Semester In Review
The Student Publications team has had a busy semester! As we approach winter break, we want to take the time to recap what exactly the team has been working on. We will highlight The York Review print edition, the York Review Website, and The Rough Draft Podcast. Thank you for the continued support; this would not be possible without you all.
The Print Team has worked tirelessly advertising the magazine, organizing submissions, and formatting the issue. Submissions for The York Review magazine were open until November 1, 2024. They accepted works of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, digital art, photography, and fine art. Students interested in submitting to the next issue should wait until Fall 2025 for the 32nd edition. Chloe Ament, Kati Dunn, Kassandra Morgan, and Maddie French comprised this year’s print team. The 31st edition’s theme is the Underworld of Greek mythology, which was originally pitched by Jesenia Zavala, a prior student for Student Publications. Chloe Ament says, “Kati and I liked it because we wanted the theme to feel cohesive throughout the edition. We wanted to use the themes of the underworld to take the reader through the York Review magazine and thought that it would thematically and visually compel the reader throughout the magazine.” Chloe also believes that the theme would draw in readers, saying, “Interest in Greek mythology has been growing increasingly prevalent throughout pop culture. Ideally, this would make people more enticed to read it.” The magazine will be organized into different sections based on the different locations of the Underworld. Each piece is carefully organized into one of the locations by the members of the print team. Maddie French’s favorite piece is the poem “eve”. She says, “It's short and sweet, but still packs a kind of punch that grabbed me instantly when I first read it. Since then, I've read it over and over again. It's simple yet very thought-provoking, and I always love a good piece with a theme/metaphor centered in religion.” Those interested in reading “eve” and countless other student-created art can obtain a copy of the magazine at the Launch Party next semester. The event will be held at Marketview Arts during a Spring First Friday. More details will be released at a later date. The 31st edition of The York Review print issue received a total of 150 submissions this semester, a record-high.
The York Review Website received a total of 21 submissions this semester. At this time, submissions are closed. Students interested in submitting to the website can do so next fall semester. On the website’s most trafficked day, a total of 609 viewers visited the site. Kiersten McNeely and Josephine Burry were chief coordinators for the website this semester. Neither of them had used any website-building software before, so this class presented its fair share of challenges. Kiersten found “the artistic design and creativity that goes into the website (the colors, the pictures) and figuring out what looks right” to be the most difficult part of working on the website. Kiersten and Josephine had complete autonomy over the content and design of the website. They decided which pieces were accepted for publishing, what images would accompany the written works, and how everything would be formatted. Although it was difficult to learn how to use Squarespace’s software, Josephine says “it is a skill I can use for the rest of my life. Even if I don't do website design again, it still teaches me how to muddle through difficult technology.” Students interested in accessing the website can search “The York Review” in any web browser or simply use this link: https://www.yorkreview.org/.
The Rough Draft Podcast team (Claire Matz, Matt Lauderbaugh, Isaiah Willies, Bryn Walker, and Stephen Thomson) worked tirelessly these past few months. They recorded a total of 12 episodes for Season 14 this semester (the most episodes yet!). On their SoundCloud alone, they had 941 viewers, 1 like, and 1 repost since mid-September. There was a spike in viewers after Episode 5: Dating Can Be A Drag and again after Episode 10: MOM… (96 and 97 viewers, respectively). Episode 10 was the episode Claire enjoyed most. When asked what her favorite episode was, she replied, “The interview with Bryn's mother. Her name is Sherrie. She was a character. I thought that we got along, so that also made it better. I thought it was funny.” Matt agreed, saying “She is certainly a character…in the best way. She brings the energy that I did not think I needed that day. [She] brings the energy of a mother.” Students interested in listening to Season 14 of The Rough Draft can do so by accessing the Podcast tab on The York Review Website or by clicking this link: https://soundcloud.com/theyorkreview.
Social media played a major role in increasing engagement to The York Review print edition, The York Review Website, and the Rough Draft Podcast. Abigail, the social media coordinator, posted on many platforms including Tiktok and Instagram. She encouraged viewers to submit their work to the print edition, visit the website, and listen to the podcast. When asked about her reasoning behind how she intended to draw students in she said, “I wanted to appeal to a broader audience on campus to get all sorts of students involved and my way of doing that was making it fun, engaging, and visually interesting. I did not want just the literary students to be interested, I wanted it to be less intimidating for outside students.” The Tiktok account, @theyorkreview, had some impressive engagement this semester. There was a gain of 60 followers over 60 days, an increase in total viewers of 1,868 people, and a gain of 1,556 new viewers! Give The York Review a follow on Tik Tok and Instagram @theyorkreview.