As the publication date for the first issue of the Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts (LUJA) approaches, members have been working to gather content that will showcase the work of students from the faculty of arts.
So far, nine pieces have been selected and will appear in the journal at the end of April. This was out of the 130 pieces submitted by applicants for consideration.
Kevin Gerlach, chairman and founder of LUJA, said that competition was very fierce and board members of the journal had to make sure the application process was fair.
“We wanted to make certain that the process was fair to everyone who submitted and at the same time that it represented the best of the best,” said Gerlach about the applications.
Students had until Jan. 31 to submit their work to the LUJA office in order to be accepted into the journal.
Members of the board placed a standard on applicants that they must have received a minimum of an 80 per cent grade in any class from the faculty of arts to submit their work. This was to ensure they received the best quality.
“We made certain that in keeping the minimum at 80 per cent as opposed to raising it any higher that people from all grades got their voice in and we allowed multiple people to submit multiple papers,” Gerlach explained.
The work submitted to the journal was divided up between editors based on relevant expertise. Editors with philosophy backgrounds edited philosophy papers, anthropology students edited anthropology papers, and so on. Each editor received ten to 15 papers to look through, of which they selected two to be submitted to board members for a final vote.
Gerlach explained that they were looking for between eight and 15 papers for the publication, depending on their length.
“There are printing costs to worry about,” Gerlach said of the reason for the low number of pieces selected to go to publication. “We’re printing through The Hub, not through Laurier Press. We wanted to print through the student organization.”
Currently, the journal is in the midst of the editing process, which involves revising and editing articles to be put in a journalistic format.
While the annual publication is coming out at the end of April, they are planning on distributing it throughout both the summer and fall terms. Gerlach explained that they wanted to have the publication out for the summer term to see how interested students are in reading the journal.
“Our goal is to make certain that students have it in their hands by the beginning of next term. That’s when we want to see our major distribution go out.”
The members of LUJA are hoping people from other universities hear about the journal and learn more about Laurier. Depending on the initial distribution, the journal may publish online as a way for students at other universities to access it.
“It’s been going very well,” Gerlach said. “We’re very happy with how this has turned out.”
He hopes it will impact first-year students and show current Laurier students how to get involved in the arts along with other clubs and organizations.
“There are so many good clubs and societies in arts on campus and I’m hoping when people see the journal it’s just one more example and it shows people how to get involved.”
