Magazine criticized for lack of student inclusion
In the 2012 edition of “Leonardo”, CNM’s literary magazine, editors abused power for their own personal gain, said Allocation Board member James Roach.
Of the five editors, three had five or more of their own works published in the magazine. Out of hundreds of student submissions, only 25 total authors and artists were included, according to the magazine’s table of contents.
“Leonardo”, which was released in April, started with 243 submissions this year, which is about the average number received each year, said “Leonardo” Adviser and full time CHSS instructor Patrick Houlihan.
“I am ashamed of how these students have selfishly taken advantage of this student organization to make themselves feel more important; it’s just distasteful,” said Roach.
The magazine used to be a project for a class which has been since cut from the curriculum, said Houlihan. All of the editors and layout designers are volunteers, he said.
The pieces that made it into the magazine were chosen by a majority vote, said General Studies graduate and “Leonardo” Editor Cat Hubka. Hubka had 10 pieces in the magazine, more than any other contributor.
“Leonardo” Editor Joel Wigelsworth was not available for comment; no contact information could be located for editors Aaron Stout, Milly Leyva or Leah Leyva
“Everything came down to votes. If three of the editors voted for it; it got in,” said Hubka.
Selection guidelines may be needed for “Leonardo”, said Roach, who has worked with literary magazines before. Selection should be left open, but editors should be limited to a maximum of two works, he said. To avoid favoritism, submissions should be limited to three per applicant, said Roach.
“These guidelines are pretty simple, and standard for most literary magazines,” said Roach.
If the magazine had more time, more submissions would have made been included in the magazine, said Hubka. There was also a shortage of art work submissions, she said. Editors were also concerned about layout because they did not want to go over budget, said Hubka.
“I didn’t know how the software and layout worked, or I would have crammed more in the magazine,” said Hubka.
More pieces could have been put in “Leonardo”, said layout designer for “Leonardo”, Jonathan Gamboa, who also works for the CNM Chronicle. The magazine had a 50 page minimum and pieces were placed, on average, one to a page just to fill space, he said. All the pieces for the magazine had already been chosen when he came into the project, said Gamboa.
“Pretty much with design you can do anything. There’s no limit,” said Gamboa.
The magazine was a total of 65 pages and took two days to design.
“Leonardo” is a student organization and is allotted funding by the Allocations Boards to put something together that represents the students, said Roach. The magazine is given more money than the average student organization because they are a campuswide publication made for the benefit of all students, said Roach.
“If “Leonardo” did what they did, but only used the minimum amount of student funds that all student organizations get, then I wouldn’t have had a problem with an abuse of power,” said Roach.