What a great idea!! Columbia High School Students have launched a web publication. Check out their website by clicking here!
Here is a really great article about the website from the Local:
Introducing Columbia’s Newest Publication
By Ben Drucker
Students at Columbia High School have started a new Web publication, Academic Perspective. We asked Ben Drucker, the editor-in-chief, to describe it and how it came into being, and he submitted this post. You can become a fan of the publication on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter. Thanks, Ben!
Q.
What is Academic Perspective?
A.
Academic Perspective is an online news and editorial magazine written and created by high school students. We publish articles on topics ranging from politics and economics to popular culture. With a staff of over 10 writers, content is going up every day. In just over a week since its launch, Academic Perspective has become extremely popular and has grown faster than any of us could have imagined.
Q.
When did Academic Perspective start and who started it?
A.
The idea for Academic Perspective came to me about two months ago and really took off when I, along with two friends, began planning its launch in late September. I am the editor-in-chief, the site designer, and I take care of most of the administrative tasks. The two managing editors, fellow Columbia High School juniors Ben Donald and Seth Wolin, revise all our articles and help with administration. It took a lot of work to launch the site, going from a concept to a fully developed Web site in just over three weeks. But in the end, it was worth it.
Q.
What made you decide to start your site?
A.
Entering high school, our English teachers extolled to us the opportunities our high school newspaper, the Columbian, would give gifted writers. Columbia High School has an award-winning school newspaper, created by excellent journalism and design programs. But after reading the paper, I was underwhelmed by it — not by the quality of writing, but by the subject matter. The Columbian, like all school newspapers, is populated by articles lamenting a change in the cafeteria menu, detailing the daily activities of a new teacher, or discussing the latest school fashions. While these topics may have been of paramount importance to CHS students, there was no audience outside of the school. I, like a group of my peers, wanted to write about topics found in The New York Times, not about the renovation of the old bathroom on the third floor. No school club would give me this opportunity, so I decided to create it myself.
Q.
What are your hopes and goals for the site?
A.
I hope that Academic Perspective becomes a place where interested individuals can come and have intellectual discussions. I don’t believe such a place existed before, so I would love to be able to create it. Another major goal is to expand the readership of the site. In our first week, we had over 750 visits and close to 3,000 page views from 27 countries and 28 U.S. states, and 20 subscribers to our RSS feed. These are really tremendous numbers, but I want to grow even more. We also passed the 50-comment mark in our first week, but again, I want to do better. As much as the articles are important, the most important thing about Academic Perspective is that it become a community, not just a faceless blog.
Q.
What’s been the biggest challenge in starting and running Academic Perspective?
A.
The biggest challenge has definitely been administration. Ensuring that everyone on the staff knows when deadlines are has been difficult. Hopefully with experience, running the site will be easier and we can focus on the most important things: producing great content and building community.