“‘Backtracks’ is an amalgamation of earnest ramblings, introspective reflections, personal epiphanies, informed reporting, fresh perspectives. ‘Backtracks’ is confessions, candid truth, revelations,” said Caroline Lu ’15, who will serve as Co-Editor in Chief of the magazine next year.
As the oldest general interest magazine at Andover, “Backtracks” provides a creative outlet for students to share their thoughts and opinions. Janine Ko, ’14, the Editor in Chief of Backtracks, feels that creativity is an important, yet undervalued means of expression at Andover.
“There aren’t a lot of outlets for creativity at Andover,” said Ko. “I think ‘Backtracks’ fulfills that gap in every sense of the word. We’re writer and editor driven. Because we’re small and not very established, ‘Backtracks’ is very light on its feet… I think that flexibility allows for the magazine to grow and change and adapt with our staff’s interests.”
Although “Backtracks” is a magazine that is still in the process of finding its feet, it has been growing and expanding with great velocity. According to Ko, the formerly dysfunctional publication now prints three to four issues a year and has a staff of around 30 students.
The relationships between writers and editors in the context of “Backtracks” differs greatly from those of other student publications, due to the synergetic nature of the editing process.
“A big priority for us in these past few issues has been working directly with writers to improve their pieces and really define exactly what they want to say. As the Reports Section Editor [the political section], which was my role before turnover, I spent a lot of time sitting with writers, going through their arguments, organizing them, and so on,” said Lily Grossbard ’14, who will be the Co-Editor in Chief of Backtracks next year.
“Backtracks” has transitioned to using only student-created artwork under Art Editor Corinne Singer ’15.
“When I became Arts Editor Lower spring, I was the only person dealing with arts on the entire board. At the time, the only artwork included in the issues came from the internet, and students who contributed to the magazine did so solely through writing. I have used the time since lower spring to construct an entire arts team… Our staff artists are the ones responsible for creating all of the amazing pieces in the last couple of Backtracks editions,” said Singer.
The “Backtracks” board has also taken significant steps towards becoming a closer-knit organization.
“This year, we ramped up board unity,” said Ko. “‘Backtracks’ was previously a non-commitment, and the hardest thing was getting people to care… Because we had a space of our own, we felt more like a board and a publication, rather than a group of people working entirely over email.”
“I have yet to encounter a writing community as inclusive as that which ‘Backtracks’ fosters. I love ‘Backtracks’ for its brilliant, quirky, courageous writers,” said Lu.
