Summer 2002 volume 98 issue 3 : letters
Re: Spring 2002 Vassar Quarterly
Bravo on a fine looking spring Vassar Quarterly! Among the alumnae/i I know, we all agree the Quarterly content is better than ever -- more bite, more punch, more relevancy to the lives and sensibilities of younger graduates (while diminishing nothing from tradition).
Alexander Steinberg '93
White Plains, New York
I have just read the unpublished letter to the editor (spring 2002) from Eleanor Stoddard. I am concerned that you did not find the point she made as being important enough for you to publish it. I am certain that there are many of us who feel the same way.
There are many alumnae/i over 65 at which point vision starts to deteriorate. I am well past that point and have found several problems with your present format. Just glancing at the issue for Winter 2001, reveals the following visual problems for me:
a. The last page (70) places orange lettering on a greenish yellow background making it very difficult to distinguish the headings. The lack of contrast between the bluish green letters and that mustard colored background make reading hard work. The pinkish background on page 69 tends also to hide the colored headings, the reddish ones are difficult but surprisingly the bluish ones are almost impossible. On page 28 I cannot decipher Ethan Zone's Stats as a Brewer Goalie. See also the bottom of page 21. It would be nice to be able to determine the Watson Fellows' topics.
b. Another problem arises when text is printed over a picture background such as on pages 8,9, and 11. The outlines of the letters become confused by the pictures.
c. I know that you can save money by reducing the size of the type but the font does not really separate the letters enough to read easily. The class notes are so tightly packed that just glancing at them is enough to discourage one from trying to read them. What good does it do to economize to the point where readers take a quick look and go no further?
My eyes have needed glasses since I was 12 but this has never created a reading problem. I am near sighted and still do a lot of reading and writing so do not believe the problem is unique to me. Am certain that there are many alumnae/i who are discouraged from enjoying what appears to be most interesting material.
Ruth A. Walker, Ph.D. '42
Thanks to a classmate, I've read the letter not printed in the VC Quarterly 2002 from Eleanor Stoddard '42 complaining about your format of using colored pages printed in white. I heartily agree with her comments and find it odd that you should be so uninterested in something that affects your magazine so much. Even though this complaint has something (probably) to do with the age of one's eyes, it is, nevertheless, something that should be noted.
Josephine Little '42
I always look forward to receiving the Vassar Quarterly. No other publication that arrives in my mailbox points up as decisively how the world has changed since 1931 when I graduated from Vassar. It's not only that over 70 classes have matriculated at Vassar since then: It doesn't seem so long ago that I turned to the back of the Quarterly to look up dispatches about classmates. Now when Class Notes for 1931 do appear, they are included on the first page of their section.
Unfortunately during the past half year my eyesight has dimmed significantly. Judging by the articles I could decipher in your spring 2002 issue, I like your new format and editorial content, but please could you give strong consideration to changing to a darker and somewhat larger typeface? To me your current print style looks so tiny and pale that even using a lighted magnifying glass I have difficulty reading it. Please don't leave us elder alums — eyesight-challenged as we are — out of your otherwise enjoyable quarterly grapevine.
Norma M. Morse '31
Briarcliff Manor, New York
Message From the Editor
When Vassar was redesigned in 2000, many letters to the editor regarding the new look, both pro and con, were published in the winter 2000 issue. We continue to strive to maintain a balance between a design that is engaging and attractive and text that is easily discernable. I want to encourage readers to send in comments that can help the magazine remain accessible to all. However, it is our policy to first list letters to the editor that refer to a specific story’s content, but this in no way reflects our commitment to a consistent and pleasing design.