Each alternative student publication in this collection was written for various purposes and displays multiple aspects of West Georgia College student lives. Purposes include informing students of upcoming activities, reporting on events that happened in or around campus, commenting on local, state, and government actions, and reaching out to certain factions of students on campus such as those associated with the counterculture or civil rights groups.

Whereas Renaissance is a socialist newspaper created by “a group of individuals who believe in the necessity of an alternative press” and focused on the negatives associated with capitalism, The Paper and its later counterpart The New Paper portray a countercultural influence through its advocating of abortion, sexual freedom, gay rights, protest and draft dodging. Unlike these publications, The Rowykin Puddlepacer was written by students who lived in Row Hall and is a comical commentary on the general happenings in the dormitory and on campus. Umoja appears to be a civil rights publication with the editor being Neal Lester and the advisor Emerson Moore.