As winter’s thaw into spring brings a renewed sense of vitality and a refreshed outlook to students across the Academy, campus publications are also witnessing significant changes this season, as they welcome new members into their leadership positions. Preparing for an upcoming year of challenges and triumphs, new boards have taken the reins of power for a variety of student organizations. Backtracks Among the many publications welcoming new boards this term is Backtracks, Andover’s oldest general interest magazine. As this year’s Editors-in-Chief Jon Polenz ’03 and Yasmin Dahya ’03 move on to future ambitions, Alex Thorn ’04 and Susannah Gund ’04 prepare to lead the new board into a year of success and accomplishment as they take the helm of the publication. As one of his primary goals for the upcoming year, Thorn seeks to greatly expand the magazine’s subscription base. To do this, the board has come up with several innovative ideas that it hopes will increase student interest in Backtracks, including producing a CD, which will feature the work of various student bands from across campus. Thorn and Gund have also increased the size of the magazine and are prepared to face the challenge of formatting the additional space. “We have a great board and they have shown a lot of dedication so far,” Gund said. “I hope over the course of the next year Backtracks can develop a greater presence on campus.” The first issue produced by the new board will be released during the week of May 1. The Courant Assuming leadership of the literary arts magazine The Courant, Ling Ling Wei ’04 and Emily Guerin ’04 look to raise student awareness of the publication. To accomplish this, the new board plans to focus especially on obtaining a wide variety of quality writing from talented individuals across the school. According to Wei, the new editorial board has many aspirations for the publication. “We want to appeal to a wider audience, and to go about this, we are trying to attract a variety of writers – particularly among Juniors and Lowers,” she said. Additionally, Wei hopes to experiment with several new ideas, including some possible revisions in the layout, while ensuring that the The Courant’s many traditions, such as the Senior Chapbook, remain. Frontline Looking forward to a strong year for Frontline, Jeremy Beecher ’04 and Sam Levenback ’04 will be serving as the new Editors-in-Chief for Andover’s political magazine. Other key members of the new Frontline board include Managing Editor Elisabeth Polk-Bauman ’04 and News Editor Daria Axelrod ’04. Anticipating a successful future, Levenback cited his major goal as “maintaining a reputable publication that is one of a kind and continues to be highly regarded on campus and beyond.” Beecher echoed similar sentiments, remarking, “We are hoping to improve on the high standards set by the last board and bring more controversial and provocative reports to the Andover community.” Expressing satisfaction with the direction the new board is taking, outgoing Frontline Editor-in-Chief Paul Sonne ’03 considers a continued focus on relevant issues to be of paramount importance to the magazine’s future. Reflecting on his own tenure at Frontline, Sonne said that because many students are initially hesitant about “political” magazines, he “tried to interpret ‘politics’ in a very broad way,” enabling himself to pursue issues of immediate relevance to Andover students. With the upcoming edition taking an in-depth look at religion, Sonne is confident that, under the leadership of Beecher and Levenback, the board will continue to employ this strategy and witness sustained growth and success. WPAA With its turbulent past behind it, WPAA eagerly anticipates the upcoming year, as Executive Director Alex Thorn ’04, Station Manager Cotton Harrold ’04, Director of Programming Seth Stulgis ’04, and Events Coordinator Ali Schouten ’04, prepare to lead the radio station into the future. Among the many additions and changes that will be made under the new board, one that Thorn considers to be of particular importance is the move to web-casts that will occur by October of next year. Confident that the availability of WPAA programming through the Internet will make listening more convenient for students. Schouten expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming radio shows, stating, “We have a lot of new shows as well as old favorites. The whole board is really committed and we are excited about expanding WPAA and making it a bigger prescence on campus.” Thorn expects an increase in the radio station’s popularity as time progresses. The new Executive Director also conveyed excitement about several of the new shows that the station will be running, including WPAA’s first late-night show, which premiers this Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. Pot Pourri Already occupied with the assembly of the 2003 yearbook spring supplement, the new Pot Pourri board, led by Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wendell ’04, foresees a host of additions and changes to next year’s edition. By significantly increasing the amount of written material, Wendell plans to elaborate on the ideas of the last board and turn the Pot Pourri into a historical record that students can look back on to remember 2004. She says that students can expect many revisions in the 2004 yearbook and hopes to transform the book from its past as solely a collection of candid pictures into something much more meaningful. “I am so lucky to have such a hard working editorial board,” Wendell remarked. “We have been making excellent progress on the Spring Supplement, and everyone has been doing an absolutely amazing job so far. I am really looking forward to putting together the best yearbook possible for next year.” With high hopes, the new board aspires to submit the publication, upon completion in 2004, to a national contest, where they hope their hard work will earn them a victory. Meanwhile, the new board is busy at work on this year’s spring supplement, an 88-page publication that will accompany the 2003 yearbook. Wendell considers the supplement to be a convenient means of preparation for undertaking the enormous task of completing next year’s 460-page yearbook.
