beers ‘81

Victoria Grinthal and her mother Christine Beers have an Adelphi family legacy. Grinthal’s brother and mother attended Adelphi University, though Victoria was the only one to have been an editor for The Delphian.

Grinthal, who majored in computer and management information systems with minors in computer science and graphic design, served on The Delphian from 2018 to 2020. She was the editorial editor.

Grinthal reflected on The Delphian and its changes, and said she felt excitement about The Delphian’s recent digital presence. She added that she looks forward to seeing The Delphian’s updates on its Instagram page and its website.

Kristine Franks ‘89 and Olivia Franks, ‘19 MS ‘21

Kristine Franks served as The Delphian’s sports editor. She describes her time participating in the newspaper as very exciting.

“When I was the sports editor, we had Division I sports,” she said. “Highly competitive– in fact, in my senior year, the men’s lacrosse team nearly went to the final stages of the playoffs.”

Her daughter, Olivia Franks, said she knew about The Delphian long before becoming a student at Adelphi because of her mother. “I always looked up to her, I wanted to be like her, I wanted to follow in her footsteps,” she said.

At first, Olivia Franks was unsure about coming to Adelphi because her parents had met there. She said she had wanted to create her own path and go to a different school, but soon realized that Adelphi was the school for her.

Olivia Franks said she joined The Delphian right away. She said, “The current editor-in-chief came in and spoke to my class about The Delphian, and I was like, ‘You know what? I think I should just join.’”

Olivia Franks was glad to join because it allowed her to become involved on campus and was able to be ingrained in Adelphi’s culture, for which she said she is forever grateful.

“I went on to have an internship with the New York Islanders, and my mom did that too when she was in college, so we really have parallel stories,” Olivia Franks said.

“My mom is my idol, and I’m grateful for her,” she added.

One of Olivia Franks’ favorite memories of her time working for the newspaper was when its faculty advisor at the time, Liza Burby, asked her to become editor-in-chief. “That was an honor and something I’d never thought I’d do at my time at The Delphian,” she said.

During Kristine Franks’ time working for The Delphian, the offices were on the third floor of the University Center. “You had a place to go, put your stuff, walk around–you were always there,” she said.

“That was home,” Kristine Franks added.

Conclusion

The Delphian has been a home for many students. It has been a way for students with the same passion for journalism and art to come together to produce a work that they can call their own. As The Delphian celebrates many more birthdays and milestones down the road, we hope that the special connection that writers, editors and readers create will never disappear.