This semester, for the first time, the Tufts Public Journal has decided to implement a completely anonymous submissions process. In the past, when the Journal editorial staff urged students to submit, those students often cited concerns about anonymity and were thus reluctant to share the kinds of personal anecdotes that the Journal publishes. Until this semester, submissions were sent to the Public Journal's Gmail account, accessible only by the editors−in−chief of the journal who would then remove any names or e−mail addresses attached to the submissions before sharing them with the rest of the Journal's staff to be edited. This system wasn't totally anonymous, but it came pretty close. As editors−in−chief we were concerned with protecting the anonymity of submissions and made sure to do so. Sometimes we had to scramble a bit to get together enough submissions, but with contributions from the staff we always ended up with enough material to publish the Journal.
Yet we failed to capture the spirit of true anonymity that the Public Journal is meant to embody. So, this semester, through the wonderful capabilities of Google docs, we were able to implement a completely anonymous submission system. We had our concerns, though. As anonymity often affects the quality of submitted pieces, we worried that a submissions process in which people weren't accountable for their work would result in sloppy or uninteresting submissions, that people would write things that weren't true, or, perhaps, even that we would receive submissions that weren't fit to print. For those of us involved in journalism in this day in age, the lack of quality control that comes with anonymous Internet publishing is a real concern.
However, when the responses started to pour in, it became clear that our worries were unfounded. Many a night's studying devolved into hours of reading the responses to our prompts, which were hilarious, thought−provoking and occasionally very strange — the kind of things you would never admit if you knew they could be traced back to you. And tons of you submitted. People shared their neuroses, confessions, complaints, outrageous deeds, secrets and stories.
As the editors of the Public Journal, we are aware of the complaints and stereotypes that are sometimes aimed at what we publish, and we work hard to keep the Journal's material fresh, funny, original and thought−provoking. We want to get things out in the open that wouldn't otherwise be, to expose the Tufts population to ideas that seldom escape our mouths in conversation. As I see it, the goal of what we print is not merely for shock value, raunchiness or laughter — although these themes often appear in the Journal — but to tease out and put on display the little bits of truth that float around in our heads. I am of the belief that if each student at Tufts knew a little more about what was going on in the minds of those around them, we might all walk around this campus with a lighter step. You'd also probably walk around with a smirk on your face if you knew even half of the random preoccupations of everyone at this school.
We like to think of ourselves as doing a little public service for our campus, and it is the anonymity of submissions that allows us to do so. The editorial staff of the Public Journal is very pleased with our new submissions process. We hope that in the future both the quality and volume of submissions will continue to increase. So Tufts students, please keep the submissions flowing so that we can read, laugh, sympathize and maybe humble ourselves a little in the process.
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Averi Becque is a sophomore majoring in international relations. She is co-editor-in-chief of The Public Journal.
