Dear YIFers,

I am writing to announce that the boards of the Yale International Relations Association (YIRA) and the Board of the Yale International Forum have declared their intention to merge. The YIF board believes that this merger can help the publication improve its quality and its organizational structure. YIF's continuity will be assured as part of an umbrella organization, such as YIRA. YIRA has several programs, such as two MUN conferences, and has proved to be very successful in their organization. YIF will become one of YIRA's programs and will be run independently.

For the preparation of this merger, the YIF board has decided on a moratorium on publication for this semester. For the success of the of the merger, it is necessary that we prepare ourselves for the new YIF that will be published in the school year 1998-1999. There is a lot to be done. In the near future, we will be discussing the mission of the magazine, the structure of the new board, the constitution and in general what we think YIF should be like.

We will no longer have our weekly meetings. A couple of meetings will take place because we would like to inform you about the progress we will have made and listen to your ideas. We encourage you to e-mail us whenever you believe that you can help us in designing the new YIF. Unfortunately, not many YIFers came to the first meeting of the year where I explained the plan for the merger. For anyone who would like more information, I would be willing to hold a meeting and answer your questions.

For all of those who have been devoted YIFers, I can assure them that they will have an advantage in the selection process of the new board. In the future, we will be sending you e-mails with important information.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone for the help and commitment to the Yale International Forum. I believe that the last issue was very successful. I will be working towards the improvement of YIF throughout this semester.

Sincerely,
John Katsarakis