When VOICES lost University funding last year, Shannon Johnson and other editorial board members of the Women’s Center’s annual literary magazine were faced with a difficult decision.
“The magazine board was given the option to apply to DSG for funding, but under the strict condition that we obtain status as a student organization,” said Johnson, the Center’s programming coordinator.
The staff of VOICES, which recently printed its 16th edition, especially prides itself on its strong ties with the Women’s Center—a relationship that ultimately bars VOICES from registering as a student organization. Years ago, the magazine was first given its wings after many hours of help and unconditional support from the Center. Today, with continued backing from the Women’s Center, the magazine is still flying.
Although it has certainly been difficult for the VOICES staff to manage with the sizable cut in funding, they remain generally content. “Our next goal is to start releasing the magazine biannually, though our set budget for next year may make things a little difficult,” editor Holly Manning said.
Manning, a junior, has thoroughly enjoyed her work with the magazine, despite the extra hours that staff members must put in to compensate for their independence. “I think one of the most exciting things that has happened for us this year is the appearance of our first [distribution] bin within the Bryan Center,” Manning happily gushed.
Because the magazine does not claim standing as a student organization, it is also unable to retain standing on the University Publications Board; likewise, the literary magazine is prohibited from using the familiar distribution bins that are scattered throughout campus.
Although there have certainly been disadvantages in proclaiming their independence from Duke Student Government funding, there is also a certain amount of dignity that reverberates from the pages of VOICES.
The literary publication officially describes itself as an opinion magazine. As the disclaimer on the first page notes, the magazine strives to create “a community forum for discussing women, feminism and the intersection of gender, ethnicity, class and sexuality.” The controversial nature of topics the magazine covers is one of the main reasons why VOICES chose to remain associated with the Women’s Center instead of severing their longstanding relationship.
Johnson explained that most of the work in the Women’s Center is based on experience and learning through discussion. “The topics that appear on the pages are difficult issues,” Johnson said. “By keeping such a close relationship with the Center, we are able to maintain a healthy and conducive environment for ideas to grow and develop.”
In addition to preserving an environment that promotes unity, another positive aspect of remaining independent from DSG funding is retaining the magazine’s right to publish without censorship.
Sophomore Corianna Sichel, a transfer student, is on the magazine’s board. It was her discovery of last year’s edition of VOICES that served as one of the main contributing factors in her decision to transfer to Duke, and she remains an avid supporter of the magazine’s independent stance.
“Some of the topics that we publish walk a very close line to controversial,” Sichel said. “When dealing with many ideas that are ‘pushing the envelope,’ such as sex or abortion, it is a comfort to know that we have complete control in the way things are published.”
Although the magazine may struggle with campus distribution as well as battle to increase its frequency of publication, it has managed to maintain the essence of the publication. VOICES represents an established literary space where women can feel safe to open up about gender issues through the expression of poems, short stories, photographs and other art works.
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