December 3, 2004

Mt. Pleasant’s creative minds go for the gold

By Stephanie Foo
Times Intern

The talented student writers, designers and photographers at Mt. Pleasant High School have cause to celebrate.

The Cardinal Tribune, the school newspaper, and the Cardinal Quill, the school’s literary magazine, both received coveted gold medal ratings after submitting entries to the prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA), a group that evaluates student publications from high schools across the country.

The Cardinal Quill
The Cardinal Quill received 945 points out of a possible 1000 points on their magazine this year. “Your book has a gorgeous, professional look. It does not look like a student publication—it is too polished!” commented a 2004 CSPA judge.

Jennelle Ordillo, last year’s Mt. Pleasant poetry SLAM team president and Cardinal Quill contributor, performs “The Love Affair” when the award-winning Quill first came out at the end of the 2003-04 school year.

This is the fourth consecutive year the magazine staff has received a gold medal award. Their score actually took a slight drop this year, but Adviser Joe Lovato is not daunted.

“More than anything the evaluations validate what we’re doing. We don’t do the contests for the praise or the awards, and sometimes I don’t even agree with some of the evaluations, so we use it as a tool for growth and we learn some things,” said Lovato.

The Quill is an annual compilation of student work, about half of it coming from the school’s creative writing class. It is entirely produced by students of the Mt. Pleasant Literary Society under the guidance of teachers Joe Lovato and William Cavada. The Cardinal Quill has put Mt. Pleasant and the district on the map, creating a reputation for literary and design excellence.

“There’s all sorts of stuff,” Quill technical editor and senior Matthew Bulotano says. “There’s art, photography, poetry, prose…it’s cool.”

The staff of the Quill is very eager to improve their next issue and get an even better score, and they know exactly which areas to work on.

“The last couple of years we’ve been recognized for the design and creativity in our magazine,” Lovato explains. “We don’t have a real process of revising and editing pieces, so our goal is to develop a process of revising and editing pieces so the literature is as polished as the design.”

Students come after school to work on the Quill, since it is not a class, but a club. “Kids get no compensation except a pat on the back from not only our school and our community, but also organizations like the Scholastic Press Association,” says Lovato.

The students must actually give up their spring break to come in and work on the publication. They do everything, from writing the material to designing the layout with the new program “InDesign.”

The job is difficult, and it seems unlikely that so many students would give up their spring breaks for the Quill, but the staff insists that it’s worth it.

“Because of the Cardinal Quill the students become more fascinated with arts and literature,” says senior Vanessa Farfan. “They come after school to meet authors. They come to see what literature is all about, what prose is all about. This is why we have the literary society, the creative writing class. Because of the Cardinal Quill.”

In addition to student poetry, short fiction and artwork, this year’s magazine included a CD of spoken word pieces written and performed by members of Mt. Pleasant’s championship poetry SLAM team.

The Cardinal Tribune
Some of the great graphic designers of the Cardinal Quill staff also belong to the Cardinal Tribune, helping the newspaper gain praise centered on its professional and creative layout. The paper also garnered admiration from reviewers, receiving a 920 out of 1000 on their evaluation.

Judges commented that the paper “was enjoyable and entertaining and covered a wide variety of topics, both serious and fun.” One critic gushed, “The graphics and layout are fantastic!” The award was based on a critique of six out of the eight issues from the last school year.

“I think it’s great!” says an excited Paula Ridley, the Tribune’s adviser. “I think I’d like to see it get closer to 1000. It’s great to have a goal in mind.”

The students are also excited about their gold medal winning score, the first they have ever received.

“We had a great all-around staff last year,” says current co-editor-in-chief, senior Alex Terrazas. “The reporters and editors all worked really, really hard. But it was just fun. It was fun to work, and it was nice to know that we won something.”

The students and teachers alike agree that the Tribune’s success stems from its focus on the student body and its ability to hold their interest.

“It’s very student-centered. Everything here really has to do with things that are important in students’ lives. There’s nothing here that’s really just for the academic world to see, or just to impress the principal. There’s a lot of variety and a lot of features about students themselves,” Ridley says.

But what makes the paper stand out could also be what the Tribune could change to improve itself for this year. “I’d like to see more community-based articles and reach out beyond the school,” Ridley hopes. “We will start covering issues that are larger than just us to awaken students to what’s out there.”

So what’s Mt. Pleasant’s secret for achievement? Something in the water maybe? Alex pauses a second before concluding with a smile, “We try to work really hard without stressing ourselves. We don’t want this to be a burden, we just want to enjoy ourselves and have fun.”