You won’t see Peter Gzowski’s face on one of those U of T banners. That’s because although he attended the school in the early ’50s, he never graduated. Back then, he might have been too busy writing and editing for the Varsity to attend lectures. In 1956, Gzowski was editor-in-chief of the Varsity. Of course, later he was too busy defining Canadian culture at the CBC and elsewhere to bother returning.
Gzowski passed away January 24 in Toronto. The ways in which he distinguished himself as a journalist—as author, reporter and broadcaster—are truly gargantuan in proportion. He is and has been a role model for Varsity staff members past and present. We are proud to count him among our numbers and we mourn his passing.
Gzowski died at the same time as the 64th annual Canadian University Press national journalism conference, a gathering of 60 student newspapers. In his honour, we renamed our decision-making body the Peter Gzowski Memorial Plenary.
The Varsity will publish a feature on Peter Gzowski in the February 4 edition. In memory of Peter Gzowski, we are also reprinting his first editorial as editor-in-chief in 1956.
