By JEANNETTE FANG

This is what we know: Sometime during the 1984-85 academic year three students, meeting in front of Paul Hall, created a slim pamphlet they named The Student Forum. Having journeyed to a larger number of readers than anticipated, the paper caused the three to be called into the President's Office one afternoon. Leslie Nelson, fingers damp, sat with her dancer's calves quivering as she tried to remember if they had been offensive in their little publication. Her heart clumped into her chest as the president appeared and graciously ushered them into his office.

Easing into his chair, the president smiled. He smiled? People didn't smile when they were going to expel you. She was thoroughly confused—and thoroughly surprised when, seconds later, she learned that President Joseph Polisi was delighted with this student initiative. He had been planning to start a school newspaper, and needed students to help create something that contained news about events, people at Juilliard and Lincoln Center, and cultural life in New York City, as well as information of use to students. So eager was the president for their participation that, rather than launch the paper with a name supplied by the administration, the first issue was published simply as The Newspaper. (See Past Times.) A schoolwide contest (sweetened with a $100 prize as bait) netted 177 votes and yielded The Juilliard Journal, which was in use by the fifth issue of the paper. (As entries had contained such gems as "The Drailliuj Gazette," one might be thankful for the current name.)

What began as an ad-hoc assemblage of School news has evolved over 20 years into a polished, award-winning publication.

That first issue in September 1985 was a mere four pages; the paper fluctuated between 8 and 12 pages in length until the mid-'90s, when it inched up to 16 to 20 and then continued to expand into the comparatively behemoth 28 to 36 pages of today. Originally put together by the Office of Student Affairs, The Journal contained columns such as Culture Watch (reviews of books and recordings), the monthly Sampler listing upcoming events (which expanded and was renamed the Calendar of Events in 1996), and Health Beat. New columns were added (and then lost) along the way, such as January 1987's Flick Picks, cartoons, a humor section, and yearly literary supplements. A connection with the student body played a large role, with the publication of polls, the Student Forum's Forum Notes, the Viewpoint column (precursor to today's Voice Box), and Letters to the Editor. (Then as now, students might have complained that The Journal was too insulated, even as the editors struggled to increase student participation.) President Polisi tried to reach students with "On the Health and Education of the Musician," and world events appeared with such articles as a heartfelt discourse on Kristallnacht. But the spotlight remained, as it does today, on Juilliard events. There was frequent coverage of Juilliard's hockey and tennis teams, which—despite an artist's caricature of malaise and athletic apathy—remained strong until the mid-1990s. (Their paltry start notwithstanding, the Juilliard Penguins were given the Maestro Match Cup in their 1988 battle against the Manhattan School of Music.)

Beginnings are always rocky, and a certain amateurish vibe tinged the first volumes, with boxed announcements scattered throughout the paper as if it were a bulletin board. Writers were hard to round up, and several times articles were reprints. The general voice was that of a fun paper that didn't take itself too seriously. There was good-natured self-mockery and some experimentation, like the occasional crossword puzzle, a Poetry Corner, Students of the Month, and even a serialized story. No one editor was at the helm until Charissa Sgouros took the role in January 1988, and the staff seemed to fluctuate monthly. When The Journal was taken over by the Office of Academic Affairs in 1990, the paper became more businesslike under a new editor, Jean Dumlao, who was succeeded a year later by Tania Kendrick. The focus was naturally more on dorm life (thanks to the new Meredith Willson Residence Hall), with enthusiastic, hand-drawn ads for dances and such strange articles as "Latest Juicy Gossip From Suite 2103."

As The Journal's size and circulation increased, it became apparent that help was needed to produce a more polished publication. And so, in August 1994, freelance writer and editor Jane Rubinsky was hired to be the paper's first full-time editor (with an additional staff member to handle layouts, advertising, and the Alumni News column). A dance major with more than 15 years of experience writing and editing for arts magazines, newsletters, and other periodicals around the city, Rubinsky was exactly what the School was looking for: someone with a background in the arts who was able to pick up on and integrate various levels of the Juilliard community.

But it wasn't easy. She came in with enthusiastic ideas that were hard to implement in a place without English majors or journalism students who understood publishing deadlines and could be counted on for print-worthy articles. She says she used to describe her job as "holding hands, pulling teeth, and kicking butts—depending on how far along in the month we were. For a while, I always felt like I was working on two newspapers: the one in my head, and the one that would actually come out." But The Journal now had its own base in an official Office of Publications. With expanding technology and better equipment, articles were submitted digitally, photos were eventually scanned in-house, and printing turnaround time was shortened, enabling the paper to be even more representative of news as it developed.

In last year's annual newspaper contest sponsored by the American Scholastic Press Association, the judges awarded The Juilliard Journal first place with special merit, citing The Journal as "an outstanding overall example of a scholastic publication in format, content, and presentation."

As Juilliard's only newspaper, The Journal serves multiple audiences—appealing to students, alumni, faculty, staff, donors, and the arts-minded public alike. "From the look of it, no one could tell The Juilliard Journal was put out by two people in a school basement," Rubinsky laughed. She soon saw participation blossom; faculty increasingly made time to write articles as "they realized how visible publication made them." Fan mail from alumni brought with it a great "sense of community, the result of pulling things together from every corner of the earth." A series of graphic designers over seven years brought a variety of more elaborate and artistic looks to the paper.

In 2001, The Journal went online with the arrival of the new director of publications, Ira Rosenblum. A Juilliard graduate in piano, Rosenblum had worked for many years at The New York Times and its Internet division, New York Times Digital. His first project was to revamp the School's nascent Web site. After that task was completed, he turned his attention to The Journal. "My main goal," he said, "was to expand on editorial content and get more of a student voice." While student-written essays had appeared occasionally, a more structured Voice Box for student opinion was installed. Juggling the needs of a diverse audience while maintaining a consistent voice continues to be a challenge as the paper expands, he said.

Rosenblum initiated the Alumni Spotlight and annual Center Stage pullout section in 2001, since a large percentage of the readers are alumni and Juilliard does not publish a separate alumni magazine (something he hopes will change one day). The Career Beat and Shrink Rap columns were created to address issues of increasing relevance to conservatory students.

Rosenblum also oversaw the redesign of The Journal in 2002. "The paper needed a more consistently professional look," he said. The Publications Department's assistant editor, Lisa Yelon, who manages the paper's layout and production, spearheaded the project that resulted in a fresh, clean look for the newspaper.

Twenty years is a long time in the history of Juilliard publications (many of which have come and gone over the School's history), but a short time in terms of newspaper lineage in general. It might be too brief a period to judge a publication that is constantly expanding (though it has twice won first place with special merit in the American Scholastic Press Association's annual newspaper contest). If the people in charge now are any indication of those who came before them, then The Journal has always had high-spirited enthusiasm at its helm, a sheer necessity to report on Juilliard's intense and rather unusual lifestyle. It might be interesting to try and predict what direction the paper will take, based on the past 20 years. Perhaps someday we'll get the glossy paper and four-color printing that Rosenblum dreams of, and even more students will want to write for the paper, another of his hopes. But to make it this far, when most of the previous periodicals at Juilliard disintegrated into the dustbin of good but abandoned intentions, is something we should applaud—with the same sort of hearty enthusiasm we would at the concert of a close friend.

Jeannette Fang, a third-year piano student, is a regular contributor of articles to The Juilliard Journal.