illusions

Fresh from being the Editor-in-chief of our high school paper, i entered the College of Science wanting to write still. It was then that i found the organization specifically for Biology students and applied for AVP-publications. I had my credentials and I had friends. After a month on the job, i had my staff (which i am proud to say i was able to recruit all by MYSELF). I found a great lay-out artist, an exceptional graphic artist, and the best possible managing editor there is. I had, as Associate Editor, the best possible staff. 

Number one on my check-list was done, and halloween was fast approaching. With only 4 other people on board, I set out to try the impossible- make a 20 page magazine with a staff of 4. It should have been, if you'd think about it, a piece of cake, but with the intense schedule dropped on a COS student, we failed.

This is what happened to the first supposed issue of In Vitro. 

We had a theme- it was halloween. My writer and I made our features and editorial articles. I was so engrossed with comparative anatomy then that i really wanted to feature the taxidermy statues in the lab. My lay-out artists already made a great background... but then... the other articles failed to come. I was faced with editing some of the most absurd 'articles' i've ever read. I, with my 6 years in the school paper, have never seen an article composed of a single paragraph. I thought schools taught their students that a composition, to be standardly acceptable, should at least have 3 paragraphs with 3-4 sentences each. In addition to that, as a journalist i'd like to scream the word: "LEAD". Never will one see in a periodical an article without a lead. Even the short ear articles have leads.

As i'd like to continue, November passed us. We tried for christmas, but had to revamp the whole thing because we can't have Santa as the grim reaper right? By this time, my staff had reached the point of frustration, (because they really worked hard). Fast forward to third term, the then VP Marketing suggested that we make the first Ezine available in the COS. I proposed it, and they approved it. My layout artist and I finished the strip. Honestly, if one would look at the 3 out of 4 articles there, my name was placed after an 'and'. Though i practically re-wrote, actually wrote the articles based on the information from another paragraph, all of them to make them fit in the strip in an aesthetically pleasing and informative way.  And thus, after everything, we released a crappy issue.

So a new school year came, i talked to the new president and discussed that we needed a staff- an actual staff. If they only knew how i practically begged my severely frustrated staff to stay, they'd be so ashamed. A lot of applicants turned in forms, but aren't active at all. So my layout artist and graphic artist quit, though they did  promise to finish the 1st issue. 

Now, after doing 90% of the issue, we are faced with what we call our hell week. Honestly, we went through a lot of those already, we really just did inserted the magazine as much as we can- especially my lay-out artist who did the whole lay-out as i am admittedly sucked at it so i focused on editing ALL the articles. So now, here's where i blow up.

I asked our 'boss' to finish up the paper, since while we were pretty much lazing around he was unable to give the last pieces of the paper, AND SINCE HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING BUT 3 CRAPPY ARTICLES, WHICH WERE BY THE WAY THE HARDEST ONES TO EDIT BECAUSE HE HAS NEVER HEARD OF PARAGRAPHS.

And... well... since we are going to print this issue, i was tasked to call up the publishers and give him the raw files for finishing. Here's the point where i'm really yelling:

JUST BECAUSE I WAS UNABLE TO GIVE IT TO HIM THE WEEK I WAS SUPPOSED TO, HE IS CLAIMING THAT I AM NOT DOING MY END OF THE WORK. WHEN HE HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING OTHER THAN GIVE STUPID PARAGRAPHS. AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT EVERYONE IN THE COLLEGE OF SCIENCE IS BUSY AS HELL. AND THAT HE NEVER HAD THE NERVE TO CONSIDER OUR FREE TIME BACK THEN, BECAUSE I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER INFORMING HIM OF OUR AVAILABILITY: I TOLD HIM THAT WE WERE FREE TO DO THE PAPER FOR A CERTAIN WEEK, YET HE GIVES US THE NEEDED MATERIAL ON A SUNDAY NIGHT!

I AM INSULTED AND FED UP. I LOST MY STAFF BECAUSE THEY DID NOT FULFIL THEIR END OF THE BARGAIN. I AM TIRED OF DOING ALL THE WORK AND STILL JUST BE AN ASSISTANT. I WANT TO DO A JOB THAT IS COMMENSURATE WITH MY POSITION. IT IS NOT THAT I WANT ALL THE GLORY, I JUST WANT MY JOB DESCRIPTION. AND BESIDES, WHERE HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE POSITION ASSISTANT EDITOR IN CHIEF FOR SUCH A SMALL PUBLICATION???

Since the people i have stayed for a gone, i am turning in the cd this week and will be resigning from my position in Societas Vitae. I know i did promise a publication, but there is only so much i can do with the resources they gave me. I am considering this a failure on my part, but i do believe that by staying i am going against my own principles. I work for the love of it, and unfortunately this experience has taken all the love i have for journalism.

I RESIGN.