Students launch new campus publication

Pitt is getting some new faces — 70 of them, to be exact.

On Wednesday night, students from all backgrounds gathered in the William Pitt Union for a night of music, poetry, art and the debut of Pitt’s newest student publication, 70 Faces. The magazine is a semiannual publication that will focus on a different Jewish value each edition, according to Courtney Strauss, director of engagement at Hillel Jewish University Center. 

Lauren Rosenblatt, a sophomore and Pitt News staff writer, founded 70 Faces with the help of Anika Mavinkurve, a sophomore neuroscience major.

“The magazine started when Courtney Strauss approached me asking if I would help her come up with a way for Hillel to connect Jewish students and their love for English and literature,” Rosenblatt said.

According to Rosenblatt, Strauss has been working to find ways for people to connect their Judaism to other interests in their lives —  70 Faces was the answer.

This spring’s theme for 70 Faces is social justice. The magazine has not yet determined the fall theme, but it will focus on either community or responsibility.

Rosenblatt emphasized that the magazine is open to people of all religions and encouraged all kinds of opinions in an effort to increase diversity. Since Hillel funds the magazine, it focuses on Jewish values —  but 70 Faces will not follow a particular religious model, Rosenblatt said.

“There are seven core Jewish values, but they are all very broad and applicable to people of any faith,” Rosenblatt said.

According to Strauss, the magazine’s title comes from the popular Jewish phrase that the Torah has 70 faces, meaning there are many levels of understanding the Torah.

At the event, members of the 70 Faces staff handed out copies of its inaugural edition. The magazine contains 50 glossy black and white pages, which includes essays on the politics of hip-hop and how the Millennial generation must take action to change the world, as well as a poem about the different meanings tattoos can carry. The publication also launched its website at the event.

Strauss said each issue of the magazine costs about $2,500 to publish.

“The publication was edited by a team of Pitt students who had final say of what to include,” Strauss said.

Rosenblatt said because of the magazine’s association with Hillel and Pittsburgh’s large Jewish community, it will get high readership.

Many of the magazine’s staff members, however, aren’t Jewish.

“At least half of the people who made submissions are not Jewish, so we’re definitely open to a larger audience than just the Jews in the area,” Rosenblatt said.

Rosenblatt said the launch event in the Kurtzman room displayed the work that the contributors sent to the magazine.

“We have artwork on display, a few songs being performed and the pieces that people submitted,” Rosenblatt said. “My main goal was for the people who submitted to feel like they were really reaching a lot of people with their pieces and to give them the experience of sharing their work.”

This year, Hillel funded 70 Faces, Strauss said, but the magazine hopes to receive funding from outside grants, Pitt’s Student Government Board and revenue from ads in the future.

Mavinkurve knew she wanted to be a part of the project as soon as Rosenblatt brought her the idea of starting a magazine that would “let students express their opinions and experiences about different human values.”

“We want to create a space where students feel comfortable sending pieces like essays, drawings, photographs, poems and even music submissions about these different topics,” Mavinkurve said.

For this issue, Rosenblatt said the magazine will help generate discussion and debate on campus about issues like women’s rights and human rights in America.

“When people read the magazine, they will connect some of the pieces to their own life and let it affect their thinking,” Rosenblatt said.

Sophie Greger, a sophomore psychology major, hesitated to join the magazine’s board at first because she wasn’t Jewish or involved with Hillel. 

“It’s been an awesome experience because of how inclusive the themes of the magazine are,” Greger said.