HKU student publication Undergrad shuts down after 74 years amid recruitment woes

The Hong Kong University Students’ Union publication Undergrad, founded in 1952 and one of the city’s longest-running campus news outlets, has ceased operations after failing to recruit enough members to form a new editorial board.

In a statement on Sunday, the student union’s 2025 editorial committee said it had twice attempted since last September to recruit members for this year’s board, but in vain.

As a result, the publication stopped operating with immediate effect.

“Today, Undergrad’s historical role in society has come to an end,” said the committee’s statement, which was posted on various social media platforms.

“This is not something to lament with sorrow, but simply the natural ebb and flow of history.”

It added that “the times are always calling, and the media of a new era may emerge in ways yet unknown”.

The outgoing committee said that over the decades, Undergrad had “actively promoted discussion on campus and in society while quietly observing and recording the voices of university students”, adding that the publication had taken on different positions and roles in different eras.