College Hill, a new Chinese-American bilingual campus magazine run by the Brown China Forum, will come out with its first print issue by May, said Weiye Li MA'04 GS, the magazine's associate editor. The magazine's online version, which will be similar but not identical to the print version, will be available next week, said Editor in Chief Nathan Mao GS.
The magazine aims to enhance communication between Chinese and American students as well as increase the diversity of voices on campus, said Mao, who is also president of BCF.
Members of BCF first conceived of the magazine last fall as a way to "establish a bridge between overseas Chinese students and domestic Chinese students," Li said.
College Hill, which has both undergraduate and graduate students as editors and contributors, features a variety of elements, including academic work, poetry, art, opinions, job information and a gourmet section, Mao said. Their first issue will include a letter of endorsement from Kai-Fu Lee, the president of Google China.
A few similar student-run publications currently exist at Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California-Berkeley, Mao said. But those publications are printed only in Chinese. The students behind College Hill wanted something different, he said - a bilingual magazine that would attract English-language readers as well as Chinese students.
Mao said College Hill would be "one of the first bilingual (Chinese-English) magazines in the U.S."
The editors decided not to translate Chinese submissions into English or vice versa and instead print submissions in their original language. Mao said the magazine welcomes submissions not only from Chinese students at Brown and elsewhere but also from American students studying Chinese and those without any knowledge of Chinese, adding that the magazine will include "plenty of both (languages)" and so will be accessible to those who read only one or the other.
Mao said he hopes College Hill will expand to include other languages in the future. Li echoed his sentiments. "We would like not only Chinese but also other international students to participate in the magazine," she said.
Mao said College Hill's mission is closely linked to the University's recent internationalization efforts. He said College Hill and the BCF approve of the University's aims to increase international diversity at Brown and to strengthen Brown's global visibility. The University appointed a committee on internationalization last November to explore ways Brown can further these goals.
College Hill hopes to expand its influence beyond Providence to Kingston, Cambridge, Mass., and beyond, Mao said. BCF already has a close collaboration with MIT's Economics and Talent Forum, which he said will help them distribute the magazine on the campuses of both MIT and Harvard. The magazine will also be distributed at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston and - budget permitting - at universities in China, Mao said.
College Hill has received funding from BCF and the University, as well as some support from outside sources, including local organizations and the Chinese consulate in New York, Mao said.
BCF plans to stage an event celebrating the release of the first print edition of College Hill in May, Mao said, which may include a karaoke competition and a table tennis competition.
BCF was founded a year and a half ago, Mao said. Its aim is "the promotion of mutual understanding between China and the United States as well as the enhancement of the relationship between these two major players in today's international community." BCF is currently co-organizing a pharmaceutical conference in Shanghai that will take place in late May and early June, Mao said.
