who produces The Thistle?
We are a group of undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and other interested community members who are committed to fighting racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression, particularly through the use of alternative press. In addition to producing the Thistle, we also sponsor occasional speakers, panel discussions, film showings, and other activities.

Many of us participate in other progressive and radical organizations both on and off campus. We come from a variety of backgrounds, and have varying levels of experience with activism, newspaper work, and collective organizing.

what is a collective, and why is The Thistle one?
The Thistle strives to function as a collective. This means that we attempt to distribute the work and responsibility of producing the paper in an equitable and fair manner. One of the goals of operating as a collective is to avoid situations where one person or group of persons is able to monopolize decision making or creative power, while others are relegated to menial tasks or silenced in group discussion. Particularly, we wish to empower those in the collective who are systematically disempowered in our society, namely women, people of color, poor and working class people, and queers.

how can I be part of The Thistle?
We encourage you to email us with your interest in involvement - this is the best way to get a response and get you in touch with the group, as we do not have regularly scheduled meeting times.
Because most of us at MIT have busy schedules, it is difficult to commit unlimited time to any one activity. Thus, we encourage many different levels of participation in the paper, from occasional writing/editing to a little bit of everything! We are always in need of help with writing, editing, proofing, layout, paste-up, advertising, calendar listings, computer upkeep, and office help. Fresh ideas and perspectives are necessary and to keep the paper interesting and to make sure that it is reaching a diverse audience. We need folks who are interested in working to make the Thistle an effective vehicle for change in the MIT community.

WE NEED YOU!! The Thistle is going through a period of great change: most of the old staff are gone, and there are a few new staff who have brought some new energy to the paper. However, we are currently VERY understaffed, and need more members in order to continue producing the paper regularly.
The Thistle can be a valuable resource: as a place to incite dialog about race relations, about local and global politics, about gender relations, about the MIT administration and its policies, about homophobia, about immigration policies, and about countless other issues which need attention at MIT and beyond.
But for the Thistle to be the best resource it can possibly be on all these issues, we need as much student/faculty/staff support and participation as possible; that support must come from a variety of different communities and voices in order for the paper to be most effective as a tool for change.

how to join, write and advertise
Send us your articles, commentary, and artwork! Letters and submissions can be sent via email to: thistle

If you are interested in being involved, please contact us - we are always welcoming of another voice.