The magazine, referred to informally as "the Weekly What" or "the What," provided an outlet for the creative and culture energy in the air. By the end of 1976, the magazine had even interviewed rock musician Frank Zappa.

What is to be Done continued to expand its listings and attract advertisers. By the end of the seventies, the magazine had published countless roller-disco promotions as well as interviews with Robert Altman, Eugene Ionesco and Orson Welles.

The Eighties

In the early '80s, What is To Be Done grew to 20 pages with the help of abundant advertising from local businesses. The magazine continued to spotlight culture with sections called film, theater, rock, art, gallery and books.

The magazine also began to feature more off-beat journalism, including a report on "Buddhism for the Upwardly Mobile" in 1986. The introduction of the "Endpaper" section gave a forum for Crimson writers to relate personal experiences. Occasionally, the magazine ran politically oriented pieces, such as "Jews at Harvard" in 1986.

By the end of the '80s, the magazine began to thin out with fewer ads and articles. The Crimson restricted distribution to Harvard students.

In 1989, Magazine Editor John P. Thompson '89 produced a short, unauthorized edition called "The What" with personal pictures, text and letters. The bizarre occurrence resulted in surprise, confusion and controversy at 14 Plympton St. The magazine ended the '80s looking for new leadership.

Starting Over

On Feb. 6, 1992, Magazine Editors Philip Rubin '93 and Eryn Brown '93 put to rest What is to be Done and launched "Fifteen Minutes," a magazine with renewed commitment to appealing to students' interest in popular culture.

Brown says she thought the old name was a "political relic."

The new staff debated hundreds of titles and settled on "Fifteen Minutes," recalling pop-culture icon Andy Warhol's famous saying, "In the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes."

Rubin remembers that "the only thing we could agree on was something pop culturey."

"It was like fifteen minutes: you could read it on the can," he says. The 16-page magazine preserved many aspects of the old What, including the op-arts section for reviews, the Endpaper and the featured Scrutiny article.

Rubin remembers "an irreverent feeling about what we were doing."

"We were into Hunter Thompson," he says. "We did stuff in that spirit."