‘The Outback’ Magazine at Pitzer: A Voice for Students

Pitzer’s student magazine is more than a literary journal or a newspaper. Journalists, artists, poets, and crossword puzzle makers find their place at The Outback Newsprint Magazine. Editor-in-Chief Willa Umansky ’27, an English and world literature major, considers it a creative and political hub.

“The Outback is a space for students to express themselves, politically and emotionally, in any way they can express themselves artistically,” said Umansky.

The Outback was founded in 2019 as a newspaper and was revamped in 2022 as a multimedia magazine. Umansky was recruited as a first-year student by then-Editors-in-Chief Maya Olson ’25, Sadie Wyatt ’25, and Ben Lauren ’25. What started as Umansky’s writing outlet has become a source of Pitzer pride.

As a reflection of Pitzer’s creative culture, each issue has an eclectic combination. Readers can discover campus news, poems, movie recommendations, illustrations, catalogues of on-campus fashion, or academic essays.

“Every issue of The Outback holds as much value as a yearbook because it shows what students are saying, doing, creating, and caring about in that month,” said Umansky.

In-depth storytelling in every medium

The editorial staff meets at Pitzer’s Grove House, not far from the publication’s namesake: the Outback Preserve. Home to rare alluvial sage scrub, this Outback boasts a variety of native plants and animals. Umansky sees a parallel between the Outback Preserve’s biodiversity and The Outback magazine’s diverse collection of student voices.
 

The Outback is a tri-semester publication. Umansky believes the slower pace allows for a deeper narrative and investigative angle.

“Rather than being responsible for breaking news, we’re responsible for finding the story,” said Umansky. “Instead of looking at The Outback for what or when, students are looking at it for why.”

This spring, The Outback won Best Editorial at the Associated Collegiate Press’ National College Media Conference. The editorial, “You Can’t Silence Us: A United Front Against Pomona’s Repression,” was written by editors from The Outback, Claremont Undercurrents, and The Scripps Voice and published on The Student Life. The award has spread awareness of The Outback to other Claremont Colleges students.

The magazine’s distinct art style has also contributed to its appeal. Umansky has seen other students use magazine issues for collages or room decorations. When visiting an acquaintance in an off-campus house, she saw they had every issue of The Outback from the last three years on their coffee table.

That experience spoke to the print media culture on campus. Some online Outback articles get up to around 1,000 views, but most earn 50 views on average. Meanwhile, students consistently take all 120 print copies. Umansky hopes to grow the publication with fundraising and related efforts.
 

The editorial staff has grown to over 30 people as students from Pitzer and the other 5Cs show interest in multi-genre storytelling. Umansky is grateful to Ben Connolly ’26 and Rhyus Goldman ’26 for their support as creative directors. With every colorful spread, the team preserves an essential piece of Pitzer.

“An important role of a student magazine is that it acts as an archive,” said Umansky. “It’s a snapshot of whatever time that we’re living in here in Claremont.”

Visit The Outback at their website.