Toni Dang wants to ask students the question, "Makasimba?"

"It's a Swahili greeting that means, 'Are you strong?' " Dang said. "The customary reply is 'I am strong, if you are strong.' "

Dang is the co-editor of the new multicultural magazine that will be published by the Undergraduate Student Government Multicultural Affairs Committee. The new magazine will be available for free this spring and will showcase the talent of Penn State students.

Dang said Makasimba is the favorite option for the title of the new magazine.

"We think it conveys a sense of community," Dang said.

Multicultural Affairs Director Mark Bagley said he hopes to publish at least two complete magazines before the end of the semester. The topics of submissions are very open.

"We would like to focus on diversity," he said. "We are very interested in also getting the majority viewpoint on these topics."

Although the magazine will center on diversity issues, potential contributors do not have to be minorities to submit a piece of art or writing.

"Photographers, artists, and writers are all welcome," Dang said. "Everyone has a perspective to add."

The magazine is accepting submissions until at least the middle of February, Dang said. The length of the magazine depends on the number of quality submissions, she added.

All entries to the magazine will be anonymously placed in front of a selection board, where student, faculty and alumni judges will choose the best entries, Bagley said.

He added that although the official name has yet to be chosen, the cover will display multiple Nittany Lion heads with foreign flags in the background.

Judy Albin, senior associate director of unions and student activities, will be a member of the selection board.

"I will certainly take this seriously," Albin said.

She added that the judges' first job will be to establish consistent guidelines to apply every time the board reviews an article. Albin said she looks to the success of other student-run magazines to predict the new magazine's future.

"Many of our other student magazines develop a life of their own," she said. "My impression is that readership [for Phroth] is up this year in particular."

Albin said everything depends upon student involvement and the trends of each year.

The magazine will be distributed across campus in libraries, the HUB-Robeson Center, the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, the International Student Office and tables around campus, Bagley added.

Bagley said the ultimate goal for this magazine is publication across the Commonwealth Campuses. He said he wants other locations to contribute their efforts along with University Park students.

Co-editor Lauren Caffrey said a lot of students want to open their minds to foreign cultures.

"This [magazine] is just another way to do it outside of the classroom," she said.

"We think a more creative way to get to know another culture," she added.