This month, creativity is on the rise for one student organization on campus. The week before spring break, Uprising magazine published its second issue, featuring articles about fashion, local musicians and more.

With 20 to 25 members, the organization says they have put together a magazine for students, faculty, staff and community members to enjoy and learn more about culture.

“It brings something new and different that you wouldn’t actively pursue on your own,” said Kara Keigan, senior textiles and apparel major and editor-in-chief of Uprising magazine. “Even if you are not actively pursuing fashion [for example] I think people still enjoy looking at nice photographs, like cool fashions.”

The magazine was founded by students and for students who wanted to express their interests in fashion, music and culture in a creative way.

By publishing their work, readers have the opportunity to learn more about local artists, enjoy fashion photos and ultimately see the work and creative capability of fellow UNI students.

John Fisher, senior mathematics teaching major and music director for Uprising, shared what the music section had learned from the previous issue.

“We learned [what] we wanted to be…it was a step in the right direction,” Fisher said. “We wanted to become even more underground in our focus.”

Fisher explained how the section wanted to shed light on students or local artists who do not usually get a spotlight when they produce or perform music, and he felt that they had accomplished this goal.

The featured artist in this issue is Will Boelts, a UNI student who records music in his basement, does not perform live and plants his CD’s around town.

“He is a very talented, original artist who like…literally underground,” Fisher said.

Along with reaching their goals in terms of the articles in the magazine, the group itself has become stronger. Keigan explained how the group members have learned to work and run more efficiently.

“This issue we tried to focus more on pairing off into three groups of just three or four and having just them focus on one group,” Keigan said. “So, I think we learned how to, like, utilize each person better and move more efficiently as a group.”

Tyler Grimm, senior textiles and apparel major and creative director for Uprising, also described how he has learned how to collaborate as a team.

“We have to always have everybody … doing their part and just really make it happen,” Grimm said, “because if we didn’t, we’d have all this work and not be able to publish it and get it out to people.”

Although Uprising still continues to face challenges with funding, the organization was able to raise enough money to publish their current issue.

Half of the costs are covered by Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) and the other half must be covered by Uprising.

Uprising was able to raise all of the money on their half almost entirely through advertisements, and they plan to continue this method.

The members contacted local businesses to let them know who they are and what kind of ad spots they had. They also held fundraisers at local restaurants and received money from personal donations.

As their second issue hits the stands, members are continuing to work towards strengthening their organization to publish better issues.

In addition, an Uprising app for smartphones is in the works, to make the magazine even more accessible.

“Everyone in the magazine is either a UNI student or a member of the Cedar Valley. They are all people who go to college or are figures in the community that you would know,” stated Fisher. “If you are proud of UNI, if you have an interest in UNI, you should be interested in this magazine, because it’s focused on students.”