PENINSULA’S LITERARY MAGAZINE RECEIVES AWARD

Peninsula’s student literary magazine, Beard Full of Butterflies, entered the annual nationwide contest held by the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) at the end of the 2017-18 school year and received first place in the magazine category. The competition provides participating magazines with advice on page design, story layout, graphics, headlines, cover design, advertising placement and photography. Each magazine is given a score between zero and 15 on creativity, design, graphics and story layouts. The highest composite score is awarded first place. The winning magazine is given a certificate and a written review with suggestions and encouragement for the staff from the committee of judges.

Senior and co-editor-in-chief Mei Johnson was proud of the 2017-18 issue because it thoroughly displayed students’ artistic abilities. The magazine had received more submissions than in any of the previous years, so the staff felt this issue represented a wider variety of students. Poetry is common among the submissions, but in this issue, they also received less common forms of entries such as sculptures, ceramic pieces and speeches from Walk for Life, Peninsula’s annual fundraiser for cancer.

“The biggest thing I am proud of this year is the diversity of submissions,” Johnson said. “It added variety to the magazine, and I felt that when you read it that way, it had more of a fresh feeling. The diversity also showed that we are more than just a science, technology, engineering and math school. Many students submitted things that were unexpected, and it is nice to see the range of talent our students have.”

English teacher and literary magazine adviser Betsy Okamoto has worked with the literary magazine for 12 years and was proud of the award given to the 2017-18 staff. The staff works in her classroom and she helps them with printing and submitting the magazine to the ASPA. For the 2017-18 magazine, the staff worked extra hours to create a magazine that truly represented Peninsula.

“I loved the issue and the staff last year, specifically my editors,” Okamoto said. “They were an amazing group of young adults [who were] talented writers and artists. They were visionaries, and I absolutely adored working with them. This year’s staff worked closely with them and they know what is expected of them. Every year, the staff tweaks it to their class and ultimately adds to the magazine as a whole.”

Senior and co-editor-in-chief Karina Remer appreciated the fact that the magazine addressed topics that are not normally considered the most comfortable subject matter to discuss. There were a large amount of submissions involving tragedy and mental health, and she felt that addressing these topics in an artistic form strengthened the magazine. Remer respected the students’ willingness to open themselves up and allow their voices to be heard.

“The best part of the issue was the content,” Remer said. “Reading the magazine was rewarding because of how much creativity and thought was put into it.”

Johnson is excited for this year’s magazine because she believes the students have much to offer. She is grateful the magazine provides a platform for students to express themselves.

“Our magazine is a great way to showcase the range of talent here at Peninsula,” Johnson said. “It gives readers the opportunity to hear students outside of the classroom.”