Rosa Repke
Editorial & Opinions Editor
The latest Montage event, the ever-competitive Teacher Competition during flex on Dec. 17, was a major hit and winter break gave club members a much needed chance to recover. However, the next few weeks will require a lot of hard work both in school and out of school because the club is in the final stages of producing their annual Montage Book. “We try to fit in as much as we can during our Monday flexes, but sometimes it’s just not enough,” OHS senior EmilyJane Szeliga said. “Whatever we can’t do, we end up doing at Caribou.”
The Montage Book requires an immense amount of both planning and preparation. The book is composed completely of work created and submitted by students. There are three committees in charge of organizing the submissions into the sections of the book: poetry, prose and art. “The editor of each committee takes the submissions from the boxes then presents them to the rest of the club members during the meetings,” Szeliga added. “Members then vote on what pieces best fit into the book and once a piece has majority vote-it’s in.”
The club has been working extra hard this year to promote memberships, support and submissions. Submissions make the book, yet club members are aware that students considering entering may not feel comfortable with attaching their name to their work or having their work be voted on by their peers. As a result, the club has taken steps to make sure students can feel confident about submitting. “Submissions being presented are completely anonymous, even within the separate committees,” Szeliga explained. “Only the editors know who created the work.”
Most submissions will be published. The club is lucky to have no size-limits on the book. They can add as many pages as they want to, which often results in a wide variety of student work. The club works hard to make the book something for everyone. “It showed everyone’s work with no editing or alternations, which is something I think should be admired,” OHS junior Elliott Heerman, who is not a club member, explained. “I know that I have the option to have my work published anonymously if I want, which makes submitting less threatening to think about. Everyone can do it.”
Montage has truly transformed over the last few years and has become widely accessible to everyone of all interests. The club is always encouraging new memberships, new submissions or just those looking to help out. “I really had no idea what the club was about until I was dragged to a meeting by a friend freshman year,” senior Johnna Sundberg said. “However, now I’m a layout editor and my most exciting moment is when the book is finally published and I get to see how all of our hard work and the different pieces of work come together. I’m really happy I made it to that first meeting!”
Submissions for the book are due on Jan. 21, so by the looks of it, there isn’t that much time left to get a masterpiece in! With a group of students who are the farthest from threatening…(haven’t you seen their new unicorn shirts??), submitting is easy and painless. Who knows how life will change once you’re a published artist?