Readers,
I don’t want to start writing so often that my friendly reminders fall upon blind eyes, so I’ll keep this week’s address pretty short.
I am not sure if you are aware, but Student Publications — a group your student fees goes to — not only helps the Daily Lobo, but it also supports two other publications: Best Student Essays and Conceptions Southwest.
BSE is, hypothetically, a showcase of the best student essays at UNM. I know, it’s in the title, right? But there’s more to it. To represent the best on campus, one would need essays from everyone on campus, a near-impossible task.
Instead, student essays are nominated by professors and then sent to the BSE staff. The staff then chooses several essays to run in the magazine.
The finished product usually comes out near the end of the semester and features some of UNM’s strongest writing, but there’s no reason it can’t be better. In particular, I would like to ask professors to nominate students with outstanding writing.
Students are seldom praised for their work outside of a grade. Publication can validate everything a student is trying to accomplish in school, so why not nominate a student who deserves it?
And students, if you have a great essay you think deserves publication, see if your teacher thinks the same way.
As a writer, you will have to prove over and over again your work deserves publication, and convincing one of your teachers of this fact is a good way to start your career of nagging people to listen to you.
Swing by BSE’s website, BestStudentEssays.org, to see some of the published work from the fall 2011 issue and to obtain the submission forms. Please note the magazine’s tentative deadline for submissions is Feb. 22, so be sure to clear your calendar.
And while it’s too late to submit to CSW, it’s still another important magazine on campus. The magazine has been around and serving the UNM art community for more than 30 years.
CSW is UNM’s only art magazine dedicated to students on campus. The Blue Mesa Review and Scribendi (both wonderful publications, by the way) accept work from outside the University. Only CSW focuses on the artistic community at UNM.
The magazine is no longer accepting submissions this year, but if you ever wanted to create a magazine, this is your chance. The magazine is in the production stages, so if you can copy edit or design, or would like to learn how, be sure to get in touch with the CSW staff by sending an email to csw@unm.edu. CSW comes out near the end of the semester.
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Granted, the work is all volunteer, but when has working in a creative field ever been about raking in the cash?
If you aren’t interested in writing or working for either of these publications, just remember that they exist. They serve the UNM community in the same way the Daily Lobo does, and it’s a damn shame they don’t get the same kind of attention. So do yourself favor, check out the past issues, support your intellectual community and keep an eye out for the publications come May.
