The Daily Nexus had its start in the 1930s. Back then, the newspaper was called the Eagle, and UCSB was known as Santa Barbara State College. After the college joined the University of California system, its newspaper changed names various times, existing in former editions as the Roadrunner, El Gaucho, the University Post and the Daily Gaucho. The Daily Nexus received its name in 1970, following the infamous Bank of America burning that occurred in Isla Vista. The editorial board took the name from a Robert Maynard Hutchins quote: “A free press is the nexus of any democracy.”