Purpose: This paper aims to explore the construction of social imaginaries of fear by the Chilean press regarding student violence during the 1968 university reforming process. Using an approach inspired by the history of emotions, the primary purpose is to analyze the discourse of two relevant conservative newspapers with national circulation about students' mobilization. Design/methodology/approach: The research rests on the analysis of content in the discourse of the two more representative right-wing Chilean newspapers ("El Mercurio" and "El Diario Ilustrado"). Founded in the early years of the 20th century, both had national circulations and were a part of a tradition in the history of the Chilean 20th-century national press. Through the analysis of a selection of editorials and news regarding students' mobilization during 1968, with a focus on the experience of the most prominent institution (Universidad de Chile), this research highlights similarities and differences in the ways that both media endeavoured to elaborate social imaginaries of menace and fear regarding student movements. Findings: Through the study of the discourse of traditional newspapers, it is possible to identify critical issues concerning the university student movements' purposes to implement breaking (and occasionally violent) methods to carry out the reforms that they promoted, according to the right-wing press. Against this backdrop, the different importance of an anti-communist component is discernible, typical of the Cold War period, in the (political and emotional) arguments of the newspapers under analysis. Originality/value: This article proposes an interpretation that intertwines a local phenomenon (the reformist movement of the University of Chile) with a global one (the May student revolution of 1968). It also establishes a novel approach by linking, through its approach, yet traditional concepts of social and cultural analysis (the idea of social imaginaries) with a new emphasis on social science and humanities (emotional dimensions).