The University at Buffalo is widely known for its diverse and ever-expanding undergraduate population. You would think that with over 140 student clubs and organizations on campus there would be something for everyone, but that’s not how Marina Wright saw it.
Wright, a junior English major, believed that UB was in dire need of another, alternative student voice—and she had a point. Visions focuses on Student Association clubs and events, The Spectrum reports campus news, and even here at Generation, we often focus our features on what’s “newsworthy,” rather than what’s “new.” This is why Wright partnered up with the Gender Institute to create a new undergraduate publication. The journal, which is tentatively titled Persuasion, after the Jane Austen novel and the ultimate goal of the magazine, will feature many different mediums of writing regarding gender and sexuality—focusing on scholarly writing and research by undergraduates.
Wright has an internship with the Gender Institute this semester and as such, they have played an integral role in the journal’s production. The Gender Institute was created in 1997 at UB “to promote scholarly research on women and gender, and to enhance the university curricula,” according to their website. The Institute offers “Programming, networking, and small grants to encourage the development of gender-inclusive interdisciplinary research and teaching.” Up until now, the institute has focused mostly on supporting the work of graduate students, mainly because that’s where most new research comes from. The institute is now extending its assistance to undergraduate research by providing the journal with computers, printers, paper for advertisements, and an advisor. Without the support of the Gender Institute, the publication would never have gotten off the ground.
The goals of the publication are “to get undergraduates interested in gender issues,” explains Wright. “There are still a lot of inequalities, injustices, and misperceptions about gender and sexuality, and there are also a lot of myths about gender and feminism that we feel need to be addressed. This [publication] is the perfect place to ‘re-present’ feminism and gender quality in a way that gets people excited and interested,” she adds.
The journal is slated to be published once a semester, the first appearing sometime in January, and the second in April or May. Thus far the journal has been funded and supported by UB’s Feminist SA, who in addition to supplying money, time, and members, has helped the journal’s editorial board apply for financial support from Sub-Board as well.
The Feminist SA is another organization, like the Gender Institute, that believes in this journal as much as the members and editorial board. Tricia DeFilipps, senior political science and psychology major, is the vice president of the Feminist SA. She explains the Feminist SA’s interest: “One of the Feminist SA’s main goals is to get rid of the stigma surrounding the terms ‘feminism’ and ‘women’s studies.’ We got involved because we think this publication is a good way to expose to the student body, without being pretentious, through their own peers’ work, that work in feminism and women’s studies is not only valuable, but necessary.”
Mary Foltz, an English Ph.D student at UB and the Graduate Assistant to the Gender Institute, is an advisor to the new publication. “My role is strictly to support the up-start and to help trouble-shoot any initial problems,” Foltz says. She thinks that UB needs this new forum for student voices. “UB has outstanding undergraduate publications,” Foltz explains, “Yet, we do not have an undergraduate publication dedicated to gender, sexuality, student activism, or student organizations. Although our major undergraduate publications do print articles on these topics at times, it will be interesting to have a publication that is dedicated to a specific theme.”
Foltz was on board with the publication from the beginning. “When I applied for the position of Graduate Assistant at the Gender Institute, I proposed the creation of an undergraduate journal dedicated to outstanding research on women and gender. The idea was inspired by my students in English 101, 102, 201, and the American Literature survey courses, at the end of each semester, while I graded student papers, I often felt that the work deserved a larger audience,” says Foltz. “I wanted students to receive more than a letter grade for their achievements. I wanted a space in which their work could contribute to larger academic discussions and impact their communities.” Foltz then suggested the idea to Wright, who took it and ran.
This new publication is set to be just that—new. Its purpose is to present things that aren’t normally represented on campus. “The journal is looking to publish student research on women, gender and sexuality, student writing on community events such as faculty speakers and women’s film festivals, that relate this theme,” Foltz says. “In the initial stages, students have discussed a journal with three sections: campus and community events, art work and creative writing, and research.”
Thus far the publication has a staff of roughly ten active members and a newly elected four-person editorial board. With all this work ahead of them, the magazine staff has run into a few problems, but nothing earth shattering. “The hardest part is getting people to contribute,” says Wright. “It’s a brand new and definitely specific interest kind of publication, so getting copy is a bit of a waiting game right now.” Foltz foresees another potential problem: “I think the hardest part of this project for our editorial staff will be advising students on revising research papers from their classes for publication.”
Member commitment, however, has not yet been an issue. “I have been surprised by the commitment of out undergraduate editorial staff,” says Foltz. “They have done a great job with advertising, getting the word out to friends as well as peers in their classes.”
Carly Clemons, a junior sociology major, is now a member of the journal’s editorial board, yet when she first became active she wasn’t sure what was in store for her. “I initially got involved in the publication because my roommate Marina was involved with the Gender Institute, and I figured I’d go to the first meeting for the publication to support her,” she says. “I know how much it sucks to have no one go to your interest meetings, but once we were there, it seemed like a really great idea, and there was a bunch of people who were genuinely interested in making this publication happen.”
Clemons has since become one of the publication’s most dedicated and active members. She truly believes in this project and what it can bring to campus. “What I think is great about this publication is it’ll be a place for anyone to publish their work. Whether it’s academic or creative, it really doesn’t matter, and there isn’t another publication like this on campus,” states Clemons.
Jared Sais, a junior communication major, is also an active member of the staff. Sais joined because he felt that it was important to help remove the stigma from gender and sexuality issues. “I wanted to show that a straight man can show support for issues that are highly stigmatized, whether it be on gay rights, or women’s rights.”
Sais feels that these are all important issues that need to be made aware to a larger population of young people, especially here at UB. Sais hopes that this new forum for student work will break the stereotype that “feminists are just women who hate men.” He says, “That’s not true. Being a feminist is supporting equality for everyone; women, men, gay, straight. That’s the true meaning of feminism, and that’s the magazine’s goal: to stop the stigmatism and create awareness on these issues.”
And awareness is the whole point. Wright, Foltz, and all their members are hard at work to produce a publication that raises attention to gender and sexuality issues—issues that are often downplayed or ignored in today’s society. “The editorial staff would like to produce an ‘edgy’ and ‘political’ publication that is not afraid to print articles with opinions,” says Foltz. DeFilipps agrees, “A lot of the issues that I expect people to see in the publication won’t be the same issues brought forward in any other student publication, but they are definitely worthwhile, and for some, even more tangible and real to their every day lives.”
If not working for awareness, students are earning valuable skills. “The editorial staff will learn important skills for the future whether they choose to go on to graduate school or venture out into the work force,” says Foltz. The undergraduate members are just as aware of the value of this experience as their advisor is. DeFilipps says, “It’s also important to support publications like this because it gives valuable experiences to those who are involved in the production of it. It’s just another step to breaking the glass ceiling for women and activists.”
Right now, members are speaking to classes and putting up flyers all over campus to spread the word about the publication. They’ve gotten a few submissions and are working on editing. On Thursday, October 30, members attended a workshop where they discussed and learned editing strategies. Submissions are due November 15 and can be sent to Wright at mewright@buffalo.edu. The staff will then get to work editing and re-editing all the copy they have received.
Turning the page into a new era of campus publication is a lot of work, but the staff knows that someone has to do it. Hard work and dedication are invaluable if change and awareness is ever going to come about. Wright hopes that the magazine will come to be a campus staple, Foltz, however, is living more in the moment, “I hope it continues, but right now, I am just focused on the first year.”
