“The Passenger is the journal of a generation that doesn’t know if it’s a generation at all,” Passenger Editor-in-Chief Graham Webster, a junior at Northwestern University, wrote on the first page of the trial issue of the new literary magazine and nonprofit organization.
The first regular issue of the magazine, which will be published quarterly, just arrived on Georgetown’s campus. The magazine’s mission is to provide an opportunity for aspiring writers and journalists to share their passions with a quickly growing readership.
The Passenger was created and is managed by students from a variety of universities, including Georgetown McDonough School of Business student and Voice staff member Emilie Pradera (MSB ‘07). The magazine was started at Northwestern, but its board now crosses state borders.
Pradera has been part of the process since before the first issue, joining the initiative after meeting the manager in an Evanston, IL cafe near Northwestern University. As the D.C. Area Coordinator, she is in charge of distribution and sales of the magazine in the area, which includes American, Georgetown and George Washington Universities, and in the near future, Catholic University.
The Passenger is not only a literary magazine, but also a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of unique achievements of university-aged students nationwide. The magazine covers rising bands like the Arcade Fire, the ways in which students have utilized advanced technology for new initiatives, including thefacebook.com web site phenomenon and a new graphic design computer program, and the ethics of file sharing. Though the magazine has already spread to 25 college campuses, its creators stated their goal was to convey the experiences of young people at varied institutions. The board carefully pointed out that its magazine does not pretend to represent or encompass an entire generation but can only provide a mere selection of what young people today are achieving.
“It’s an exploration of what it means to be young today as well as a celebration of what it means to be young today,” Business Manager and Director of Operations Nathaniel Whittemore, a junior at Northwestern, said.
The organization is still in its fledgling stages, but there are already plans for an “Off the Page” event at Northwestern, which will investigate one issue in depth through speakers and panel discussions. The forum will bring together a variety of perspectives and encourage the facilitation of dialogue among campus groups.
As the organization grows, its members intend to sponsor similar events at a variety of campuses, including Georgetown.
Pradera will begin publicizing and selling The Passenger to the Georgetown community next week. Both she and Whittemore encouraged student contributions, both in the form of written articles and graphics.
“You might be a passenger when you first come upon this magazine, but we hope it will be the starting point for you to become a driver,” Whittemore said.
