Phillipian Features Editor Application
Background Information:
1. Name: Connor Devlin
2. Year: 2018
3. Cell phone number: 917-865-8332
4. Position(s) applying for, in order of preference: Features Editor
5. Spring 2016 G.P.A.: 5.0
6. Fall 2016 G.P.A.: 5.4
7. List your current time demands. Include extracurricular activities, your course schedule, and current sleep habits. My current course schedule is: English 300, Chinese 520, Physics 400, Comp Sci 500, and Art History. My current extracurriculars include: Chinese Language Club and Philosophy Club. My current sleep schedule: 7.5 – 8.5 hours per night.
8. Have you ever sat before a disciplinary committee? If so, please explain the circumstances and result. No, I have never sat before a disciplinary committee.
Short Answer (Please respond in 50 characters or less):
1. Three adjectives that describe you? Driven, enthusiastic, responsible.
2. Show to binge-watch next? Bojack Horseman.
3. Favorite word? “Plagiarism” (Shakespeare, 23).
4. Dream job? Ski-bum.
5. Person to live on a desert island with? Charlie Mayhew.
6. Favorite scent? Febreeze Air Effects Original.
7. Greatest source of inspiration? My family.
8. It’s 9:43 p.m. and the Den is about to close for the night. What do you grab? David BBQ Sunflower Seeds.
9. If you could, what is one thing you would uninvent? FaceBook.
10. Tomorrow is Head of School Day. What do you do with your free time? Cozy up in a bed with a nice book.
11. What is the title of your life story? The Blue Book.
Long Answer:
1. Describe one of your quirks. Why is it essential to who you are? (150 words) One of my quirks is that I constantly clean my room. If my room is dirty or messy, I won’t be able to concentrate on my work. When I clean my room, I make sure I’m thorough and complete. I’ll fold clothes, make my bed, wipe down the tables, vacuum the couch, vacuum the floors, and clean out the trash. This quirk is essential to who I am because it’s a reflection of my meticulousness and single-minded focus. I complete whatever task is at hand with scrupulous detail, and I make sure that it is satisfactory and up to standard. This attention to detail exhibits itself in my work for the Features section. I’ll make sure the layout of the paper is aesthetically pleasing, and that I inspect articles, to the best of my ability, such that they contain no mistakes.
2. What is The Phillipian? What is its primary purpose? (150 words) The Phillipian not only informs the student body about the ongoings of campus, but also provides a voice for the students to express their ideas, beliefs, and complaints. The Commentary section allows students to broadcast their opinions, the News section informs the students of important campus events, the Sports section covers the various athletic teams, etc. The Phillipian synthesizes the events and opinions on campus, allowing the reader to cultivate an accurate image of the school. By reading The Phillipian, one can understand the general consensus the student body. Additionally, many faculty read The Phillipian, meaning it acts as an informative liaison between the students and the administration. If students are particularly outraged or concerned about something, the school newspaper is an ideal way to express such concern and begin a dialogue about the issue at hand.Therefore, The Phillipian is essential to communication amongst the members of this campus and the dissemination of relevant information.
3. Why do you want to work for The Phillipian? (100 words) I want to work for The Phillipian because it provides a unique opportunity to address the issues pertinent to the study body, and it is central in maintaining an informed campus. More specifically, the Features section allows me to express different views and poke fun at the various happenings on campus in a bipartisan and fair manner. The Features section can satirize things on campus and relate them to broader current events, as we did with the election and the 4×5 schedule. Therefore, The Phillipian is a powerful tool that can be used to draw attention to problems on campus and in the larger world, while maintaining relevance to the student body.
4. Please read the articles “Admitted, but Left Out” by Jenny Anderson and “When It Comes to Falling in Love, Where Are All the People of Color on TV?” by Ali Barthwell. What different types of diversity are or should be important to The Phillipian? What steps can The Phillipian take to increase the measure of diversity on the next, and all subsequent, boards? (300 words) The Phillipian, as a student run newspaper, should reflect the values, opinions, and experiences of our current student body. As such, The Phillipian should include a variety of different races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This diversity, in all its forms, ensures that The Phillipian is truly representative of the Phillips Academy student body. This diversity is crucial, as having people from varied experiences ensures that fresh perspectives are constantly being added to the school paper. This is especially important for Ed Talks when we discuss the topic of the editorial. By having numerous people from different backgrounds, we not only ensure that what is chosen as the week’s editorial is an accurate reflection of the overall student body, but we also ensure that there is a much larger wealth of ideas to draw from, due to the various perspectives. Additionally, this diversity would ensure that no material offensive to one particular group will be unknowingly published, as each person will bring different insights and reactions to a certain statement. Diversity is especially important at a place like Andover, where the student body can be very homogenous and similarly-minded. Much like Trinity, Andover’s student body consists of people from different races, genders, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. For The Phillipian to truly cater to all these students, they must portray an accurate representation of the school’s beliefs. Otherwise, without this diversity, the newspaper could be prone to embodying only a certain group’s beliefs and views, making something that should be a voice for all into something that is a voice for few. In fact, it is an essential property of a newspaper to present a fair and multifaceted view on all matters. Therefore, diversity is an essential quality and asset to all newspapers, including The Phillipian.
5. What does this quote mean to you? “I am a human being, not a human doing” – Kurt Vonnegut (200 words) This quote, for me, expresses a sentiment of innovation and creativity. As I’ve worked for The Phillipian, I’ve noticed how easy it is to get stuck in a very fixed rhythm/routine. It’s easy to use the same types of jokes, make the same statement, use the same layout, etc. This limits your ability to make an innovative, creative, and envelope-pushing piece of work. In essence, you become “a human doing” rather than a “human being” because you fail to incorporate your changing beliefs, new ideas, and fresh perspectives into your work, as a result your work becomes stale and is no longer achieving its full potential. This is especially relevant to the Features section, as you must constantly come up with a new topic to satirize, so if you’re constantly reusing or recycling various jokes, the section quickly becomes overplayed and tiresome. This is why I believe it’s important to stay out of a repetitive routine and to always be innovating in every way you can.
Features Application
Write a sonnet about John Wu’s forehead. (30 words) I wonder if they’ll Realize I wrote a haiku And not a sonnet. How do they expect Sonnets to be thirty words. This is good enough.
Create a list of 20 words that describe Emma Kelley’s feet. Purring, abrupt, marvelous, fixed, exclusive, irritating, tranquil, willing, closed, childlike, ablaze, level, dizzy, disastrous, penitent, longing, wealthy, present, humdrum, and noisy
Write the choreography for Juju Lane’s newest dance, entitled “The Wriggling Unicorn.” (100 words) First, wear a horn on your head. Now, put your right foot out. Tap your heel to the ground twice. Place your right foot behind you, and with your left foot tap your toe to the ground twice. Then, you want to place your right foot forward, while tapping the ground once with your heel. Then, you’ll want to place your right for back, while tapping the ground once with your right foot. Afterwards, you, once again, place your right foot forward while tapping the ground with your heel one time. Finally, tap the floor to the right of your right foot once.
How will you recruit new writers? (200 words) Maintaining a large group of writers is essential to having a well run, diverse section. Having many writers ensures that you can complete your section quickly and thoroughly, seeing as you can distribute the work amongst more people. Additionally, more writers means you have more people generating ideas, increasing the potential for humor in the section. I plan on recruiting writers by contacting those that signed up for the club rally, ensuring that those who have active desires to write for the section begin working as soon as possible. I’ll also place advertisements for writing for Features in the section itself. Finally, I’ll approach the younger students in my dorm about writing for Features. By doing so throughout the year, we can constantly gather writers increasing the potential and efficiency of the section.
What kinds of topics must you avoid in the Features section? Why? (300 words) When you are publishing satire, there is a fine line one must tread between tasteful and offensive. In the Features section, one must avoid any offensive topics or satirize one in a trivializing manner. Sensitive topics should be navigated with caution and respect, so when someone reads The Phillipian they don’t feel persecuted or singled out. This is not to say that controversy is not allowed in the Features section. On matters of divide, like politics, the section should maintain a balanced, fair view that presents the objective facts of one side of the argument. Additionally, vulgar topics should be completely avoided as crude humor is inappropriate and unsuited for a school newspaper. Finally, anything that would be considered libel must be avoided, in order to ensure that The Phillipian maintains its reputation as a trustworthy, factual, and balanced newspaper. Therefore, when satirizing prominent figures of this campus, such as the Dean of Students or the Head of School, you must operate with caution, as to not put words in their mouth or frame them in a poor light. When managing a Features section, it is important that you remain both funny and inoffensive to those that read the paper.
Why is the Features section important? (200 words) The Features section is important because it satirizes major events that are relevant to life at Andover. Therefore, the Features section both informs the student population of ongoing affairs while applying a humorous spin to the subject.
What do you want to improve in the Features section? (200 words) I have multiple ideas for the Features section. I’d get rid of themes, as they often constrict the topics you can convey in the section. Without a theme, you aren’t restricted to satirizing one subject, allowing for a funnier section that is relatable to a larger portion of the student body. Additionally, I’d try to stray away form the typical Andover jokes (beyond meat, lack of sleep, getting 4s, etc.), and focus on satirizing more broad, important issues. In addition to getting rid of constricting themes, I plan on increasing our digital presence. I’ve organized the creation of a Features Twitter, and we plan on collaborating with the video section. Furthermore, I’ve discussed adding polls to Features with the Online section. These polls will better inform us of what our audience wants to see in the section. Finally, I believe our articles provide a good platform to satirize current events in a humorous, balanced way. I believe these changes will benefit the Features section as a whole.