Student publication to highlight community service

Next semester, journalism and community service will collide.

Students will begin publishing IMPACT, Penn’s premier and student-run social impact magazine, in the fall.

Online content will be available over the summer on IMPACT’s web site, which will also feature a blog. Print issues will likely be published on a monthly basis.

“We’re interested in issues of what Penn students are doing on campus to promote positive change in the world,” College sophomore and co-founder Frances Starn said. “[Right now] there’s no central place for students to see what their classmates are doing.”

Content will vary from coverage of Penn social organizations to current community service related research.

This summer, content will focus on students’ summer social work. IMPACT hopes to recruit bloggers to write about their summer experiences.

One organization the magazine will spotlight is the International Honors Program. Through this program, students travel from Washington, D.C. to Cape Town, South Africa, then to Vietnam and finally to India, helping combat health problems in each nation.

The magazine wants to distinguish itself as a conversation forum for social issues.

“We want the magazine to be critical of things that are happening,” board member and Wharton sophomore Seaon Shin said. “[Community service] is something good that’s happening so let’s start a conversation about it.”

IMPACT began with a burst of inspiration at 2 a.m.

Starn and fellow co-founder and College sophomore Valentina Raman were brainstorming ideas for an educational initiative centered on social values. While writing a paper on violence against women for a journalism class, Raman realized that there was no central publication for social issues on campus.

Suddenly inspired, Raman ran down the hall to Starn’s room and IMPACT was born.

The founders hope to gain funding from organizations like Civic House, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships and Wharton Social Impact Initiative since they currently are ineligible for Student Activities Council funding due to the current moratorium. IMPACT must publish without subsidies for at least one semester before they can receive SAC funds.

IMPACT wants to spread to other campuses in the future.

“Social change is not unique to Penn students,” Raman said. “We could be cultivating a culture of involvement across all campuses.”

Students filled a room in the basement of Irvine Auditorium during IMPACT’s first general body meeting on April 17. At the meeting, they discussed potential magazine content and ideas for a new name.

Those who attended were passionate about community service and interested in writing, marketing or photography, according to Raman.

Currently, students are applying for the rest of the positions on the board, which will be solidified next week.

“We want to inform, engage and inspire students to get involved,” Raman said.

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