unbound’s History
Created by a group of students at The College of New Jersey in the spring of 1996, unbound is an on-line magazine containing stories ranging from health, art and business-related topics. The students, who were members of professor Kim Pearson’s magazine writing class and Elizabeth Mackie's graphic design class, founded unbound on the belief that self-empowerment and self-liberation can be achieved through one’s own actions and involvement. Since then, unbound has evolved into an ongoing project that is maintained by students and volunteers with faculty direction and support. Yet unbound remains dedicated to the original goal.

In the spring of 2002, professor Kim Pearson and managing editor, Melissa Steiger, began to pursue the recognition of unbound as a campus organization at The College of New Jersey. unbound was officially recognized as a campus organization by The College of New Jersey’s Department of Campus Life on October 9, 2002. This entailed participation in activity fairs, allotment of a budget and accessibility to a weekly meeting room and time as well as other services. Prior to Fall 2002, unbound was maintained primarily by journalism students and a few students in other disciplines who were sought out to aid in the production of the site. As a result, increased publicity of unbound to students beyond the journalism discipline through activity fairs and Campus Life recognition brought unbound into the new wave of on-line journalism and a new realm of publication.

What is unbound?
unbound is an organization aimed at meeting the needs of young adults by offering an unbiased forum in which to express ideas, opinions and voices. At unbound, new views, forms and beliefs are explored and examined through articles in one of six categories: features, business and government, health, lifestyles, opinions and arts and leisure. In light of the tragic events of Sept. 11, unbound ran a special issue to keep readers informed of the events and attitudes of students at The College of New Jersey and beyond.

Who’s unbound’s target audience?
unbound’s audience is very similar to the people who produce the magazine. It is designed for free-thinking, innovative individuals who are seeking a voice. It is written and produced by young adults in a tone that speaks to their peers rather than at them. The core audience is aged 18-30, has some college education, and is otherwise eclectic in lifestyle, attitude and values.

For more information on unbound’s procedures, please refer to our operations manual.