New Magazine “Perspective” Brings Positive Spirit to the Beren Campus

Perspective, a new magazine on campus with the goal of providing a unique reading experience and outlet for the YU community, has just been launched at Stern College.

Perspective is a venue for students mainly on the Beren Campus to express themselves creatively in both a serious and fun way. The goal of the magazine is to bring a more positive spirit to the Beren Campus for both the writers and the readers.

While other magazines aim to inform or entertain their readers, Perspective is aiming for something greater than that. Rebecca Kerzner, the Editor-in-Chief and founder of the magazine, stated that her vision for the magazine was to “provide a space of voices for readers and writers to build a community upon the topics that are discussed in the articles.” She was concerned that the image YU attempts to portray is a homogenous representation. Therefore Kerzner wanted to start a publication that omits the political and controversial aspects that she felt the current publications focus on, and instead aimed to depict the side of YU that is not usually publicized by the university. She aims to cater to the students that don’t feel they are represented in the school’s media or feel forgotten.

So far, Kerzner has received a lot of positive feedback. Beren Campus students have expressed a sense of relief and thankfulness for the articles that have been posted so far. These students, along with Kerzner, feel that the topics the magazine aims to focus on are topics that needed to be discussed and were required to fill a niche that has long been empty on campus. A few of the articles include Modest Fashion, A Beginners Guide to YU/Stern, and Social Media: An Alternate Reality.

Sarah Gold, a senior in Stern College, commented, "Perspective is the breath of fresh air that the YU-sphere has been waiting for. Its genuine and upbeat vibe radiates off the page. I would compare it to reading a diary about the ups and downs of college life, that leaves me with the recognition that my experiences are universal, and that I'm part of something bigger than myself.”

According to Kerzner, part of the inspiration for Perspective comes from other platforms of confessional media like Hercampus, Upwrite Magazine, Shine, and Collective Hub. These all follow an emerging wave of online media labeled confessional, which combines the experience of the author with their own feelings behind that experience. However, Perspective started as something different. At first, it was merely a class project created by Kerzner in a course called Magazine Journalism she took last semester. It focused on maintaining stress and how to deal with it. But, after another student in the class displayed interest in continuing the magazine, the focus was broadened and Perspective went public.

The magazine is run by Kerzner, along with two head editing and design partners. They are Lilly Gelman, a junior majoring in biology and minoring in writing in Stern College, and Shira Feen, a senior majoring in graphic design and minoring in marketing also in Stern College. The magazine also has mainly junior or senior English majors on staff, and they supply the articles and images. Kerzner mentioned, “Perspective also accepts contributing authors for specific articles if someone has a topic they want to write about. The writing is open to both the women’s and men’s campuses.” So far, the magazine has been mainly composed of female writers.

Perspective will be published online once a month with 5-10 articles each month. However the first two issues were released within a smaller time span. Currently, the editors run an Instagram and Facebook page and post daily articles, quotes, and inspiration. The handle for Instagram is @yuperspectivemag and the Facebook page is called PerspectiveYU. Additionally, the editors aim to publish a print version this year for collecting and cherishing purposes for the writers and readers.

Although the magazine gained approval from Dean Chaim Nissel, University Dean of Students, over the summer, it has not received any official funding yet and therefore is not technically an official YU Magazine.