New Voices

The first time that I had the opportunity to read New Voices, i looked at the cover, and saw the image of the back of a lincoln towncar, with blood and a Tallit hanging from the trunk. The tagline of the issue was, "The Gangster Issue." Inside the magazine, one could hear all kinds of interesting stories, including those about Bugsy Siegal, and a Jewish Gangster who was related to one of the journalists (the name is escaping me).

Of the three magazines that we discussed in class this week, i am only a subscriber to New Voices, probably because it's the only one that's free. (more to come of that topic later) I really like the aspect that the entire magazine is run by college students, and i think it lends a very interesting aspect on all types of Judaism on College Campuses. In an article i read last year, there was a discussion about Yeshiva University, and the two complete opposites of students who attend - those who wear the black hats / "frum" and those who are what the article i believed described as "assimiliated Orthodox Jews." For me as an observant Reform Jew, i really don't have any contact with YU, and found it a very interesting article, that even on a campus with really only one stream of judaism, there are still issues and battles. Recently my friend, who identifies as an observant Reform Jew, has enrolled in YU (i think he may be the ONLY Reform Jew at YU), and it has been interesting to hear his stories on that topic. Basically what i'm trying to convey is that New Voices tries to address issues that affect all College students, and i really enjoy that about the magazine.

In the latest issue, (the "This is not a Gender Issue" issue), i was actually quoted by one of the authors, (albeit badly misquoted). There's a definitive attempt for New Voices to go and address issues that affect College Students, and since that is the demographic that i currently affiliate with, its the most relevant to me.

I also just wanted to briefly mention the monetary aspect of the three magazines. New Voices is free to College students, which makes it much more readily available for students to read, whereas HEEB and Guilt & Pleasure will have a much harder time with this specific demographic, because most college students can't/won't spend money on publications, especially with the easy access to internet we all have nowadays. HEEB & Guilt and Pleasure, if they want to try and expand their horizons, should try and think of creative marketing strategies, because you can't expect most college students to dish out money for print publications, unless of course - your teacher requires them as part of the class materials. :-p