This week, I interviewed the students who give you The Lawrentian every week for your reading pleasure. The Lawrentian Editorial Board makes sure articles are turned in on time by the writers every Wednesday. They then meet in Warch’s fourth floor computer lab from 5 to 10 p.m. for a communal layout session where they organize photos and articles to make them pleasing to see and read.
On Fridays, all twelve pages of the paper are printed out and distributed. New Editorial Board members have to reapply every year, and this term, applications are going out for a new board to be selected to work in the spring. The outgoing Editorial Board is a hardworking bunch and super passionate about what they do.
Senior English and film studies major Ali Shuger is the Editor-in-Chief. She is in charge of the final layout, the hiring process, organizing meetings, coordinating with the printer, and proposing the budget. She landed her current position last spring and will end this spring as the new cycle starts.
Shuger used to write for Arts & Entertainment, then became the Arts & Entertainment Editor prior to her current position. She has written articles since her sophomore year, her first year as a transfer student. She learned everything from former Editor-in-Chief Anh Ta ‘18.
Shuger strives to boost the quality of writing and design in the newspaper. One reason why she applied for the position was so she could have influence over how efficiently paper is run and made to look visually appealing. She has learned patience in managing a large group and leniency in not having too strict of standards on herself and other group members.
She loves the April Fools edition because everyone can make fun of things on campus. Shuger recommends joining the staff of The Lawrentian to anybody who cares about being informed about what happens on campus and keeping others informed.
Junior biology and history Allegra Taylor is the News Editor. Some of her duties include finding important events on Facebook, checking calendar events and meeting with writers and photographers each week.
Her section meets on Tuesday nights before she meets with the other members of the Editorial Board. Taylor joined The Lawrentian in winter term of her freshman year. She always liked journalism and writing because it involves getting information out to people, and it is important for voices to be heard.
She had to submit an online application for the position and submit a sample writing. She got an e-mail from former News Editor Suzanne Hones ‘17 asking her if she wanted the job, so she came to a meeting and wrote her first article. Besides The Lawrentian, Taylor does social media for student life and photos for communications and is copresident of the recently re-imagined Bird and Nature Club. She will be headmaster next year for the Great Midwest Trivia contest as well. Her favorite article she has ever written is about going to Washington for the Women’s March after Trump’s inauguration.
“It was cool to report on a huge event that meant a lot to me and other people in the country. It was national news and I was there,” added Taylor.
She enjoys the relationships she built with writers and members of the Editorial Board and has learned that preparation is important. She is also passionate about reporting on environmental issues.
Junior English major Max Craig is one of the three Copy Editors. Each Copy Editor is assigned two sections of the newspaper to read and edit every Wednesday. Craig has been a Copy Editor for two terms because he likes to take something already written and make it better. He has a talent for spelling and punctuation. He likes to listen to music while he works because it is not mindless but peaceful.
He works two hours per week editing for grammar and punctuation on articles featured in the paper. One benefit of the job is getting to read all the articles before they are published. He wanted to be involved because the majority of his friend group is on the board, and his roommate, junior English and Lingusitics major and current Copy Chief Andrew Brown, convinced him to join.
Craig used to write for the News section and became better at being quick and efficient with his writing and editing skills. He likes words and making sentences work. As an English major, Craig hopes to do editorial work one day. He has recommended the job to a couple other students because it is fun and rewarding.
The Lawrentian is currently accepting applications for the 2019-20 Editorial Board. Anyone interested in applying can do so at lawrentian.com/apply, and any inquires about particular positions should be sent to lawrentian@lawrence.edu. All applications are due Mar. 1 at midnight.
