The student newspaper of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Exponent began publication on Dec. 15, 1889, and began daily publication in 1906. In 1969, it became an indpendent newspaper, receiving no funding from the University except for advertising. In 1975 they began distributing the paper for free, incresing circulation from 2500 to 10,000. Today, 20,000 copies are printed per day.
Since 1989, the Exponent's home has been the Exponent Journalism Center, at 460 Northwestern Ave. The building cost $1.9 million to construct. The Exponent is the first college newspaper in the U.S. to build its own building from its own funds. In 1996 it launched an electronic version which can be seen at http://www.purdueexponent.org.
Notable former staff members of the Purdue Exponent include a speechwriter for president Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and animator for A Bug's Life, and a New York Times editorial board member.
It includes a particularly funny daily comic strip called The Duplex,drawn by Glenn McCoy (whose work can be seen fairly regularly in the little one panel cartoons in Playboy magazine.