Three student-run media magazines at SRU are getting ready to release their newest issues. Sound and Literary Arts Book (SLAB) and RockScissorsPaper publish art and artistic writing, while The Roxy focuses on film analysis and criticism.
Each publication has a relatively small staff. The Roxy and SLAB publish booklet-length issues once per year, and RockScissorsPaper publishes material online as it comes to them. The former two also have websites where their articles are published.
Jack Dolinger, an editor at The Roxy, said they collect material from campuses across the state to include in each issue along with local submissions.
“We review these submissions, and if they’re insightful in film in any way, we publish them with their issue,” Dolinger said.
Members of each magazine review submissions, then choose which ones to edit and include. Zoe Brown of SLAB spoke about the process.
“It also gives you a good exposure to all the stuff that’s out there, the good and the bad,” Brown said. “As a general idea, you definitely get a better view of your own work [on] a more global scale. And that helps you become a better writer as well.”
SLAB is an internationally known magazine that has existed at SRU since 2006. They attend a yearly Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference to showcase their work.
“This past [conference], we got secondhand shirts from Goodwill and the Salvation Army,” Brown said. “We got little patches made and sewed them onto the shirts so that we had funky merch.”
Although the S in SLAB stands for sound, they no longer have an audio component. RockScissorsPaper, however, started a podcast this past April. Two episodes have been uploaded on Spotify. Alyssa Fallavollitti, the publication’s president, discussed their plans for the future.
“We have one or two submissions that we are going to review at our next meeting,” Fallavollitti said. “After that, we’re hoping we can spread the word so we can get more submissions from students.”
RockScissorsPaper members meet every other Tuesday to discuss related activities and review potential material. They are branching out into alumni outreach, including submissions from graduate students as well as undergrads.
Members of all three magazines will be attending a publication release party in late October. The Roxy is working on a horror-themed short film to be screened during the event.
Dolinger, Brown and Fallavollitti all listed numerous skills learned through their respective magazines. These include experience in leadership, editing and publishing, as well as organization and Adobe Suite skills. Dolinger recommends joining if you are interested in professional writing, regardless of your experience level.
“If you have zero experience with [editing or InDesign], that doesn’t mean you’re not qualified,” Dolinger said. “The staff members and advisors are there to help you get experience that you could use in the professional world.”
