Global Perspectives Student Magazine Loses Significant Funds

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Author: Kevin Abrams

The new year will bring a new edition of Global Perspectives, Occidental College’s only undergraduate student-run research journal. It focuses on international affairs and events. Several recent internal miscommunications have led to some confusion regarding how the publication will be funded this year.

Global Perspectives, which started out as a small, brochure-sized journal, has, over the years, evolved into more complex forms. 2007’s edition took up the size of a magazine and included large amounts of colored ink and pictures.

Accordingly, the costs of producing and publishing issues of Global Perspectives have greatly risen over time. Fortunately, the publication is registered as a club, and can therefore receive funding from ASOC (Associated Students of Occidental College).

Global Perspectives began at Occidental College in the late 1970’s, and has received past funding from the Politics, Diplomacy and World Affairs, and Global Affairs departments. The publication has been housed in with the DWA department since 1991, and continues to welcome submissions from undergraduate students from around the world.

Global Perspectives is a good way to be competitive with other top international relations programs,” David LaPorte (junior) said.

“[This year] we got $3200 from ASOC but that does not cover the entire cost,” new editor-in-chief Jessica Simes (senior) said. “We are still trying to get an additional $200 [from the DWA], and we got $400 from the URC (Undergraduate Research Center). That is the total print cost.”

According to Simes, the Diplomacy and World Affairs department had in fact agreed to provide some funding, but for the purpose of an online journal, which is far less expensive due to the lack of printing costs. Accordingly, Global Perspectives now relies on ASOC for printing fees. They have yet to formally request funds from the DWA department, but intend to in the near future, with a figure of about $200.

“We applied for ASOC funding because it has, in the last three years, been the only substantial source of funding for the publication,” Simes said. “The funding request last week was approved, but it brought up a serious issue: How should Occidental College fund student publications? Should it be through ASOC? Or should there be another account set aside for them? [. . .] We feel that ASOC should not bear the entire burden of funding the publication, given that the journal is a marketing tool for the College because it represents the academic achievements of the Oxy student body.”

As for funding from DWA, the department’s chair Anthony Chase said, “I confirmed with [my] colleagues […] that DWA continues to support GP as it did last year.”

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