Amidst copies of the Maroon-News and the Monthly Rag scattered around campus, students, faculty and visitors may find a new magazine that adds to the diversity of student-produced publications. The Colgate Economist, which released its first issue earlier this month, offers insight into and analysis of a variety of economic issues.

The cover of the debut issue (the professional design of which bears a striking resemblance to the maga­zine’s namesake), highlights an article by senior Zachary Lin Zhao titled “The Curious Case of the Chinese Currency,” and the articles inside tackle issues ranging from the eco­nomic repercussions of the Arab Spring to the importance of public transport options.

In a letter to readers, Editor-in-Chief senior Travis Steele de­scribed how the magazine strives to “give the campus the econom­ic perspective it has been sorely lacking” and to “educate Colgate students about the world of fi­nance and the realities of what life in that world entails.” Steele also described further possible outcomes for readers, which fit well with the goals of a liberal arts education.

“We hope that by publishing this magazine, we are doing our small part to help the Colgate Community extend itself,” Steele wrote.

Senior Mitch Boucher, The Col­gate Economist’s Economic Editor, elaborated further on the magazine’s purpose and focus.

“We also wanted to try to make things more accessible to people who don’t have background already in finance,” Boucher said.

In addition to Steele’s direction as Editor-in-Chief and Boucher’s role as Economic Editor, the staff includes a Finance Editor, junior Jake Caldwell.

Seniors Nikolas Furnald and Michael Riccione serve as the magazine’s Alumni Relations Director and Faculty Relations Director, respectively. These positions aim to expand future contributions to the magazine.

“Our goal is to get a couple of articles from alumni and faculty for each issue,” Steele said.

While economics has long been a popular field of study with Colgate students, serious plans for The Colgate Economist were relatively recent. Describing the publication’s conception, Steele credited the 2011 London Eco­nomics Study Group. On cam­pus, the concept gained backing from several university sources, including the Investment Studies Program, the Finance Club and the Economics Department.

The content of the magazine is submission-driven. The pieces that appeared in the first issue are the result of writing and pro­duction efforts that began prior to the start of this semester. With the finished product now distrib­uted, the responses thus far indi­cate that the magazine is quickly gaining a base of writers.

“Four or five people have e-mailed me back and want to write for [the magazine],” Steele said of the recent feedback.

The Fall/Winter issue is the first of what Steele hopes will become a quarterly publication during the academic year. Whether in lieu of (or in addition to) a mail subscrip­tion to The Economist or Bloomberg Businessweek, The Colgate Economist provides free economic insight that thankfully is not at the mercy of Postal Service delivery to Hamilton.

Contact Jenn Carey at [email protected].