The purpose of alumni magazines is quite interesting. The entire reason they exist is to get alumni and friends of the university to donate money to the old alma mater. They do this by helping alums keep up to date on what is happening in each others lives and by publicizing the latest goings on back on campus.

The Office of Development staff sit back and cross their fingers hoping that you'll wax nostalgic for the golden days of your youth when you'd quaff adult beverages at the Overcup Oak or sunbathe during Rites of Spring and you'll have a momentary fit of insanity, signing over your entire fortune to the latest Capital Campaign.

In reality, most alumni look at these magazines and remember that although college might have been a good time, they have the realities of everyday expenses to deal with and they might cough up between $25 and $200 a year when the college calls them up during the annual pledge drive.

In my case, Vanderbilt University has never come a callin'. I think they know better. I'm not exactly a card carrying member of the Alumni Association. I attended Vanderbilt University for for the first two years of my undergraduate education. I transferred and I never heard from them for well over a decade.

One day last year, I went web surfing and out of curiosity, I decided to check out some people from the past. Back when I was at Vandy, I had two friends with whom I did almost everything. We were all founding members of a band sorority (Tau Beta Sigma) and I thought that the sorority would know something about what had happened to Cindy. You can imagine my shock when I saw her name with the word DECEASED written next to it.

I immediately contacted the alumni association to try and get some contact information for her parents so that I could send them a belated sympathy letter. The alumni association was incredibly helpful, agreeing to forward a letter for me and asked me if I'd like access to the alumni webpage and a complimentary subscription to Vanderbilt Magazine. After all, I was told, I'm considered an alumna.

It was news to me but now I get an interesting magazine four times a year and a little glimpse into the lives of the classmates I thought I left behind. I even sometimes have the mistaken wish that I had stayed at Vanderbilt and then I come to my senses because transferring was one of the best things that ever happened to me. This isn't knocking Vanderbilt because at the time, I thought it was a great place to be. Unfortunately, it was a better place to be from.

All of this brings me back to Vanderbilt Magazine. To date, I've only received three copies of the magazine. The first issue was also the first in a new format so I can only tell you about the new Vanderbilt Magazine and I can't say how it compares to the old version. I can say that I prefer it to other three alumni magazines we receive in our household (from the University of Louisville, University of Virginia and the University of Arizona).

My favorite part of the magazine is "The Classes". This is the part of the magazine where former students write in to tell others what they are up to in their lives. Back when I was a student, four of us went on spring break to Los Angeles including one of my NROTC buddies. I was grinning from ear to ear to read about Roger's Mediterranean deployment with the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander. I was also saddened to read that one of the clarinetists from the marching band died. She was a real mentor to me during my first semester.

Other regular columns include 1,000 Words (a 2 page photo spread), DoreWays (letters to the editor and an editorial), VJournal (an article about campus life), The Campus (news on campus), Sports (college sports), Vanderbilt Holdings (a look at collections held by the University), Bright Ideas (research and scholarship), In Class (in depth look at faculty), The Arts & Culture (music, dance, visual arts, theatre, books), S.P.O.V (student point of view), A.P.O.V. (alumni point of view) and Southern Journal (a short story).

I really like the fiction since that's something that doesn't appear in any of the other alumni publications we receive. I also like the in-depth looks at life at Vanderbilt. While new buildings have been erected since I left the campus and there's a new administration, from the outside, Vanderbilt appears to be pretty much the same old place I left. That's somewhat comforting even though you never can go back again, not really, once you've left.

The best part of the magazine, I've realized, is found in the articles that don't fit into the regular columns. These articles go beyond the usual what's new on campus. While they aren't of the caliber and length as the offerings in my favorite magazine (The Atlantic Monthly), I enjoy reading them and they keep the magazine from going into the recycle bin after I peruse what's up with my former classmates.

One piece I really enjoyed dealt with an interview about reed making with an associate oboe professor. I'll admit to having a reed crafting fascination for years as I play the clarinet although most clarinetists buy their reeds by the box and modify them. Oboeists have to start from scratch with the tube cane.

Another article I found interesting was one about radiology and how films are being transmitted digitally. I never before thought about what happens if you lose an x-ray. It's your only medical record and only one person can examine it at a time. High tech imaging allows multiple consultations and relieves the burden of worrying over what happens if the original film is damaged or lost.

In conclusion, I enjoy receiving Vanderbilt Magazine. My husband said he was captivated by some of the articles but the parts that deal with Vanderbilt specifically are not of interest to him. I imagine that would be true for other non-alumni as well. I'm not sure that I enjoy the magazine enough to consider contributing to Vanderbilt University but they haven't asked for any money from me to date other than tuition. On the bright side, at least I finally paid off the student loan I took out to pay for that tuition!

Recommended: Yes