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When I was growing up, we would get a heap of magazines and newspapers delivered to our house. My father — who spent about a decade of his career in politics and government and later worked in public relations — once told me he read more than a dozen publications a week. When I asked him why he subscribed to so many, he told me that to understand what is really happening locally or farther afield, it was important to get all the perspectives, even those with which you might not relate or agree. It was, he said, essential to his job.
In many ways, our Fall 2024 issue echoes that conversation I had with my father 30 years ago. With the Magazine planned to arrive just before the U.S. presidential election, we asked alumnae journalists — Paola Ramos ’09, Maggie Penman ’12, and Rose Arce ’86 — to share with readers their thoughts about how the media is covering this critical moment. We learn there are a number of issues at play: the need for a more nuanced approach to reporting on different voting blocs, particularly the Latino vote; the challenges of extended presidential campaign seasons; and the fallout from the loss of local news outlets. And Sarabeth Berman ’06, CEO of the American Journalism Project, provides insight into why local journalism is so key to the health of our democracy.
We also caught up with political science professor Michael G. Miller, who tells us about his plans for teaching the election in his courses as well as his advice to students who are first-time voters. Sprinkled throughout the issue, you’ll read about how the College will be rolling out yearlong programming centered on the election, from panel conversations with Barnard faculty to exhibitions on the repercussions of overturning Roe v. Wade. In addition, I had the chance to sit down with Alicia Yin Cheng ’92, whose book on the history of ballot design provides some much-needed historical context, reminding us that, while this election is indeed consequential, we have been through other politically challenging times before.
Not all of this issue, however, is about the election. There’s plenty to read about new books, campus happenings, and more. We chat with Rebecca L. Walkowitz, our new provost and dean of the faculty, celebrate the dedication of Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center at the Baker Athletics Complex, and get ready for the soon-to-open Francine A. LeFrak Foundation Center for Well-Being. One particularly interesting read, “The Science Behind Moving Science,” explains the delicate ballet of moving the labs and offices of 57 faculty members out of Altschul Hall as the building undergoes its transformation into the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Center.
Lastly, I want to close with some exciting news. This summer, we learned that the Magazine won silver in the 2024 CASE Circle of Excellence Awards in the illustration category for our Winter 2023 Innovation Issue. A big thank you to the Magazine team for the collaborative effort — and above all, for thinking so creatively about how to highlight the cutting-edge work that the Barnard community does every day in and out of the classroom.
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