Behind the Scenes: The Tartan Editors

     Walking into the media center, you hear a distinct yell: “FORMAT CORRECTLY!” Heading towards the sound, you discover the Tartan Editors poring over this week’s articles. Seniors Bri Brown, Evelyn Dann, Chase Dissinger, and Riley Loftus make up the small group of editors for Oak Hills High School’s newspaper, The Tartan. 

     Editing is an integral part of journalism. Without editors, false information could be flying around everywhere. Dann described that, “You could be the smartest writer in the world and still need an editor…like us editors have to edit for each other because you are not a super genius robot…everybody needs help.” This was demonstrated in a story told by Dissinger, “I remember my first article, I accidentally put…something completely wrong on there and I…didn’t research it at all and it was caught by one of my peer editors.” The fact that the Tartan’s editors are also students helps writers take and respond to criticism. Brown shared that, “[student editors] help build confidence in others…I was talking to [a writer] the other day and she was like ‘man, you really tear up my article but like in a confidence boosting way’…like oh, okay, I think that was a compliment.” 

     Loftus has been in Tartan the longest, three years, while Brown, Dann, and Dissinger have been in it for two. This year, the Tartan gained a large number of writers. This means that each editor has at least eight students to edit for. They also have to handle upkeep with the Tartan website. Courtney Vaive, the teacher leading the Tartan, praised the editors, claiming that they have updated the website and “made [it] interesting for the student body.” 

     As editors, every article gets run by them before getting published. Each editor has a unique process. They check for grammatical errors, formatting errors, and false information. Loftus said she “[reads] it once to get a general overview of big mistakes, then [she goes] in looking for small mistakes.” The other editors expressed similar methods, though Dann strongly emphasized the importance of basic structure: “I don’t waste time editing something if it’s not structured appropriately because at that point… it might not be worthy or relevant to publish.” 

     Though the editors make many contributions to the Tartan, they engage in a plethora of other activities in their free time. Dissinger plays volleyball, codes, and is a part-time IT intern receiving hardware. He plans on going to college for cybersecurity with a minor in computer science. Loftus plays piano, reads, and writes in her free time. She plans on going to college for psychology, but claimed she wants to “minor in either English or journalism…just so [she doesn’t] lose [her] mind.” Dann swims, lifeguards, throws shotput and discus, and helps supervise and coach Special Olympics swimming. She plans on going to Mt. Saint Joseph to be a high school art teacher. Brown is on the leadership board for the writing center, is a part of the tennis team, and is a barista. She plans to go to college for aerospace engineering. 

     Joining the Tartan is a great way to branch out in your writing. Loftus explains that “typically [students] are used to analytical stuff or more formal writing, but in Tartan… you can be a little bit more loose, you can be more casual, conversational, it’s fun to write about things that you actually care about.” 

     Attaining support for The Tartan is one of the main goals for the editors. When asked how one could support them, every single one of the editors said to donate and read articles. The Tartan has a “print edition”, which is a digital version of how a real printed edition of The Tartan would look. They are unable to print it due to minimal funding. Loftus shared, “There’s a hope that we can someday do actual physical prints.” To help The Tartan achieve this goal, Dann suggested, “Read our articles, even if you don’t feel like reading [them], find something short, find something written by a friend, and read it…take a couple [of] minutes.” To read or donate, go to ohhsthetartan.com, or scan the QR codes hung up around the school.