How 'Low' can you go?
Campus Times
February 28, 1997
Mark Cromer (left) and Mark Dominic started Low in 1988 after they were
dissatisfied with the publications they had worked on at Cal Poly Pomona.
"The difference between Low and some other publications is that the
other publications will publish a story on date rape and we'll publish the
diary of the date rapist," said Cromer.
As the posters hanging on Cal Poly Pomona's campus put it, "After
eight long years, Low finally gives administration the issue it's been waiting
for...the last."
Low, the controversial, alternative magazine, published its last issue
this month, documenting itself as "suspiciously free," and was
distributed to local colleges and other locations that college students
tend to populate.
Low's first publication was in the fall of 1988, after juniors Mark
Cromer and Mark Dominic, who were writing for Cal Poly Pomona's award winning
magazine, OPUS, felt that the faculty was restricting them from depicting
what they wanted. Cromer and Dominic created Low to express free speech
and to report on the "gritty underbelly of college life." The
first issue was 12 pages, copied, stapled and handed out to students. Members
of Cal Poly Pomona's faculty and administration were outraged.
"Faculty was disturbed the most because we did it in their face.
We left the mainstream magazine and created an alternative magazine. Faculty
had no control and the most alarming aspect was that 'F--k' was not allowed
in OPUS, and we had it on our cover," said Cromer, editor of Low. The
first issue was meant to prove a point, and Cromer and Dominic had no intentions
of creating another one, but so many readers enjoyed Low and started asking
when the next issue would come out, that Low continued.
Over the years, many journalists contributed to Low, among them Joal
Ryan, filmmaker and contributor to the Long Beach Press-Telegram; Los Angeles
Times writer Steve Ryfle; former reporter for the Daily Facts and University
of La Verne alumnus Nick Hartman, Raechel Fittante, Campus Times editor
in chief; John Andrews, reporter for the Delta News; and Chris Bray, contributor
to Pasadena Weekly and Buzz magazine.
Cromer said, "I am very proud of the staff of Low. They are a tremendously
dedicated, talented group of people who worked for free essentially for
years. I am proud of what we've done."
Low goes beyond what most magazines report on. Aside from the usual
issues of politics and city life, it covers articles on swingers, pornography,
drugs and homosexuality.
Erik Pedersen, associate editor of Low said, "It is a really good
magazine, yellow journalism. This magazine picks up stories that other magazines
won't. Don't get me wrong, I don't like everything in Low, but that's good.
I like not liking everything. It's really the First Amendment in action."
The University of La Verne was the last college to be included in the
distribution of Low. When ULV was first presented with the idea of Low setting
newsstands up, President Stephen Morgan was skeptical of the idea. However,
he soon relented.
Dr. George Keeler, ULV associate professor of journalism said, "Being
underground media, when accurate, Low is more revealing than other publications
and when not accurate, it is always more interesting. Underground media
had a voice with Low magazine. In some ways it will be missed, and in other
ways it won't be. The editor covered topics he was interested in and had
a personal agenda that he fulfilled with Low."
By the second to the last issue, Cromer knew that Low was ready to "die."
It got to the point where it was hard work and no fun, with no pay.
"We gave it our blood, sweat and tears for eight years. No one
realizes that it takes a tremendous amount of energy, time and money,"
said Cromer.
No money was gained from Low, and according to Cromer, 30 percent of
the cost came out of his own pocket. The contributors of Low were rarely
paid, but they all did it because it is what they believed in.
To "go out with a bang" after 26 issues, a final 100-page
issue with 20-25 contributors and a circulation of 5,000 was published.
"It is a shame that Low is through. It serves a real purpose,"
said Pedersen.
Said Cromer, "It [Low] was great. I was young. It was a huge part
of my life. Like a divorce or goodbye, I'm sad, also relieved."
"I wouldn't let anyone continue Low, because it isn't theirs to
continue. Low was ours, we gave birth to it and we will kill it," said
Cromer.
When asked about his influence at ULV, Cromer said, "It's been
a brief visit but we've certainly enjoyed it and I hope if we accomplished
anything it's been to make students think a little more.
"We hope all students step forward and publish. It is a right.
Students in China or Saudi Arabia are shot for publishing material far more
conservative than Low. ULV should have two or three magazines on campus
with a wide array of views on campus," said Cromer.
Cromer and Dominic are willing to lend assistance to anyone from Cal
Poly or ULV who wish to begin an alternative magazine similar to Low.