Magazine for Pre-Meds to Debut in February

Seven undergraduates met in the basement of Lowell Hall last night to discuss a new magazine that will focus on the lives of pre-medical students at the College.

The inaugural issue of the magazine, tentatively titled Medmonth, is slated for publication in February. Medmonth will publish features, columns and a pre-med horoscope page to provide guidance to undergraduates interested in medical careers.

The first edition will also include articles and news briefs about medical events of national interest.

"We hope that the magazine will bring together a load of information in one place," said Jennifer E. Clark '02, the magazine's editor in chief. "We want the magazine to be known as a comprehensive guide for undergraduates interested in the field."

The students said they see a need for a publication geared toward the premed community.

"Pre-meds are always looking to get ahead and find new information," said Uyen-Khanh Quang-Dang '02, the magazine's layout editor. "I am sure pre-meds will be interested in accessing this collection of information."

The magazine's four permanent members are first-years; last night's meeting attracted only three new writers.

Clark said, "Three of the four editors are freshmen. But that's all right--they did journalism in high school."

"We hope to have a legitimate magazine, but right now we have to start a grassroots approach to getting more writers in the coming days," she said.

The editors have some time, however, as the publication date has been set for the beginning of February and the start of the second semester.

The magazine, which will be published monthly, will feature a glossy cover in color and black and white text inside. Clark predicts that the first press run will be 1,000 copies.

Each issue will have a number of theme articles that will be based on the cover story. The February issue's focus will be on the state of being a pre-med.

"We want to ask basic questions in the first issue," Clark said. "We need to define what a pre-med actually is and what it means to be a pre-med at Harvard."