The strength of a Yalie's pen—or keyboard

If you haven't got anything nice to say, Yale is the place to say it. From rumor-mill tabloids to hard-hitting news reporting, a plethora of undergraduate publications let Yalies express opinions and display talents. Poets and artists also can always find a forum.

SHAWN CHENG/YH

There are two major news publications of Yale. The 122-year-old Yale Daily News is published every weekday morning during the semester. The Yale Herald publishes each Friday afternoon and provides more magazine-style, student-oriented coverage than the Daily, with comics and intramurals adding to in-depth news, sports and opinion. The Herald celebrated its 14th birthday in 2000.

The New Journal, weighing in at 32 years of age, publishes five times during the year. It provides analytical coverage of cultural and academic issues concerning New Haven and Yale.

The school's yearbook, the Banner, was founded in 1841, and also publishes the Old Campus facebook. Each year it sells a book of around 500 pages, which includes pictures of seniors, information and rosters for sports and organizations, and pictures and stories about campus events and student life in general.

If you're more inclined toward creative writing, you might consider submitting to a literary magazine. The Yale Literary Magazine, 164 years old, features student poetry, artwork, and fiction alongside well-known authors and poets. The Yale Daily News Magazine, published five times a year, prints long journalism, interviews, poetry, and artwork. The YDNM awards the prestigious Wallace Prize for fiction and non-fiction. Some residential colleges also publish their own literary magazines, and there is a an undergraduate magazine of science fiction, Mobius. For students who would rather review books than write them, there's the Yale Review of Books, a recent addition to the Yale literary circle.

As for academic writing, there is also a publication for every political viewpoint. The Yale Political Quarterly, covers the current political arena and features reviews of new books, often by Yale professors. The Yale Journal of Ethics features commentary on social and scientific issues. Such publications are often supported by departments.

Light and Truth and The Yale Free Press, both conservative magazines, have been known to poke fun at more "liberal" journals—that is to say, every other Yale publication. Portia and Aurora are magazines of women's issues.

In 1894, a group of student at the Sheffield Scientific School started the Yale Scientific Monthly. Although no longer monthly, it still is a well-regarded publication about the sciences.

Publications geared towards minority groups, such as the 211 Park Street, Type, and the Chinese American Journal also offer unique opportunities to write on a variety of issues.

And if jokes are more your bag, you can write for one of Yale's two humor publications. Rumpus, the nation's oldest college tabloid, takes pride in its sensationalism. With headlines like "Pot and Man at Yale" and reports on such diverse issues as Yalies who strip for tuition and fraternity rituals involving salad, not to mention the infamous "50 Most Beautiful People" issue, Rumpus has earned a reputation for stretching the truth as often as finding it. The Record, an older publication that recently re-invented itself as a glossy magazine, comes out infrequently. The Record is Yale's answer to Harvard's Lampoon.

This is only a sampling of Yale's publications. Experience is not necessary—most organizations are eager to find enthusiastic new writers, editors, photographers, artists, designers and business people. You can also start your own—this year featured the debut issues of Lineup Magazine and The Yale Journal of Sex, to name a few. Just grab a pen or a camera and join the fray!

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