From a profile of Cornell’s Batman to an investigation of how bird flu could impact Tompkins County farms, a new student-run magazine focuses on long-form journalism that reflects the culture of Cornell and Ithaca.
Collegetown Magazine had its first print run this week, after existing as an online magazine since last semester. Staff members are distributing copies at various locations and accepting online orders. They’ll be tabling in the Temple of Zeus in Klarman Hall from 1-3 p.m. Dec. 10-12.
Founders Henry Fernandez ’27, Gray Fuller ’27 and Alis Fruehstorfer ’27 are funding their magazine partially through grants, but mostly through cookie sales — dark chocolate chip, matcha sugar and lemon blueberry are a few of their favorites. The money allowed them to pay their writers, photographers and graphic designers and to print this first physical copy.
“This isn’t just a substack going on here; it’s a labor of love that’s done with compassion and rigor,” Fernandez said of the magazine’s writing. “It’s cross-generational and cross-cultural because every Cornellian is so different and experiences Cornell in different ways. But all of our pieces have the spirit of Cornell in them.”
Fernandez, an English major in the College of Arts & Sciences, came up with the idea for the magazine last year after a journalism internship at the Connecticut Mirror and some time writing for the Cornell Daily Sun. He noticed there weren’t any local publications offering long-form stories, so he pitched the idea to Fuller and Fruehstorfer.
“The fact that students want to do this type of in-depth and beautiful writing is really special,” said Fuller, a public policy major in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. “And the print edition speaks about what people value about magazines like this on college campuses.”
The trio of editors meet to consider pitches from writers, basing their decisions on stories they find “fascinating and interesting,” Fernandez said. “We want the stories to be deeply reported and insightful.”
Other stories in the print edition include a look at the work culture of Cornell from the viewpoint of a late-night study session in Duffield Hall and an essay from a student who great up on a farm in the Ukraine.
Paying their staff was an important part of the business model, both Fernandez and Fuller said.
“A lot of the time, when we pay folks for their work, it’s the first time they’ve ever been paid for this kind of work,” Fernandez said. “We want to introduce people to the reality that their work is valuable – the people want it and they’re going to pay you for it.”
The magazine accepts pitches from students, faculty and staff. Find out more on the website.
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