'OneWorld' strives to increase global awareness

By Alexa Dijulio

Countries like India and Iran, Ecuador and El Salvador might seem like worlds away, but the first edition of Santa Clara's entirely student-produced social justice and solidarity magazine, "OneWorld," hopes to show you just how close to home international issues actually are.

Co-creator and co-editor-in-chief senior Megan Raimondi was inspired to start publishing "OneWorld" at Santa Clara after a friend, Jesse Sullivan, with whom she studied abroad in El Salvador, published the pilot issue at his home school, St. Louis University, in the spring of 2006.

She asked fellow Santa Clara senior Joe Novotny, who met Sullivan at a conference, to help out, and the two began the exciting but strenuous process of starting a magazine from scratch.

Raimondi and Novotny began planning the magazine last fall and had the first student meeting at the beginning of winter quarter. They put together a group of about 40 students. This coming Wednesday in Mission Gardens from 4 to 6 p.m., after nearly six months of planning, writing, editing and finding $5,000 of funding, the first edition will be released.

Much of the magazine's content is based on or was sparked by Santa Clara students' personal experiences and reflections. Senior Jessica Silliman, who brought her journalism background to the staff and became the managing editor, said, "People at Santa Clara do incredible things. 'OneWorld' has given those students an outlet, and it's not only educational, but it's inspiring."

"It's about the importance of being in solidarity with our global neighbors," Raimondi said. She later added, "We're educating ourselves on the issues that are going on in the world because we feel that is what is necessary for being a global citizen."

Silliman noted also that this magazine is not your average pull-off-the-newsstand read. It is full of challenging topics, some opinion and reflection, as well as food for thought from fellow students and classmates. It would be difficult to flip through these 60 pages and simply glance at the pictures taken by your peers.

While there was no shortage of stories for the magazine, there was a large shortage of funds. The original plan for the first issue was to go in on a national publication of "OneWorld" to be put together at St. Louis University, but contributed to by several universities nationwide. Because Santa Clara had a dedicated and willing staff, however, the group decided to publish the magazine on their own.

Raimondi and Novotny, even after obtaining grants from the Ignatian Center and Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, discretionary funds from forming a recognized club on campus and international program and campus ministry donations, were unable to afford the cost of the magazine's publication.

They eventually received help from "friends of friends" in the publication business. They said they were lucky this year, but in the future, the magazine will have to raise a significantly larger amount of money.

"We're hoping that the energy surrounding it will make that less of a challenge," said Raimondi. If the group can gain recognition or sanctioning from the university, as the St. Louis magazine did after its first magazine was released, funding will be significantly easier to obtain. This will allow for the continuation of the magazine in the future.

"Maybe we will send one to Steve Nash," Novotny said. "He could pay for it."

Publishing the magazine at Santa Clara instead of St. Louis also meant the group would be left in charge of laying out the magazine, which, unlike writing and editing, is usually left to people who understand design programs such as InDesign.

Though Raimondi and Novotny had never used the program, they decided to learn and, together with the staff, they managed to put together the 60-page magazine in a two-week period. They used the Mac lab in Bannan Hall in place of an office.

Novotny, who was finished with credits to graduate and not taking any classes this quarter, often spent long nights by the computer reading "InDesign for Dummies." Raimondi was in the computer lab every night, as well.

Editors and contributors to "OneWorld" want to offer students at Santa Clara a way to get involved and educated about the issues without the intimidation of joining a club or attending a seminar. "We thought this would be a way you could pick it up on your own time and learn about the issues, and not from a huge magazine with big words, but from your fellow students," Raimondi said.

Contact Alexa Dijulio at (408) 551-1918 or adijulio@scu.edu.