UMass Boston Alumni Magazine - Fall/Winter 2008-2009 - (Page 17)

Heart and Mind student-run publications build a community of voices at UMass Boston. By tHiJS MeSSelaar I n some ways this is the story behind the stories. It’s about the students who see to it that the voices of their peers are collected, selected, edited, organized, printed, and distributed to the university community—and beyond. Some represent a seasoned, rugged older guard, dependable, with tradition and experience behind them; others are fresh-faced upstarts, speaking up to lend new thoughts and voices. This is the realm of student-run publishing on campus. “They provide a constant form of information about what’s going on out there, issues of political, social, artistic interest to students,” says Donna Neal, who, as assistant director of student activities and leadership, is the primary advisor to all official student publications. “And together,” she adds, “they build a sense of community, a shared experience.” A notion that gathers weight as one considers the evergrowing UMass Boston community of current students, alumni, staff, and faculty. enjoyed an impressive beginning. Its 2007-2008 editors in chief, Anna Tsui and Kate Danckert, wrangling talent from across the campus, have been deeply involved in four issues of Lux, each surpassing the last in overall quality. “This current issue works really well, I think, because so many hands were involved in its creation,” says Tsui, slowly turning the glossy pages, gesturing to each in the manner of a proud grandmother showing you photos of her grandkids. When asked how they work together, each women is quick to champion her counterpart as the true leader of the magazine, but then they agree: “We both put in a lot of late nights—Oh yeah we did.” LoNGTiME STALWARTS Over the years, students have both started new publications (some blossom, others wither) and carried torches handed them by their editorial forbears. As a rule, costs are met from student fees allocated with the approval of student governance. The stalwart Mass Media has been “UMass Boston’s independent student newspaper” since 1966—and endures, alive and well, coming out every week each fall and spring semester (approximately 25 issues a year). The learning is all on-the-job, and the paper’s staff is composed of students who get involved in the paper’s production through a shared passion rather than a need to meet course requirements. “The excitement of making an issue hit the racks each week is really what I think keeps us coming back for more,” says Michael Hogan, The Mass Media’s editor in chief for 2007-08. Much the same could be said about The Mass Media’s literary counterpart, The Watermark, a student-run “journal of arts and literature” that has been published at least annually since 1993 (two issues appeared in 2005 and 2006) and claims predecessors going back into the early 1970s (namely Loam, Wavelength, Howth Castle). “We publish the highest quality student work in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art every year,” says Deanna Elliot, the 2007-08 Watermark editor in chief. “Our goal is to provide a venue for the work of the student body, so that it can be shared with the university community and the greater Boston literary and arts community as well.” anna tsui and Kate Danckert NEW ARRiVALS Within the last three years, two remarkable new publications have launched, and a third is gearing up for an early 2009 debut. Representing something of a tour-de-force in the UMass Boston publishing world—student or otherwise—Lux magazine has “We have a balance, I think, where I handle most of the technical work, while Anna does all the rest,” Danckert adds. Lux’s name (Latin for “light,” also the International System unit of illumination) and mission predate Tsui and Danckert’s current glossy incarnation. In 2005, University Honors Program students Devin Bramhall and Lucienne Pierre conceived of a modest newsletter that would both express and stimulate the intellectual curiosity of fellow-students in the program. They oversaw the production of a handful of issues before handing it over to Tsui and her growing ambition to expand Lux’s scope. “Devin envisioned an internal Honors Program piece—as a kind of glue that holds students in the program together. After Anna took over the newsletter, she wanted to harness the momentum and widen the appeal to include the entire campus,” says Rajini Srikanth, director of the Honors Program and faculty advisor to Lux, who readily admits she takes a hands-off approach to the magazine. Srikanth wants the students to be independent and fully invested in it—and doesn’t want it be something faculty-driven. “But I’ve always asked them to be sure to maintain the quality of the writing and to include intellectual inquiry and rigor,” she says. UMass Boston n 17

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of UMass Boston Alumni Magazine - Fall/Winter 2008-2009

UMass Boston Alumni Magazine - Fall/Winter 2008-2009 Contents UNews Oh, the Places They've Gone! "One of Those Rare Leaders" Acknowledging History, Renewing a Commonwealth Heart and Mind Indelible Images About Alumni Investing in UMass Boston A Generous Friend Alumni Calendar

UMass Boston Alumni Magazine - Fall/Winter 2008-2009

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