April 16, 2002

Something Worth Writing Home About

GW Students Produce a Wealth of Publications to Help Keep Their Colleagues Up-to-Date with Campus Events

By Sara Ortega

What better place for students to create a vibrant news source than the epicenter of democracy.

For nearly 100 years, student journalists have been tracking daily events occurring on campus and around the world. The wealth of newsworthy information can be overwhelming for one news service to handle alone, so several student groups are answering the call to chronicle late-breaking local and international affairs.

The following are only a handful of the total publications currently in circulation, however, these profiles of GW’s journals, reviews, and newspapers offer a taste of what is available on campus.

The GW Hatchet: First known as the Columbia Call throughout the 1890s, then the Weekly Columbian in 1902, The GW Hatchet became the official student news source Oct. 5, 1904, when Columbian College transitioned to The George Washington University. Undergraduate engagement announcements and sorority sock-hops once graced its pages, but The GW Hatchet now embodies a more sophisticated approach in reporting contemporary matters. Celebrating 98 years, this independently funded newspaper tracks student and University affairs, and informs the campus of worldwide phenomena linked to GW. Working in conjunction with U-Wire (the nationwide university equivalent of the Associated Press), The GW Hatchet accesses student happenings from all 50 states and likewise updates this news service on events within the District. The 15-member editorial board works with dozens of other student writers throughout the year, who contribute feature pieces based upon topics of personal interest.

Kate Stepan, The GW Hatchet editor-elect, says, “If it affects the students, we cover it. Our articles sometimes appear negative, but we report responsibly and print all the important issues.”

The most widely distributed student publication, it provides students with a means to both critique and commend their University.

The GW Journal: In 1999, a few undergraduates from the School of Media and Public Affairs wanted to work for a student magazine. Since there was none, they formed Undergraduate Publications, a blanket organization expecting to publish other periodicals. By the end of the year, one of these students, Megan Polinski (’01), founded The GW Journal. Because the University does not recognize a student organization until there are at least five members, Polinski recruited four friends to advance her endeavors. Together the group gained official recognition, dubbed themselves “The Original Five,” and formed The GW Journal. The name is derived from a pre-existing College Democrat newsletter, but there is no present affiliation between the two. Targeting an 18–24-year-old audience, it first featured music, movie, and book reviews, though now concentrates on student-oriented features such as adjustment to the city, college living, and the responsibilities of independence. The first editorial staff personally financed The GW Journal and struggled to find campus support. They met in dorms and empty classrooms, and its writers were loosely held together as the editorial board learned the ropes of publishing. Once it attracted a solid following, The GW Journal moved into its own Marvin Center office, and now boasts a staff of 19 students.

Editor in Chief Carissa DiMargo says, “I want The GW Journal to have more of everything: more writers, more production assistants, more ads, and of course, more money. We have an excellent circulation rate, but many students aren’t quite sure what The GW Journal is.”

Still building upon unsteady ground, it expects to stabilize the publication’s foundation and extend its prominence through the help of the next class of incoming freshmen.

GW Blitz!: The GW Blitz! originated as a one-time independent study of Derek Grasso (’01) under the guidance of Professor Charles Toftoy and the Department of Management Science.

Grasso launched his venture as an e-zine (via Internet alone) while they built readership because production costs were much lower. Two years later, both staff and distribution have ballooned, and The GW Blitz! now publishes a monthly print edition. The GW Blitz! spotlights on-campus groups and individual student achievement, as well as a link to stories from The Wall Street Journal on its Web edition.

Current Editor in Chief Nell McGarity says, “This is the student’s paper, so they should have some control. There’s not much exclusion in The GW Blitz!, and we want to hear what everyone has to say.”

Wooden Teeth: Another publication stands ready to meet the needs of a more artistically oriented literary audience. Wooden Teeth, a bi-annually published review, welcomes entries from students, faculty, and staff including written and visual works. It began as the Rock Creek Review more than 25 years ago, having been renamed in the 1980s to suit a more Washingtonian theme.

Although it defends liberal and controversial slants, editor Kathy Rooney supports Wooden Teeth’s approach in stating, “It’s not that we want to be sensational, but writing, literature, and art don’t always have to be serious. We’re just into free speech and I think anyone would prefer excellence to fluff.”

The greatest obstacles for this publication take shape as the continuing effort to raise sufficient funding to meet production and equipment costs.
Rooney keeps her positive outlook, however, in reassuring herself that everything will materialize on a positive note because “the staff is thoughtful, fair, critical, enthusiastic about the arts, and dedicated to compiling the best magazine possible.”

To guarantees the best to its readers, the literary magazine is highly selective with its submissions. The staff regularly rejects as much as 90 percent of the original manuscripts. By sponsoring monthly open-mic nights, Wooden Teeth promotes itself while also highlighting campus talent who present original poetry, short stories, or songs.

The George Washington Law Review: First published in 1932, The GW Law Review examines constitutional law and other hotly contested issues of recent court debate. Published six times a year, each issue includes approximately two student-authored notes, two professor-authored articles, and one book review. Featured contributions from judges and government officials, in conjunction with University writers, sustain a national prestige. The Law Review remains one of the country’s top 20 law reviews. It sponsors an annual symposium that highlights matters of prominent magnitude, with this year’s conference converging on corporate irresponsibility. It further examines advancements in the District of Columbia’s Circuit Court of Appeals, garnering attention from courts and academic researchers from across the nation. Editor Monica Loseman receives thousands of submissions annually that are juried by the student-run editorial staff

International Affairs Review: Graduate students at the Elliott School of International Affairs founded the International Affairs Review (IAR) in 1993 to apply their studies of political science into original works. The majority of staff are Elliott School graduate students, but members also include public policy and law students. After the IAR puts out the call for papers, each staff member reads every submission, and together they select which entries will make it to print. A blind selection process ensures that the students, professors, and other professionals who enter the competition do not influence the editors. The International Affairs Review, still a fairly young publication, attributes its continual growth to word of mouth.

“As professors encourage their students to get published,” says Editor Claire Deeks, “the quality of our articles increase.”

The publication now receives submissions from institutions such as the World Bank and the State Department. With a circulation of 500, the IAR receives requests from other universities, libraries, and bookstores. It is also being incorporated into daily graduate classroom discussions.

“We remain committed to providing a forum for graduate student scholarship,” says Deeks. “We just want to help other students get their message out by encouraging and supporting everyone.”

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Getting the message out has become the collective success story. There is an outlet and a loyal audience for all fields of interest, and a dozen more student publications concurrently circulate throughout the University.

 

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu