The Episcopal Academy's 2018 Epolitan literary and arts magazine has been awarded a prestigious silver medal from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA).
Founded in 1925, the CSPA critiques student newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, and online media to inspire students to improve and advance their work. CSPA adviser-judges analyze student work and give constructive criticism based on the organization's established critique guidelines.
In its critique, Epolitan garnered praise for its content, design, creativity, and expression. According to English teacher and Epolitan advisor Chris McCreary, the work featured in Epolitan only scratches the surface of EA students' creativity in and out of the classroom.
"While Epolitan captures only a fraction of the great art being created each year at EA, it is an important record of student accomplishments in writing and visual arts," he explains. "I like that some of the work is produced in classes but much of it represents the artistic passions our students pursue in their almost nonexistent 'free time.'"
According to Visual Arts Chair and Epolitan advisor David Sigel, this award was indicative not only of the talents of Episcopal students, but the dedication of Epolitan's editors.
"The amazing thing about our student body is how creative and passionate they are about their art form. The ability to collect, collate, and celebrate all of that is exciting enough," he explains. "Then, when you have these amazing editors who want to support those passions, that's what makes an award-winning magazine."
However, winning awards is not the primary objective of Epolitan's editors. To win a CSPA gold medal, a publication must adhere to strict layout and organizational restrictions.
"We always discuss the importance of the critique," says Sigel. "Every year, the editors agree that their main goal with Epolitan is to assemble it in best way the actual pieces seem to fit together – not by CSPA's guidelines. It's a conscious choice by the students involved."
Throughout the last academic year, editors Adelynn Anderson '18, Aylish Flahaven '18, Amalie Hipp '18, Amaal Ladha '18, and Paloma Zozaya '18 honored the artwork, poems, and prose by taking time outside of school hours to compile the publication.
Their hard work paid off. Epolitan did more than showcase 36 pieces of artwork and creative writing – it celebrated The Episcopal Academy's passion for and dedication to the arts.