A new student-run academic journal for AU undergraduates will release its first issue Sept. 19, said Taylor Robinson, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and the College of Arts and Sciences and one of the founders of the online "Clocks and Clouds" journal.
The biannual journal will publish undergraduate research in the fields of international relations and public affairs. The journal was founded in January 2006 by four AU students as the brainchild of Kate Naseef, a junior in SPA and the School of Communication, who had heard that other schools had undergraduate research journals, Robinson said.
In addition to Robinson and Naseef, the other two founders are Nic Ravella and Elena Rubinfeld, both juniors in the School of International Service.
As an unrecognized club at AU, Robinson said the founders, who are now serving as co-editors in chief, "had to ask friends and family for financial and administrative support so that we could advertise and recruit an editorial board."
Robinson said the journal has received "tremendous support" from associate Deans Margaret Weekes of SPA and Maria Cowles of SIS that has proven invaluable as the co-editors in chief strive to achieve official recognition as a new media group by the Office of Campus Life's media board. She also credits SPA and the Honors department for sponsoring an invite-only release party on the day the first issue is published.
However, Robinson said that ultimately the publication is entirely founded and run by students.
The journal's editorial board, which is currently composed of 12 students, allows "Clocks and Clouds" to "remain an entirely student-run journal as [the board members] read and review submissions and then recommend submissions for publication to the editors in chief," Robinson said.
She said any student is welcome to submit his articles for publication or apply for a position on the editorial board.
Amanda Fulton, a sophomore in SPA and SOC, said she became a member of the editorial board because the idea was new and interesting.
"I think that it's a great way for students to share knowledge and get an idea about what others are writing about," Fulton said. "I also think it's great for AU to have a publication for undergraduate students because a lot of their ideas might be just as good as graduate students, but they don't have an outlet to share them."
The first issue of "Clocks and Clouds," which is named after a philosopher's quotation that implies rationality and predictability can be found even amid disorderly and irregular behavior, will contain three research articles. These were sought by advertising with friends and campus clubs and from the recommendations of professors or capstones from honors students.
An article by Brian Goldberg, a 2006 graduate of SPA who is now in his first year at Columbia Law School, examines the voting behavior of communities that vary in racial and ethnic composition.
Another recent AU graduate, Nina Rinnerberger, is pursuing a Master of Arts in global environmental politics at AU and a graduate certificate in environmental management at the University of Maryland University College. Rinnerberger wrote about the impact global warming has on small island developing states from a social justice perspective.
The third article is by Alex Tausanovitch, a junior in SIS currently studying abroad in Cairo, who is publishing an opinion piece about the shortcomings of the Bush administration's national security strategy.
The publication's next issue will be in the spring, but articles are accepted on a rolling basis. Students interested in reading the publication or submitting articles of their own should visit the Web site at www.clocksandclouds.org.
