Duke UPB must get online

Among their many talents, Duke students are particularly adept at two things: writing and running organizations, which done in conjunction has yielded Duke’s proliferation of undergraduate publications. But undergraduate publications, like all other student groups, still require funding and organizational assistance.

The Undergraduate Publications Board serves a vital intermediary function. At present, UPB allocates funding to 15 major undergraduate magazines and journals. In addition, UPB oversees printing and distribution for its publications, runs the Blackburn Literary Festival and administers the John Spencer Bassett Fund. All of these responsibilities are intrinsically valuable, allowing students to showcase in print original content about everything from undergraduate science research to student photography.

However, UPB is an organization guided largely by convention. For example, its adherence to print media—which has experienced declining popularity and profitability in recent years—is a clear form of Luddism. Protecting print media can be good: Some forms of writing and art are best digested on the physical page. But considering how technological advances and social networking have changed publishing in the last decade, to snub web media—online-only publications are not currently eligible for regular UPB funding—is tantamount to a death wish.

Indeed, online-only publications are some of the most dynamic and relevant on campus. Consider Develle Dish. This relatively young but widely read feminist blog is a prime example of how online-only student publications can play an active role in campus culture and debate. Develle Dish’s online form is perfect for quick and interactive blog offerings, which are impossible to deliver in a print serial. Although Develle Dish currently receives Bassett funding, it is ineligible for the permanent funding enjoyed by regular UPB publications. This is the same story for the Blue Devils United blog and other important campus online-only publications. Although it is true that online-only publications, by and large, have fewer publishing costs, but it is easy to imagine them finding other productive ways of using extra funds—to design an awesome website, for example.

Limiting UPB funding to print publications is especially troubling when one considers where the bulk of UPB funding is allocated. The Chanticleer, Duke’s yearbook, receives more funding than any other UPB publication, with $100,000 allotted in the 2012-2013 school year. Compare the readership and overall impact of an expensive print publication like The Chanticleer compared to an online-only publication like Develle Dish. To evaluate and compare publications, data about readership —virtually nonexistent currently—should be collected across publications and analyzed. If UPB wants to aid the publications that are doing most for students, it should probably fully extend its reach to online-only publications. Furthermore, just as print publications benefit from UPB’s print-specific skills and resources, online publications could similarly benefit from training in website design.

UPB as an organization can decide what its mission is, but we suggest that that mission fully embrace online-only publications, which, besides being important to the Duke community, also teach aspiring writers how to navigate the online publishing world after graduation. Both the format of written media and its effects on our reading lives are shifting under our feet, and it is vital that Duke keeps pace as best as possible.