Write here, write now: the power of a Yalie's pen

Every day, the Yale student body produces hundreds of pages of academic writing, submitting paper after paper to the University's famed English faculty and the rest of its departments. But Yalies don't write only for their classes; undergraduate publications on just about every imaginable topic fill dining halls and common rooms throughout the campus.

EUGENE WONG/YH

The Yale Daily News (YDN) and the Yale Herald are Yale's major news publications. The 123-year-old YDN covers on-campus events and local and national news. The weekly Herald, which just celebrated its 15th year, provides in-depth investigative reporting and a wide spectrum of entertainment and sports coverage.

Since 1841, the school's yearbook, the Banner, has provided graduating seniors with a lasting souvenir of their college days. The 500-page yearbook contains pictures of the senior class, information about sports and student organizations, and covers campus events and student life. The Banner also produces the Old Campus, the freshman facebook, which provides photos and contact information for every incoming frosh.

The New Journal, which publishes five times a year, focuses on town-gown relations and controversial social issues; this year's articles included an in-depth look at New Haven's illegal immigrant community and an exploration of Yale's role in the recent debate over AIDS drug patents. Similar social justice issues are explored by the yearly Yale Journal of Human Rights.

Many outlets exist for students interested in creative writing. The Yale Literary Magazine, which at 165 years old predates even the YDN, publishes student writing and artwork as well as pieces by well-known authors. The Yale Daily News Magazine (YDNM), which the YDN staff produces five times per year, includes an eclectic array of literary pieces which range from poetry and fiction to interviews and journalism. The YDNM awards the prestigious Wallace Prize for fiction and non-fiction. In addition, some residential colleges publish their own literary journals, such as the Calhoun Literary Arts Magazine, Davenport's York Street Muse and Ezra Stiles' Occasional Stiles.

Students interested in politics have many opportunities to air their views. The Yale Political Quarterly features commentary on current political issues, often written by Yale professors, as well as reviews of new books; the Yale Journal of Ethics, which also operates with faculty support, prints student essays alongside pieces by such distinguished academics as the University of Chicago's Martha Nussbaum. Students of a right-wing bent can write for the intensely conservative Light and Truth or for the libertarian Yale Free Press. This year, The Politic, which features essays by prominent Yale alumni involved in politics, published its inaugural issue.

Students who want to write about specific topics can find their niche in Yale's broad array of special-interest magazines. Aurora and Portia address women's issues, while Type explores questions of ethnic identity; in addition, many of Yale's ethnic organizations publish their own journals. Fans of science fiction and fantasy can publish their work in Mobius, while Science fact fans can write for the 107-year-old Yale Scientific Magazine. Students of more literary inclinations staff the Yale Review of Books, and a variety of other magazines fill in the gaps, from the fashion-oriented Vyrtigo to the Yale Journal of Sex.

Yale's humor magazines provide yet another outlet for student writers. Rumpus, "the country's oldest college tabloid", entertains readers with Enquirer-style scandal—recently focusing on the exploits of a certain presidential daughter—and provides a useful popularity checklist with its annual "Yale's 50 Most Beautiful People" issue. The Yale Record, on the other hand, publishes cartoons and satirical articles a few times a year and hosts comedians like Al Franken and George Carlin.

If you're eager to start writing for any of these publications, rest assured that they would be delighted to find fresh new writers, photographers, layout wizards, and business people. And if this sampling of campus publications doesn't excite your imagination, don't be afraid to grab a pen or camera and start your own.

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