College Launches Quarterly Newspaper

The Dean of Student's Office has launched a administration-produced, quarterly newspaper to give undergraduates a "broader and more comprehensive" view of College issues, officials said this week.

Containing commentary by faculty and administrators, information on student organizations and a winter sports schedule, 4000 copies of the premiere eight-page issue of the tabloid Harvard College News were distributed yesterday to undergraduate residences.

The new journal provides "a way for the dean's office to communicate with undergraduates," said Editor Elizabeth M. Lacovara '89. According to Lacovara, who is an assistant to the dean of students, the new publication is targeted at "undergraduates and the faculty and administrators who work with them."

In an introductory note to readers in the first issue, Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III wrote, "You seldom have before you the complete text of policy statements that bear on college life. The Harvard College News, to be published four times a year, will attempt to address this problem."

The edition contains essays by Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 on the house lottery, Dean of First-Year Students Henry C. Moses, and an interview with Associate Dean for International Affairs Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

The paper, which is funded entirely by advertisers, also aims to explain changes in extracurricular life at Harvard to students, faculty and administrators, Lacovara said.

Lacovara said the journal's format will allow it to present issues in more depth and with better perspective on events.

"The luxury of a quarterly publication is that one can judge major issues over the long term, as well as address potential ones," she said.

Lacovara also said she hoped the paper would ultimately include a forum for students and faculty.

"[The newspaper] has been a priority for a while" for the dean's office, but staff and resources have only recently become available, said Assistant Dean of Students Ellen Hatfield Towne. The quarterly paper format grew out of a yearly College news edition published for incoming first-year students each summer, she said.