Fall 2005 PDF - Milton Academy

Co-editors of La Voz, 2005:Emma Sando Catherine Buzney Sara PulitThe editors figure out the theme and thenassign writing to eight to 10 writers tocover news, features and departments.They may focus on active political, culturalor social events in Spain or Latin America,and then include a focus on relevantMilton campus life. Departments includeop-ed opinion pieces, reviews of moviesand restaurants, cartoons, and columnscalled “Gente”—or “People,” and “Entrevistra”or “Interview.”One issue took on “La politica de NAFTA,”(the politics of NAFTA), when those politicswere timely. An issue this year highlightedtwo plays of historical importanceby Spanish authors that were just stagedat Milton: The Sins of Sor Juana aboutJuana Ines de la Cruz, one of the greatpoets of the Spanish language; and theClass IV (Grade 9) play, Fuente Ovejuna, adrama of comedy, romance and familiarhistorical themes, written in 1613 by Lopede Vega, a Spanish contemporary ofShakespeare. Another issue staged a contestin writing in the style of Nobel laureatepoet Pablo Neruda.La Voz’s editors know their target audience—modernlanguage enthusiasts whowant a deeper immersion into Spanish.Other journalistic challenges are unique totheir genre. For instance, both the writersfor their journal and the readers have arange of ability; each issue involves at leastthree rounds of skilled editing. They haveto teach their writing staff journalisticstyle—in Spanish. The editors mustmerge diverse articles, about the worldand the Milton campus, into a coherentand attractive whole. The strengths oftheir staffs vary from year to year. Theirbig ideas strain against a tight budget.All three editors enjoy the writing aspectof their jobs most. They like doing theresearch, moving to a framework of ideas,and then writing. Working on La Voz hashelped their writing in English, they say:Finding the big ideas comes easier; goodediting is worth the effort. The pleasureof a finished product, a permanent expressionof the ideas and the hard work,pleases everyone.Cathleen Everett31 Milton Magazine