The first student project to participate in the Newhouse School’s “Kick it Up” program is a little over halfway to its funding goal.
“Juiced”—a magazine for freshmen, by freshmen—was launched in September 2013 as an online publication focusing on the first-year student experience. Its Kickstarter campaign is currently featured on the Newhouse Kickstarter page.
Newhouse freshman Kate Beckman, who serves as editor-in-chief, developed the original concept for the magazine. “I realized that a lot of freshmen, like me, were excited to get involved with publications but weren’t sure what to join, or didn’t have a resume from high school,” she says. “There was no place for freshmen to write about their peers and their experiences, so I thought this was something SU needed.”
Beckman held a general interest meeting at Newhouse and gradually built what is now a 30-person editorial staff that has produced some 50 articles covering everything from student experiences to alumni accomplishments. The website (http://juicedmag.org) received 11,000 page views within a month of launch.
Now, through the “Juiced” Kickstarter campaign, Beckman and her team are attempting to raise $3,950 to expand the publication to print format. They are hoping to publish two editions in the Spring 2014 semester.
Beckman got a lot of help from “Kick it Up,” a new program at Newhouse that trains students on how to effectively use crowdfunding to support their creative projects. “The ‘Juiced’ team did a great job explaining what their project is about and setting up compelling rewards,” says Journalism Innovation Chair Dan Pacheco, who runs the Kick it Up program. “We’re looking forward to seeing future student projects follow in their footsteps.”
Beckman says the most rewarding thing about working on “Juiced” for her and the team has been the ability to create a quality product even as first-year students. “‘Juiced’ proves that freshmen are ambitious and aren’t afraid to achieve outside the norm,” she says. “As freshmen, we get to edit, write and design the entire magazine. You don’t usually have that much responsibility or control of a publication during your first year of college.”
Looking forward, Beckman says she wants “Juiced” to continue to be a magazine produced solely by freshmen. “When I’m a sophomore, ‘Juiced’ will have a completely new staff. We’ll recruit the new freshmen the first few weeks of school, and although former staff members will mentor the new members, the content will always be written by freshmen. By the middle of my sophomore year there will be a new editor-in-chief who will have complete creative control over the magazine—but I’ll be around if they have any questions.”
About “Kick it Up”
“Kick it Up” is a crowdfunding program for students offered by the Newhouse School in partnership with Kickstarter. Student campaigns are featured on the Newhouse Kickstarter page and may be eligible for additional funding from Newhouse and Syracuse University. The program is open to all Newhouse students. For more information, see: http://journovation.syr.edu/kick-it-up or contact Dan Pacheco at 315-443-9811 or drpachec@syr.edu.
