World Relations Magazine Premieres

The Harvard International Review, a monthly world affairs magazine published by the International Relations Council (IRC) and produced by undergraduates, distributed its first issue yesterday.

"We're trying to straddle the line between a news format, like the New York Times, and the format of a scholarly journal," Jennifer A. Widner '79, editor-in-chief, said Monday.

The first issue includes an article on divestiture of South African investments by David L. Johnson, a third-year law student, and a profile of the European monetary system by Widner.

"In the future, we expect undergraduates to contribute background pieces, and graduate students and faculty to give us features," Widner added.

The free journal also includes a "month in review" section, a book review, and a calendar of upcoming lectures and seminars.

Charles H. Norchi '79, IRC president, said the council, an undergraduate organization that sponsors high school and college model United Nations, started to plan the magazine last year. He added that the editorial staff will be semi-autonomous, even though the IRC will fund at least the first four issues.

"If they expect to produce a scholarly, objective publication, to a degree it has to be somewhat divorced from other areas with which the IRC is concerned," Norchi said.

Richard J. De Natale '81, politics editor, said the magazine is definitely in the experimental stage. It's likely that our third issue won't look anything like our first," he said.