New student group to publish ‘creative journal’
April 18, 2005
The Organization for Communication and Human Studies, a new student organization, plans to publish two editions of a new “creative journal” by the end of the semester.
According to a press release from the organization, the journal is supposed to inject humor and humanity into critical thought concerning social issues, American and world culture and the meaning of life on Earth.
Phil Coleman, president of OCHS, went before the Student Association Senate April 10 for full recognition of their organization. Coleman told senators that organization members would fund the publication with money from their own pockets, at about $800 for 10,000 issues. Future issues may be funded by donations and advertising if necessary, the press release said. Two issues are slated to be published by the end of the semester, with organization members doing the distribution across campus, Coleman said.
Regarding content of the publication, Coleman mentioned at the SA meeting that racism would be among the topics explored in the first issue.
“It’s easy to put out a daily newspaper that rarely or never does good, original reporting,” Coleman said. “Editors can fill a weak paper with routine news stories gathered credulously from official sources, feature stories about local people that are little more than personality sketches, coverage of local institutions that flatters rather than explains them, enthusiastic sports coverage that merely cheers for the local teams and stories form the Associated Press or other syndicates that feed the same material into every American newsroom. Weak papers rarely illuminate their community or open their readers’ eyes. We will not run a weak paper.”
The press release also said the organization would like to host a series of speakers, including: Antonio Damasio, head of the department of neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Steven Pinker, professor in the department of psychology at Harvard University, and E.O. Wilson, a scientist and author of two Pulitzer Prize winning books.
Anyone interested in becoming member of the organization can send an e-mail to [email protected] for more information.