November 3, 2025
Beta Tau Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at the Forrest County Campus of Pearl River Community College recently hosted a workshop, “Discovering Zines, Discovering Community: Sharing Personal and Collective Stories.” Guest speakers from USM presented on the history and value of Zines.
Some 100 PRCC faculty, staff and students, as well as some PTK alumni and students from Lumberton High School listened as Dr. Ryan Ruckel, PTK Regional Coordinator and Honors Dean, explained how Zines are playing a role in the chapter’s Honors in Action project.
“When you think about all the interactions, training and learning that goes into this leadership laboratory research experiment which is what this Honors in Action project is,” said Dr. Ruckel.
“They have a book that goes on for two years and it has a theme.”
Just what is a Zine?
A zine is a self-published, small-circulation, non-commercial magazine that can cover any topic. Zines are often handmade, photocopied, and distributed for free or at a low cost, focusing on niche interests, personal experiences, or political and social messages.
PRCC students on the Honors in Action research team are Alexis Brown, Wyatt Dow, Matthew Fasnacht, Savannah Gygi, Madiha Karim, Aiden Law, Julian Moreno, Kierstin Polk, Noah Stasny, and Diego Sosa Vazquez.
“They all have a part of the Honors in Action research team,” said Dr. Ruckel.
USM speakers at the workshop included:
Davy Goldsmith, Editor, Hattiesburg Alternate Zine, “All About Zines.”
Dr. Stacy Creel, Director, USM School of Library and Information Science.
Jennifer Brannock, USM, Professor and Curator of Rare Books & Mississippiana.
Dr. David Davies, USM, Professor of Media and Communications.
“A Zine can be about anything that you want expressed out to your community,” said Goldsmith, who displayed several examples of his own Zines.
“Zines help fill the void left unsatisfied by commercial and popular media. They complement and showcase other media. They are non-commercial and they are informational.”
He went on to say they can be serious and silly, practical, loud and aggressive. “They can be outlets for emotion.”
Creel said Zines can be a call to action, or celebrate the unusual. She discussed print versus online formats.
“Online means it is out there forever, even if you delete it,” she said. “Once it is out there, it is out there. Even if you delete it, or decide later your view has changed. Think carefully about if you desire to put it out there online. Once it is out there it is out there. It is in the internet archive.”
Davies told PRCC students, “Zines are a great way to spread the word about your Honors in Action project. Your project is all about telling stories. Zines are a way of telling stories. This is a way of telling your story or telling the individual stories of people who write Zines.”
For the latest news on Pearl River Community College, visit PRCC.edu and follow us on Twitter (@PRCC_Wildcats), Instagram (PRCCWILDCATS), Facebook (@PRCCMKTG), and TikTok (@prcc_wildcats).
Article by Chuck Abadie. Photography by Patrick Peerboom.
