Whenever I tell somebody that I´m part of the Spectrum Literary Magazine, the response I most often receive is, ¨Spectrum? What’s that?¨ Eventually, a culmination of these responses made me realize how under-advertised this club is to the Morris Knolls student body. By writing this article, I hope to interest as many people as possible in the club and for those interested in bringing their creative talents to the magazine!
What is the Spectrum Literary Magazine Club?
The Spectrum Literary Magazine, or the ¨Spectrum¨ Club for short, is a club at Morris Knolls High School where students meet four to six times per school year in B-22 to discuss the formation of a digital magazine.
Every year, the president(s) choose a theme that they base the entire magazine around, and they tell all of the new/recurring members about it at the first official meeting after the school’s annual club fair. Club members can choose to submit something for the magazine through a variety of mediums. Submissions can range from photos, art, poetry, and/or short stories/short creative writing pieces relating to the theme. This is often why any photographers, writers, artists, or graphic designers are especially encouraged to join! However, submissions can come from anyone at Morris Knolls, regardless of whether they are in the club or not, so everyone in the Morris Knolls study body is always encouraged to contribute a creative piece that fits with the year’s theme! (Whoever’s piece makes it into the magazine, gets a free physical copy of it!)
For those uncomfortable showing their name in the magazine, they can have it marked “anonymous” for privacy. All they would have to do is write in their email to the club’s submission email ([email protected]) to let the presidents know that they want their work to be anonymously published.
Why You Should Join
The Spectrum Literary Magazine Club is a great way for students to gain many valuable skills, like graphic design, art creation, and writing, that will benefit them even after high school. It is also a great opportunity to be published, as the final product gets put up on the school’s website for everyone who has access to it to see.
In addition, there are plenty of opportunities for members to be elected into the cabinet in their later years in the club, like Creative Director, Lead Artist, Secretary, Vice President, and even President.
My Co-President, Raida Faiza, states in response to her opinion on the club that, “I find a lot of value in the club as its president, and it’s a great one to be a part of!”
Finally, all magazines are archived so future members can reference them for their themes that year; they essentially become part of the school’s history.
Overall, the club has many benefits and serves as a great extracurricular for college applications, and a valuable club to those with creative pursuits!
Plans for the 2023-2024 School Year
Further Advertising: It’s important to inform people of the club so they know what it’s all about, so a large emphasis will be put on advertising this year. This may come in the form of physical flyers, as other clubs at Morris Knolls have them set up around the school to make people aware of the club’s existence. Additionally, we may also ask English teachers to announce the club and the submission process to their students verbally, and on Google Classroom around January to February when submissions become more prominent. Finally, a new option to consider is using more digital promotional materials to develop a social media presence, since most teenagers have at least one social media platform.
This Year’s Theme: This year’s chosen theme by me and my fellow junior co-president, Raida Faiza, is “Renaissance.” The Renaissance means “rebirth” in French; it was mainly known as a 15th-16th century European era that marked cultural, artistic, and scientific resurgence after a period of general inactivity. Spectrum faced many years of inactivity after COVID-19 hit, though many underclassmen seem interested in the club this year, indicating a potential revival. Similarly, the Renaissance struck the interest of many people during the 15th century, causing the movement to happen. So together, with effort from the club members, we can restore the club to its former glory years.
Instagram Account:
A possible start-up idea for this year includes opening an Instagram account for the club dedicated to creative works submitted over the months of the school year that the club receives along the way and chooses to be featured in the final magazine in June. This would offer the chance for someone to be published on a social media platform, and to showcase their submissions much sooner, rather than wait to be featured in one magazine at the end of the year.
The Spectrum Literary Magazine Club has many exciting plans for this 2023-2024 school year, so we hope that some people reading this article express an interest in joining our year-long journey!
