More Thoughts on Orientation Issue

It's amazing what happens when you post to a blog.


Visitors to Editor Josh on these days

8/19: 2

8/20: 5

8/21: 0

8/22: 4

8/23: 5

8/24: 1

8/25: 4

8/26: 41


I guess I'll keep updating.

So the Orientation issue gets put together much differently than does anything else. If you look at the special issue masthead, you'll only see 14 names on there. That's because the paper is pulled together in its entirety by the people at the top. Of those 14 names, nine of them are for people on the managing board (Dani, Amanda, Erin, Ian, Anjali, Lana, Andrew, Oriana, Me). That's because we pull the issue together while it's still summer and we want to let the maximum number of people enjoy summer to the fullest possible extent.

What that means, though, is that we end up filling roles that we wouldn't normally end up doing. Amanda, for example, received two bylines, or half of what she wrote in all of the normal issues last semester, while I got four bylines and a contribution tag.

Certainly the oddest role, though, was that I ended up doing design. Not only is one of my photos included in the front page montage (brownie points if you can guess which one), but I ended up doing some production as well. Having spent a lot of time on Adobe software this summer ( Spectator is laid out using Adobe InDesign), I wanted to get a chance to see what the production people did. With a reduced staff and a time crunch, it was just the opportunity, and I spent a good amount of time helping to layout the front and back covers as well as the opinion page.

I came out of it with a renewed appreciation for the work that Lana, Maria, Danielle, Mady, Connie, and the others who layout the news pages on a nightly basis. With the exception of having their names written in minuscule font on the masthead, they never get enough credit for the long hours that they put in behind the scenes. They are vital to the paper, and we could not function without them. (Plug for any first-years reading this: If you are interested in joining their ranks, come to one of our Open Houses over the next few weeks. We'd love to have you on board!)

As for the final product, I'll leave that for you to judge except to say that I was proud enough of how the issue came out to want to e-mail the link to my family.