Submissions are open for the 2015-2016 Kula Manu, and the editorial staff said they are looking forward to reading the opinions and ideas from the campus and community. Art, photography, poems, short stories, and essays can be submitted to kulamanu.submittable.com and will be accepted right up until the deadline on Jan. 15.
This year’s editorial group in the Kula Manu has five people, a steep contrast from the previous class of 20. “There’s a lot of work to do,” said student editor Tevita Livai, a sophomore from Kahuku majoring in history. “There’s only five of us.”
The Kula Manu, which means “flock of birds,” is a literary journal that has been printed since the 1960s. Student editor Chris Cornelison, a senior studying English from Hau’ula, said while looking through past issues, he noticed how the style changed. “It’s our little monument that we get to put out for future classes of students and community to look at,” he said. “See what our campus was like in this particular point in time.”
Livai said this year’s issue will be like a subconscious snapshot of “what people are going through, what they choose to write about.”
Student editor Kyle Madsen, a senior from Arizona studying psychology, said, “I’m excited to see what kind of variety of things people will bring to the table. Don’t be afraid to submit whatever you have. We’re excited to receive a range of submissions.”
The Kula Manu has gone through changes since the last time it printed in the Winter Semester of 2015. The class is now solely devoted to advertising, editing, creating, and printing the new issue. “We’re kind of breaking away from some of the molds we’ve done in the past year,” said student editor Miranda Lee, a senior from Oregon studying English. She added the students have worked harder in advertising and getting the word out about the journal.
The students said they hope their advertising will get more people to submit. “We’re trying to get people beyond the regular 20 to submit their work,” said Livai.
The editors are Livai, Cornelison, Lee, Madsen, and Ryndan Riley, with Professor Joseph Plicka as their mentor. “We have a pretty diverse group of editors, even though there aren’t many of us,” said Ryndan Riley, a junior studying psychology from Nevada.
The Kula Manu will give those who submit to the magazine an opportunity to be published and “be seen by other people,” said Riley, “which could be a big step when somebody’s making their own artwork or creating things on their own...Last year I submitted and it helped for people to read my work, and see it in print.”
An awards ceremony will held for those who win in the different categories and cash prizes range from $50 to $100. Free copies of the Kula Manu will be given at the ceremony and be available afterwards to anybody who wants one, said the editorial staff. The Kula Manu is also accessible on Facebook.