Student papers published in campus journal

Papers can be a real drag. Long hours, pots of coffee, slaving over a keyboard until eyes turn square. Then the paper is handed in, marked up and forgotten.

However, a final grade doesn’t have to be the end of the road. The Undergraduate Scholar has faithfully kept students’ work alive in print for almost 20 years as IU’s student-run academic journal sponsored and published by the Honors College
“We get out-of-the-blue topics,” editor and senior Jane Barr said. “One coming up that I’m excited about is on the revival in Norwegian black metal ... just things that you would never think of.”

Perry Hodge, who has acted as faculty adviser since 1995, described the Scholar as a constantly evolving institution, as new students arrive and old ones leave. Each issue is a brand new proposition for the staff and the readers.

“I’m the cheerleader,” Hodge said. “I give the students help, but really it changes with the spirit of the times and the spirit of the staff.”

Hodge said the Scholar is a growing opportunity for students, and the process of editing and publishing can create new career opportunities.

“They let me know which parts were strongest, and which parts needed work,” said Caitlin Zittkowski, an IU alumna who had an article published in the last edition and is now interning in Indianapolis. “Being published is actually why they gave me the job.”

Papers have been flooding in this semester, so the new edition will contain eight – twice as many as usual. A normal Scholar print run is 200, and copies can be found in the Edward L. Hutton Honors College building and at the Herman B Wells Library.

Barr has a range of ideas for the future, including getting the Scholar online by the end of the year and adding book reviews to the spring edition.

Funding has been an issue in the current cut-back climate at IU. Still, the Scholar staff remains optimistic that they will not be affected. Hodge said the Honors College has always helped the Scholar with funding.

“It has been the one constant in my university life,” Barr said.