For Manish Madan, the idea was simple: find a way to connect students, and give them a forum where they could express themselves.
Madan created an online newsletter published in conjunction with the MSU India Club. The newsletter, Collaboration, focuses primarily on issues and people of interest to MSU’s Indian community with the intention of bringing students together and giving them a chance to explore and celebrate their cultural and traditional heritage.
“In my opinion, we are a society full of talent hidden in possibly every nook of our society, and through Collaboration I just wanted to exhume that talent, unearth it and present it to the world,” said Madan, a criminal justice graduate student. “A newsletter such as this will lead to establishing contact, communication and connections amongst students, faculty, staff, local Indian community, international students, faculty and people elsewhere at large.”
Collaboration stories range from India’s 60th Independence Day, interviews with some of MSU’s Indian students and faculty, poetry and personal narratives.
The 26-page newsletter was first published Oct. 19, and Madan said he will accept student writing submissions until Feb. 25 for the second issue, to be released in April.
Though it deals heavily with matters of importance to Indian students, Madan, president of MSU India Club, said the target audience of Collaboration is not limited to Indian students.
“Collaboration aims to promote students’ talent across its pages, provide a platform that allows exchange of information, culture and diversity,” he said. “Even though it is a newsletter published by a group of Indian students, we are open and rather very welcoming to the students from any group, nationality, race, ethnicity, culture who like to contribute to Collaboration.”
Atha Khan, a second-year mechanical engineering graduate student and assistant editor of Collaboration, said the newsletter provides a platform for students.
“(It was) the idea of having a newsletter that spans across various departments,” Khan said. “A one-of-a-kind, revenue-generating resource and the motivation to provide students with a platform to express their thoughts and creativity got me interested in this project.”
The newsletter also serves to break down barriers and improve the understanding of different cultures here on campus, Khan said.
In addition to aiding the understanding of cultures, Collaboration also serves as an important voice by and for MSU’s Indian student population, said Peter Briggs, director of the Office for International Students and Scholars.
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