The Editor Experience

ELTON HO
Staff Writer

As most Moors spend their lunch periods outside chatting with friends, one group of students is stationed at computers in a classroom. They type rapidly with experienced fingers while scrutinizing the flickering screen in front of them. Meanwhile, students in the computer lab are arranging photos and articles on layouts in preparation for a rapidly approaching deadline. These tireless workers are the editors of The Moor Weekly newspaper and The Alhambran yearbook.

The Moor Weekly’s editorial board currently consists of 13 students who fill different editor positions: news, opinions, features, sports, copy, photos, cartoons, graphics, staff liason, business and circulations. The final members of the board are the two editors-in-chief, who are responsible for the entire staff.

The Alhambran has standard editors such as copy, photos and editors-inchiefs, as well as those who are in charge of certain sections in the yearbook, such as clubs and organizations and academics and sports.

The roles of the advisers and the editors-in-chief are to oversee the entire process and ensure the best possible quality of their publications. The current adviser of The Moor Weekly, Mark Padilla said that his favorite part of being adviser is working with the student staff.

“[Everything] from the stressed out faces of incoming staff members to the overwhelming emotions of sadness on the faces of those graduating serve as wonderful memories,” Padilla said.

This year is Lori Naylor’s second year as The Alhambran’s adviser, while current editor-in-chief Tevin Voong has been on the staff since his freshman year. Throughout the year, submission deadlines of about 40 pages at a time must be met on certain days. Voong has the responsibility of monitoring progress so that the deadlines can be met.

“[It is] a lot of work and [it is] hard keeping track of everything,” Voong said. Nonetheless, he genuinely enjoys every part of his job, including working with the staff, designing layouts and taking photos.

Throughout the years, editors develop incredible bonds, perhaps due to their enormous shared workloads and constant proximity to each other from all those hours on the computers. To editors, putting together their publications is both an enriching experience that promotes self-dedication and an enjoyable one due to their remarkable friendships.