To the Class of 2005:
Since you’ve all been welcomed to HBS probably no fewer than several hundred times by now (including once on our front page) let me be the first to welcome you to The Harbus, your student newspaper. Here’s everything you ever need to know about The Harbus:
Q. Great, so, uh, what’s The Harbus? Is it a student club?
Yes and no. It’s a weekly newspaper run by the Harbus News Corp., which is a not-for-profit business mostly independent of Harvard Business School. I use the term “mostly” because even though we’re an independent business the school lets us use its shield in our logo and gives us office space in the basement of Gallatin rent-free.
In addition to publishing a weekly paper, the Harbus News Corp. manages an advertising design business that does a lot of work for student clubs and produces the yearbook under contract from the HBS Student Association.
Q. Okay, so the Harbus is a nonprofit. What happens when it makes money?
The Harbus makes most of its money by selling adverting to companies, especially companies hoping to recruit Harvard MBAs. The Harbus News Corp. contributes all its profits to a grant-making foundation. You can read more about this in an upcoming issue; look for an article in this space in a couple weeks. For those of you with an interest in running a social enterprise, the Foundation is always looking for students to help it screen applicants. Make sure to look for its table at the upcoming student club fair.
Q. Who writes for The Harbus and how can I get involved?
Everyone can write for The Harbus, including partners of students. The editorial side of things is run by an editor-in-chief (more on this in a second) and a team of EC editors. We’re always looking for new writers and columnists and we’re also looking to recruit RCs to assist the EC section editors. Don’t be shy! The Harbus is only as good and as fun to read as we all make it. You can e-mail me or any of the section editors directly. Also, in a few weeks each section will elect a Harbus representative. The Harbus rep is responsible for two things: 1) making sure your section contributes to the paper (because it gets petty boring if you all don’t) and 2) sitting on the Harbus News Corp.’s board of directors. For those of you who want to learn about the business side of running a paper we want your help, too. E-mail me at derck@mba2004.hbs.edu.
One bit of bad news is that Allen Narcisse, our editor-in-chief, has decided to take a year off from HBS before returning next September. Allen’s family has been going through a rough period and he felt it would be better to spend a year back in Iowa instead of being here but constantly worrying that he should be back home. For those ECs who want to contact Allen you can reach him at his HBS e-mail address.
For now, enjoy Foundations and the relative absence of cold calls. Things get interesting in a couple weeks when you’re in section – just remember to take pity on whoever gets cold called on opening day of Finance I. That was me last year but somehow I don’t recall getting a beer as a reward. (Hint: they look for the person who presumably knows the least about finance and/or appears likely to not be able to count.) Lastly, try not to worry so much: your biggest worry a year from now will be that you’re going to walk back into your section for an EC reunion and not remember the name of the guy who sat next to you all year. Scary but true. Don’t worry, Marc and Jeetendr, you’re safe.
Dan Erck (OF)
Publisher
