Vanderbilt Orbis
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The Vanderbilt Orbis is a student-produced publication at Vanderbilt University, providing an outlet for a broad array of progressive, left-wing and minority voices on campus. In addition, Orbis is well-known for daring investigative work that frequently covers topics overlooked or underreported in other campus media.
[edit] History
Orbis was founded in 2001 by a group of Vanderbilt students who were discouraged by what they perceived to be a narrow, stale conservative atmosphere on Vanderbilt's campus. They wanted to create a forum in which progressive and left-wing views could be expressed freely and regularly. They also hoped to foster an environment that would be more open to Vanderbilt's increasingly diverse student body.[1]
Originally, Orbis was a bi-weekly publication, printed in a newspaper format. The articles focused on Vanderbilt issues, such as those affecting LGBT students and different ethnic and religious minority groups on campus, however, local, national, and international politics were emphasized heavily as well. Orbis is run on campus at Vanderbilt University, but it is financially independent from the Administration in important respects. Orbis is one of several publications supported by Vanderbilt Student Communications, a non-profit corporation which funds student-produced media on Vanderbilt's campus.
Starting in 2005, Orbis underwent a series of major changes, re-vamping the layout, moving to tabloid-size format and began releasing longer issues. These changes continue to shape the paradigm to which the publication adheres today. Issues typically consist of in-depth commentary pieces, investigative reporting on university politics (such as an April 2008 feature about the "rape crisis" facing Vanderbilt's campus) , as well as reviews of films, books, and music. Orbis is a unique voice on Vanderbilt's campus, brining a nuanced position to issues and controversies regarding sexuality and gender, race, class and environmentalism. The staff of Orbis has also made a point since 2005 of making coverage of student movements (such as Vanderbilt's movement for a Living Wage) an important part of its content. Issues are released monthly throughout the academic year, resulting in the publication of eight issues per year. Orbis' current tagline is "Vanderbilt's Progressive Voice."[2]
[edit] Recognition
In 2003, The Nation named Orbis one of "Ten Papers We Like."[3]
In 2006, after undergoing significant changes in style, layout, and content, Orbis was named "Breakthrough Publication of the Year" by Campus Progress, a division of the Center for American Progress .[4]
