FAQ
"What is The Columbian?"
The Columbian is the student-run school newspaper for Columbia High School. Students create the content, design, photography, and art for each and every issue. The two faculty advisers, Cindy Malhotra and Joshua Enyeart, oversee design and content.
"How often does The Columbian come out?"
Historically, issues come out every two months or so, or roughly five issues per year. The process is not a quick or simple one, and we do have to outsource our printing, so there are many factors that contribute to the logistics of completing and distributing each issue. School calendars, extracurricular & athletic events, student life, weather, and many other things affect the production and distribution of each issue.
"Who can write for or be published in The Columbian?"
This is one of the most frequently asked questions we get. There are, really, three ways to write for or have your writing published in the newspaper.
1) Take the ELA elective, Journalistic Writing and Analysis course, to approach writing for the paper in the most traditional fashion. The course is offered as an elective to all students who have completed their basic freshmen and sophomore requirements. The course is taken by both juniors and seniors, and in a few rare cases, sophomores. This will allow you to learn the basics of journalism, primarily through theoretical and practical applications. Students in the course will spend the entire first semester reading, examining, discussing, and picking apart a host of professional examples in the journalistic world, as well as planning, writing, editing, revising, and critiquing their own writing in basic story styles. The second semester will offer those students enrolled in the course an opportunity to write for the newspaper in a variety of styles and on a host of relevant readership-based issues of the time proposed by the editorial board.
2) Be on the editorial board as a content editor! Content editors and designers "own" each year's newspaper, meaning they drive the decisions that make the newspaper what it is. Students who are on the staff must take Production Journalism during the year they are on staff. This course is a fine arts elective and is run by Cindy Malhotra. These students help write the history of Columbia High School by chronicling the events and trends that impact and affect the school and community. Thus, being a member of the staff is a privilege. Only students who have either completed, or are on track to complete, Journalistic Writing and Analysis or Computer Graphics can try out to be part of the staff for the following year's newspaper. Students who complete Journalistic Writing and Analysis (ELA) will have the foundation and skills to be successful content editors, while students who complete Computer Graphics (fine arts) will have the requisite skills and experience to be productive designers. Both courses will offer and promote their respective try-out processes shortly before the students' course selection process (usually midway through quarter three, but changes according to the scheduling process). Students who successfully complete the try-out processes will be notified and their course lineups for the following year will be adjusted to accommodate Production Journalism. The core goal of this course is to produce the newspapers and help support potential up-and-coming staff members (those enrolled in Journalistic Writing and Analysis or Computer Graphics).
3) Submit Op-Ed pieces as a guest columnist! The editorial board frequently offers the student body opportunities to submit Op-Ed articles. Every year is different but typically the contest is offered for almost every issue. Anonymous submissions are voted upon by the content editorial board and those selected go through the same editing process as any other staff piece before publishing.
The Columbian is the student-run school newspaper for Columbia High School. Students create the content, design, photography, and art for each and every issue. The two faculty advisers, Cindy Malhotra and Joshua Enyeart, oversee design and content.
"How often does The Columbian come out?"
Historically, issues come out every two months or so, or roughly five issues per year. The process is not a quick or simple one, and we do have to outsource our printing, so there are many factors that contribute to the logistics of completing and distributing each issue. School calendars, extracurricular & athletic events, student life, weather, and many other things affect the production and distribution of each issue.
"Who can write for or be published in The Columbian?"
This is one of the most frequently asked questions we get. There are, really, three ways to write for or have your writing published in the newspaper.
1) Take the ELA elective, Journalistic Writing and Analysis course, to approach writing for the paper in the most traditional fashion. The course is offered as an elective to all students who have completed their basic freshmen and sophomore requirements. The course is taken by both juniors and seniors, and in a few rare cases, sophomores. This will allow you to learn the basics of journalism, primarily through theoretical and practical applications. Students in the course will spend the entire first semester reading, examining, discussing, and picking apart a host of professional examples in the journalistic world, as well as planning, writing, editing, revising, and critiquing their own writing in basic story styles. The second semester will offer those students enrolled in the course an opportunity to write for the newspaper in a variety of styles and on a host of relevant readership-based issues of the time proposed by the editorial board.
2) Be on the editorial board as a content editor! Content editors and designers "own" each year's newspaper, meaning they drive the decisions that make the newspaper what it is. Students who are on the staff must take Production Journalism during the year they are on staff. This course is a fine arts elective and is run by Cindy Malhotra. These students help write the history of Columbia High School by chronicling the events and trends that impact and affect the school and community. Thus, being a member of the staff is a privilege. Only students who have either completed, or are on track to complete, Journalistic Writing and Analysis or Computer Graphics can try out to be part of the staff for the following year's newspaper. Students who complete Journalistic Writing and Analysis (ELA) will have the foundation and skills to be successful content editors, while students who complete Computer Graphics (fine arts) will have the requisite skills and experience to be productive designers. Both courses will offer and promote their respective try-out processes shortly before the students' course selection process (usually midway through quarter three, but changes according to the scheduling process). Students who successfully complete the try-out processes will be notified and their course lineups for the following year will be adjusted to accommodate Production Journalism. The core goal of this course is to produce the newspapers and help support potential up-and-coming staff members (those enrolled in Journalistic Writing and Analysis or Computer Graphics).
3) Submit Op-Ed pieces as a guest columnist! The editorial board frequently offers the student body opportunities to submit Op-Ed articles. Every year is different but typically the contest is offered for almost every issue. Anonymous submissions are voted upon by the content editorial board and those selected go through the same editing process as any other staff piece before publishing.
