Tufts' newest student publication, the fashion magazine Infusion, released its first issue last month filled with style and entertainment advice for fellow Jumbos.
The magazine aims to provide fashion, health, beauty and culture tips to college students, according to sophomore Brittany Robbins, its editor-in-chief.
"It's nice to have a college-centered fashion magazine," Robbins said. "It is a fashion magazine, but at the same time, it's a Tufts fashion magazine. It's fashion for the college student on the run."
Robbins conceived the idea for Infusion last summer. "I was pre-med up until this past summer, and I was doing work in a lab and realized that medicine isn't for me," she said. "I decided that I should start a fashion magazine at Tufts. It's something that I felt we could definitely use at Tufts that would fill a void."
After earning recognition from the Tufts Community Union Judiciary and successfully applying for new-group funding from the Senate at the beginning of this semester, Infusion published its first issue on Feb. 12. The magazine's editors plan to put out a second issue at the end of April.
The fashion and beauty advice featured in the magazine is specifically written for Tufts students, according to Robbins.
"For fashion, I feel we're targeting a college audience and showing them something they can afford," she said. "For beauty, it's something you can throw on quickly before class. With hair, it's little ways you can piece together a style on the go."
Jyll Saskin, a fashion and beauty section co-editor for the magazine, also emphasized the magazine's audience, including those students for whom fashion is not a top priority.
"We want to be focused on college students," she said. "We aren't Vogue; we aren't going to focus on $1,000 clothing."
Saskin, a senior, wrote an article about consignment shopping in the first issue.
"Clothing is really expensive, and buying secondhand is cheaper, and it's environmentally friendly," she said. "I wanted to find stores with good prices that are accessible to Tufts students."
Kim Miner, a co-editor of the health and fitness section, stressed that her section of the magazine is also college-specific, citing the dorm room workout and dorm kitchen recipes included in the last issue.
"I think the purpose of our section is to provide simple and smart ways for Tufts' students to get healthy and fit, given the college lifestyle and challenges inherent to living at college," Miner, a sophomore, said.
In the culture section, co-editor Melissa Lee focused on e-mail because it was an issue she came across in her daily life while networking.
"I realized etiquette would be a good thing to have in every article," Lee, a senior, said. "The next article is tipping — tipping waiters, cab drivers. I think etiquette is something useful in everyday life that we should know about."
"Next Stop," another regular culture section feature, will highlight a particular T station and the restaurants, shops and activities in the area surrounding it.
The editors are pleased with their progress so far, but are also looking to expand the magazine in the future.
"Tufts has a lot of publications that are well-established," Saskin said. "I'd like the magazine to grow and flourish, and I would like it to become established. I really want to see that Infusion can last and last."
