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New Yardstyle Magazine to Showcase Talent, Experiences at HBCUs

By Jesyca Westbrook
Black College Wire

For many students, the college experience is about what happens in between classes: lifelong connections that produce true love for your alma mater. If you visit the main yard of any HBCU after a good game or in between classes, you will see this magic come to life.

Students at black colleges, along with alumni hoping to unite HBCUs nationwide, have captured "yard life" in a new magazine called Yardstyle.

At the size of a Jet magazine, with comparisons to both Vibe and Source magazines, Yardstyle focuses solely on the lives, interests and concerns of college students.

A year ago, Morgan State alumnus Michael Tucker came up with the idea to create a magazine geared toward college life for students at HBCUs. He is its editor-in-chief.

"We want to give black college students something to talk about and be proud of, a magazine that speaks to them in their language about their issues," Tucker said. "Our mission is to inspire and entertain."

So far, 20 schools are scheduled to receive the first issue, which comes out in November. Those schools include Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark-Atlanta University, Howard University, Hampton University, Morgan State University, Lincoln University, Florida A&M University, and Xavier University.

Each school has representatives that submit stories, ideas and keep Yardstyle editors abreast of issues on their campuses.

Sections for the magazine are: "Blueprint," a section dedicated to trailblazing black college alumni; "Yard life," a collection of opinion pieces about campus life; "Green," financial stories designed to help students with finances and provide information about scholarships and internships; "Vibes," the talent corner for poetry and other forms of art and entertainment; and "Look," which hopes to highlight the hottest new fashions to hit campuses.

Since the articles focus on such campus issues as Greek life, school fashions and sports teams, the student representatives and student readers are important in producing the magazine and keeping it current, said Bobby Patterson, marketing adviser for Yardstyle.

"Writing for the magazine is a lot different from writing for your college paper or local column, because the issues [in Yardstyle] are common for all HBCUs and will be showcased on a broader scale," Patterson said.

Students at HBCUs nationwide account for 85 percent of the magazine's material.

"We want student involvement, and if a student has talent, then we want to showcase them in our magazine," said David Watson, distribution manager for Yardstyle.

Direct Impulse, the same group that carried Howard's 2001 Homecoming and Vibe magazine, funds Yardstyle. Other sponsors are also being considered.

Tucker said he feels African-American buying power is just starting to be recognized by such big name companies as Nike, Coca-Cola, Pepsi,McDonalds, MTV and Tampax. They are starting to see how viable black colleges are, and are trying to accommodate black college students, Tucker said.

"By producing this magazine, we hope to bridge the gap between corporate America and historically black college students," he said. "Competition between schools is healthy, but sometimes it hurts. We need to show how strong we are as a community of talented black students."

This year, the group plans to produce four or five issues, increasing circulation as popularity increases. Yardstyle hopes to showcase the talents and experiences of the entire HBCU community.

Editors can be contacted at www.yardstyle.net

Jesyca Westbrook is a student at Howard University and wrote this for The Hilltop.