by Annie Zhang
What do you guys mean by “revamp”?
The Helix is starting brand new, as of January 2021. New editors, new staff, new pipeline, and possibly most exciting of all, a new website. From the staff side, it’s a totally different experience, with more efficiency, more output, more in-depth feedback, and, what I’m most proud of, more intimate editor-writer relationships. Basically what that last bit means is, if you decide to submit a piece for the Helix, either as a regular contributing author or just spontaneously, on a whim, your Co-EICs will give you in-depth line-by-line and larger commentary to help bring your piece to its highest publishing potential. Not because any of our writers don’t know how to write (to be clear, our writers are phenomenal), but because we believe the Helix shouldn’t just be a slot for submissions, but a collaborative, growing atmosphere for the arts, politics, science, and more. From the reader’s side, we’re pushing to get, again, 100% readership from the Biotech community, and hopefully, as a byproduct of this readership, a more spirited, united, and simultaneously diverse school environment.
What part(s) of the new Helix are you most excited for?
Personally, I can’t wait to see all the art, poetry, and fiction in the original works section. Honestly, that was my whole entire goal with revamping the Helix (specifically, my thought process was I’d open up an artistic, literary presence, almost like a literary magazine, in our school environment, but take a nice shortcut by installing this presence in an already established school base: the Helix). The second thing I’m super excited for at the Helix is all the political op-eds we’re expecting: Biotech’s got a highly aware and passionate student body, and from the get-go, we had around three or four writers approach us with heavily political and sensitive material, ranging from China’s oppressions on Taiwan to two pieces, actually, on the state of democracy in modern America. Clearly, Biotech has ownership over a strong political voice, and though we’ll have to be careful, particularly in the beginning, with how we broadcast that voice, I loudly believe it deserves to be heard. Plus, we’ve got a biotech-themed comic strip in the works with an absolutely stunning design and set-up, so I’m super excited for that, as well.
What exactly are your thoughts on censorship?
Right now, we’re new to this, so we’re going strictly off of Mr. Brown’s thoughts on censorship: basically, cold, hard reporting will stay off the table, and more opinion-based, student-voiced pieces on politics will be encouraged, and, when published, labeled clearly with the header “OPINION.”
Why do you think the Helix is going to be an absolutely amazing addition to Biotech?
I think it’s going to be the perfect addition to Biotech for the exact same reasons JSA and A&E function beautifully in a heavily STEM-oriented school: that is, it opens up a cathartic outlet for students who are daily pushed in one rigid and often all-consuming direction. I also hope the Helix will, by covering the whole spectrum of school news, political news, student news, and everything else relevant in between, help amp up school spirit from the subtler and perhaps more revealing medium of writing.
Rapidfire FAQs: How often does the Helix publish? Who can publish? What type of content do you cover? Will there be leadership opportunities?
We do two batches of publications per month, though articles typically come out scattered around these centralized batch publication dates. As a regular contributor, you can opt in or out of any one of these batch publication dates, or, if it suits you best, publish on your own whimsical schedule. Anybody can publish, about basically whatever (although, a caveat would be potentially sensitive or triggering material). For a more specific, in-depth guideline to what content we routinely publish, you can check out the “Available Categories” post on our website. And finally, yes, there will be new leadership opportunities, created as everyone sees fit, especially as the Helix matures.