�鶹��Ƶ Student Media

Student literary journal recognized with Pacemaker award

Katarina Benson — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:43:26 +0000

Student literary journal recognized with Pacemaker award Katarina Benson Wed, 06/11/2025 - 09:43

For more than 30 years, the student-run bilingual literary journal Hispanic Culture Review (HCR) at �鶹��Ƶ has published poetry, essays, and narratives in both Spanish and English and highlighted photography and visual art. Now it is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

HCR has been awarded a 2024 National Magazine Pacemaker Award by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP). Volition, George �鶹��Ƶ’s undergraduate literary and arts journal, was named a finalist in the same category.

ACP has awarded the preeminent recognition in student journalism, unofficially known as the “Student Pulitzer,” to spotlight excellence in college media since 1927.

The HCR team with the Pacemaker Award. From left, HCR faculty advisor Carla Burns; Valeria Veliz-Vargas, 2024-25 HCR editor-in-chief; Katty Becerra de Melo, 2023-24 HCR editor-in-chief; HCR faculty advisor Jason Hartsel; and Robin Borge Mora, 2023-24 HCR managing editor. Photo provided

HCR’s mission is to bridge communication gaps and strengthen cultural bonds between English- and Spanish-speaking peoples by publishing original works from diverse creators around the world.

Since the first issue of Volition in fall of 2006 (formerly known as Apathy), the publication’s mission has been to unite George �鶹��Ƶ’s artistic community and serve as a showcase for undergraduate creativity. Publishing original poetry, prose, and visual art, Volition seeks to elevate emerging artists and writers.

Gary Lundgren, coordinator of the Pacemaker competition, noted the quality of the winning student magazines rivals those produced by professionals. “The creativity displayed in the literary arts magazines is incredible — the unique formats and creative designs make the magazines themselves a work of art,” he said.

For Valeria Veliz-Vargas, HCR’s editor-in-chief, the award was welcome news. “Getting the news about the Pacemaker award was super exciting,” said Veliz-Vargas, who worked on the journal for three years. “It goes to show that the work HCR produces is valuable and seen.”

Veliz-Vargas, who is double majoring in Spanish and communication with a concentration in public relations, said she first heard about the journal in her SPAN 315 Spanish in Context for Heritage Speakers class. “It caught my attention because it blends the two majors I’m studying and blends language and culture with writing and literature.”

HCR and Volition faculty advisor Jason Hartsel in George �鶹��Ƶ’s Office of Student Media said he was thrilled to see the two journals recognized nationally. “Each issue [of the journals] is the culmination of many hours of hard work, creativity, and hands-on learning by our talented students, and this award will no doubt inspire future teams to leave behind their own legacy of distinction."

Student Media comprises more than 10 student-run media groups that publish original content online and in print, enabling students hone career-related skills in publishing and broadcasting. Those outlets include the university’s official student newspaper, radio station, and television network, as well as seven journals/magazines, a sports broadcasting team, and student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Veliz-Vargas said working on HCR definitely enhanced her time at George �鶹��Ƶ, and she gained a lot of experience from her leadership role. “I learned how to delegate and lead a team while managing hard deadlines, planning events, and promoting the publication both on and off campus,” she said. “It has motivated me into exploring career paths that will allow me to continue doing this kind of work.”

"Putting out a journal that shines light on the beauty of Hispanic literature and art meant a lot to me, and seeing other people's reactions was always a treat," said George �鶹��Ƶ alumna Katty Becerra De Melo, BA English '24, who served as editor-in-chief of the award-winning issue. "I really value what writing and reading bring to the world, and I believe it should be celebrated."

Learn more about George �鶹��Ƶ's Student Media

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A seat at the table: So to Speak journal celebrates its 30th anniversary

Sarah Holland — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 13:45:01 +0000

A seat at the table: So to Speak journal celebrates its 30th anniversary Sarah Holland Thu, 03/21/2024 - 09:45

Imagine: the early 1990s. Toni Morrison just won a Nobel Prize. The Soviet Union is dissolving. Amazon, an online bookstore, is about to launch on the brand-new worldwide web. And women are still, overwhelmingly, not being published.

Photo courtesy of So to Speak.

But in 1993, a group of students in the MFA in creative writing program at George �鶹��Ƶ plans to change that with the launch of So to Speak, a feminist journal for art and literature.

“Journals, while theoretically open to everyone, were dominated by male authors,” said Colleen Kearney Rich, MFA ‘95. “There weren’t many places for women, specifically, to be published. We wanted a seat at the table.”

Rich was one of the original editors of the journal, recruited by the cohort of poetry and fiction students who spearheaded the idea.

Back in the early days, the journal had minimal funding. “Only a thousand dollars!” Rich remembered. “All the other established journals could pay their staff. It was volunteer work for us in the beginning.”

Working on the journal at night after classes, teaching each other how to use Adobe PageMaker, filing tons of paperwork: the first issue of the journal was a true labor of love that they weren’t sure was going to be well-received.

“We were trying to figure out how we could print this thing with only $1000,” she said, “And we were worried about the pushback we’d get.”

But there was clear and obvious interest from authors outside of �鶹��Ƶ.

“I remember when our first submissions came in. One of them was poems from Lucinda Roy, the award-winning novelist and poet. And I thought ‘Oh my gosh, this is real. People are really coming to us.’”

Even in those early days of bringing finished copies to the printers on disc drives, So to Speak was, Rich thinks, a trailblazer.

“I feel like it set the tone for the shifts we’re seeing in publishing now,” Rich said. “In the past ten years, journals have become more cognizant of diversifying the authors they publish. But that’s what So to Speak has done since the beginning. We were always ahead of the curve.”

Thirty years, more funding, and the advent of USBs and Cloud drives, So to Speak’s core mission remains the same: give underrepresented voices a seat at the table.

“Literary journals, though improving, are still overwhelming homogenous in who they publish. And many of them are currently being defunded,” said current editor-in-chief Eli Vandegrift. Vandegrift, BA English ’20, returned to �鶹��Ƶ for their MFA in creative writing. They’ve worked on So to Speak since their first semester in the MFA program, first as the assistant poetry editor and then moving up through the ranks.

“We’re trying to showcase a wider range of voices, and we want to support writers and artists whose experiences and perspectives are not published as frequently. We want to read from as many different identities as possible,” said Vandegrift. “Giving a platform for those who have been silenced, censored, or underrepresented is what So to Speak is all about. And it’s awesome that MFA faculty and �鶹��Ƶ continue to be supportive and invested in our work.”

So to Speak embodies their mission of bringing more voices to the table in its staff as well as its contributors. Because So to Speak is an entirely student-run publication, graduate students across the MFA’s three concentrations get the chance to experience the other side of publishing and editing: parsing through submissions, organizing content, printing and distributing each issue, and managing administrative tasks.

“It gives you a new perspective, being on the other side of the submission portal,” Vandegrift explained. “You realize that a rejection, for example, might have nothing to do with quality of your work, but is just a matter of taste. Try again in two years, when the reviewers might be different, and you could get a completely different answer. But that’s good: to evolve and change in what we’re looking for allows for more people to be seen and heard across the industry.”

Since the beginning, putting it all together has been a team effort. For both Rich and Vandegrift, cooperation and collaboration between the various editors is key to So to Speak’s success.

“My team is incredible,” Vandegrift said. “And I think that, because we work as colleagues and not as a hierarchy, it really speaks to the vision of equity that forms the foundation of the journal itself.”

Another thing both editors agree on: as long as it continues to evolve, So to Speak has a bright future ahead.

“I hope it made a difference,” Rich said. “I hope prospective students saw what we were doing—what they’re still doing—and felt that they and their art would be welcomed at �鶹��Ƶ.”

Editors of So to Speak with fellow editors from the Phoebe journal and Stillhouse Press at the 2019 Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference. Photo courtesy of the Creative Writing Program.