Being a voice for others is a difficult role that journalism takes on, and at the Crescent, it’s no different. We work hard to bring the student’s voices first and foremost to a broader audience. However, for a lot of people, the way this process works is a mystery since they most likely have never worked in a newspaper before. The man leading the charge behind the Crescent is none other than Tommy Housman, a UE alumni and current Instructor of Communications and Student Media Advisor. While he is technically in charge of the Crescent, he never overlooks the fact that it is a student-led project. This means that while Tommy does ultimately have the final say as to what goes in the magazine, the goal is for the Crescent to be a place for any student to share their thoughts and opinions on a wide variety of topics. While the writers for the Crescent are free to write about what they would like to, their articles aren’t always going to be featured as heavily as others, depending on what the theme of the issue is. This means that an article could end up either later in the issue, or in a different one entirely, depending on where it fits best.

Once the articles have been submitted in, they go to Dani Parisi, the Lead Editor for the Crescent. “I love everything that goes into the editing process, especially as a Creative Writing major, and [editing] has always been something I’ve enjoyed about writing,” said Dani. “Getting to go through and see the fine details that go into what stories people tell. Plus, it’s a good insight into what other students are concerned about.” With this power comes the dilemma of finding a balance of editing to match their style, while also making sure not to drown out their voices. “That’s one of the biggest challenges with editing – trying to make a piece clearer for the audience, while also trying to make sure that you aren’t changing the intent of the author. Every writer has their unique style, so one of the biggest challenges for me is making sure that any edit I make also falls in line with the voice of the writer, because I’m not the one telling the story, I’m the one making sure that they flow smoothly with no grammatical or spelling mistakes. I want to present the Crescent itself in a nice way, but I don’t want to change the voice of those writers.”

After the editing process, the articles then go to the Crescent’s creative team, including the Creative Director, Jasmine Brents. “As the creative director, I take all the articles from the writers and decide how to put them in the magazine. I decide the order, which members of the team design the issue, as well as the overall theme.” Jasmine has only recently taken up the role of Creative Director, but she’s already hard at work bringing her style to the Crescent. “Since becoming the creative director, one thing I have made sure to focus on is the backgrounds for the articles.” She mentioned how, in the past, individual article designs didn’t always mesh together well and, while fun and attention grabbing, weren’t always the best way to present an article. This is one thing she and her team focus on heavily in their stage of the process: article design that is balanced and fits each article together to make a complete issue of the magazine. As talented as Jasmine is, she actually joined the Crescent her freshman year, when she had virtually no experience. “I didn’t know anything about design – I was a freshman. It all scared me, but looking back I’m glad I did it so early. Now, I get to be the one to help out others where I used to be struggling, helping them to learn the process just like I did. I’m really proud of how far I have come in design, as well as how far the Crescent as a whole has come too.”

Once the issue has been edited and designed, there’s not a lot left to the process. The final checks are made by Tommy to ensure that no mistakes are left behind, and then it’s sent off to print. Once it comes back, it’s distributed all over campus – from the benches in Hyde Hall to the tables in Ridgway, you’re more than likely to find a copy of the Crescent waiting for you to pick up and read.