Last May a dozen Northwestern students launched the Passenger magazine and distributed the 28-page publication free of charge.
A year later, the Passenger has expanded into an Illinois nonprofit organization seeking national status. Issue 1 of the magazine is the effort of more than 100 NU students and 40 contributing writers in 15 countries. Distribution of Issue 1 at NU and around the country began April 15 with the help of teams at 25 to 30 other universities.
The issue, which is now twice as large, will be a quarterly publication selling for $5.
“Our geographic scope is getting larger — we’re already thinking outside of NU,” said Weinberg sophomore Daniel Moldovan, Assistant Director of Operations. “We’re all about bringing people together to talk about issues and the idea that we can empower each other.”
The project began two years ago as no more than an observation. Medill junior Graham Webster, a former Daily staffer, and Weinberg junior Nathaniel Whittemore both took a class about the ’60s protest era and began to question the language of their own generation.
“Looking back, we realized that we had no sense of generational identity, even with start of the war in Iraq,” said Whittemore, who now serves as the director of operations for the organization.
“We were either described simply in the terminology of time or as the apathetic MTV generation, which didn’t really fit,” he said.
The organization grew substantially in a year with no end in sight. It now requires the dedication of about 100 people, some of whom are on call at all times.
“I have about 25 who will call me on Friday night before they go out and ask if anything needs to be done,” Whittemore said.
In the fall, Whittemore said the group hopes to create and fill slated positions and continue refining the structure of the organization.
The preview issue of the magazine released last May grabbed the attention of private donors. Although several of the founding members went abroad during Fall Quarter this year — slowing down the process of finding funds — the Passenger was still published in time for distribution on April 15, Whittemore said.
Issue 1 contains articles examining technological advances by today’s youth, such as a profile of thefacebook.com creator Mark Zuckerberg. It also features stories about political activism and new musicians and artists.
“We’re letting the things people are doing speak for themselves,” Whittemore said. “It’s not only about exploring a distinct generational identity, but celebrating and publicizing that identity.”
Along with broadening the audience of the magazine, Whittemore said the staff looks to create a self-sustaining production process in order to use donation funding primarily for events and programs. While start-up donations were substantial for initial publication, the goal is to use the funds from the previous quarter’s sales to make the next issue, Whittemore said.
“We have a core network of individual donations, and it’s an attractive model, but we can’t count on it,” Whittemore said. “We also have an extensive grant infrastructure with large foundations, and this summer we’re hoping to set up an ad infrastructure.”
In addition to what Webster calls a “labor-intensive” distribution process — having students actively promote and sell the magazine — the Passenger will also be available in some bookstores in Chicago.
The Passenger now also encompasses a Web site dedicated to establishing global networks between students and an annual series entitled “Off the Page,” designed to bring the ideas discussed in the Passenger magazine to life.
Friday’s showing of “The Whole World is Watching,” an NU student-produced film focusing on protesters at the 2004 Republican National Convention, was the “inaugural launch” of “Off the Page.” The film focused on the protest politics of today’s youth. Other related events, scheduled for later in the quarter, include a panel discussion and various speakers. The Passenger will also collaborate with STREAK for an art showcase in late May.
Reach Kristyn Schiavone at [email protected].
