Written by Micah Xu, Converge multimedia journalism intern and Junior at Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Technology (GSMST)
Many schools have a literature club or writing club, but far fewer schools have a club dedicated exclusively to creating pieces and writing for a magazine. That is what Litmag (short for Literary Magazine) does for the students at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, or GSMST.
The club was started by Mr. Andrews, the AP Language teacher at the school, when he transferred over from a different high school. He decided to keep the club going, but he takes a very hands-off approach to it, and he mostly lets the club govern itself.
The current president, a senior by the name of Avery Adaeze Uzoije, who goes by Adaeze, asserts that the main purpose of the club is to “grow and develop the writing skills of students in a math and science school in a friendly, casual way”. This philosophy has governed and grown the club, and that helps maintain the friendly, silly environment that contrasts with the otherwise vigorous, competitive nature of most of the other clubs offered at GSMST.
Adaeze got involved in the club when she was debating between the math club and Litmag when she was a freshman at the school, and she ended up joining Litmag because it was far more casual and less competitive than math club, which she found to be needlessly intense and competitive than it needed to be, since “all the members were trying to one-up each other in the first meeting.”
Litmag is divided into two parts, the class and the club, and each has its purpose. The class, which is a one semester class offered at GSMST, is in charge of both writing and creating the magazine itself, choosing which pieces go in and what the theme of the magazine for the semester will be. The club also writes for the magazine, but the club is in charge of promoting and ensuring that the entire school—like it or not—knows about the existence of the magazine.
In the end, both halves come together, and the result is a magazine made entirely of student-made writing and art. Litmag might not be the most popular club, but it is the dash of light and life that gives the science and math at the school a bit of levity and creativity. While many people attending the school do not believe they will enjoy writing, it never hurts to try. After all, you never know how good you are at something until you try it yourself.
