In the times of the COVID-19 outbreak, the literary magazine Veritas will focus on subjects relating to the pandemic in a special edition to help share students’ voices. 

“We think it will yield lots of amazing writing because students are facing incredible adverse situations and circumstances that they’re going through,” English teacher and Oak Park Literary Arts and Veritas Magazine club adviser Leslie Miller said. 

The COVID-19 edition of Veritas will include student reflections on topical incidents, including the COVID-19 crisis and police brutality protests, according to Literary Magazine Veritas vice president and senior Zoe Berger.

“2020 is a strange year in many aspects – our system of distance learning not least among them – and the literary magazine is hoping to reflect these changes in our collection,” Berger wrote to the Talon.

The Veritas literary magazine is a paperback book that has been published for the past 4 years featuring writings by students. Despite having to do distance learning, Berger still holds the same beliefs about the club. 

“I have always believed in the importance of sharing and celebrating our school’s creative passion, and the literary magazine is a unique opportunity to do so! I have always found it to be a friendly and accepting environment,” Berger wrote.

The Veritas staff would like to publish the fifth edition this year, as well as distribute last year’s fourth edition. 

“Even though we are all at home right now, it’s even more of a reason to publish something physical, like an artifact,” Miller said. “We’re open to selling [Veritas 4], maybe in conjunction with getting textbooks. Maybe, when you are getting your yearbooks.”

The entire club functions online via Google Drive — so receiving and editing students’ written work shouldn’t prove to be a problem. Since the plan for receiving content hasn’t changed, the club’s main focus currently is distribution of last spring’s edition of Veritas. 

Senior Haniah Hamza has written for the magazine last year and wishes to submit their pieces to this year’s edition as well.

“I usually do surrealist pieces and different poetry styles but a nonfiction element is something I’ll definitely want to try this year!” Hamza wrote to the Talon. “This year’s edition will definitely be special because it’ll be really interesting to see the pieces that come in this year because most Oak Park kids live in comfortable, upper-middle class bubbles and seeing pieces that break that stereotype would be incredible.”

Despite difficulties for students during COVID-19, Veritas strives to be as accessible as possible and serve as a repository for sharing thoughts and feelings.

“For me, the use of writing as a creative outlet has always been therapeutic, so it is my dearest hope that our focus this year will help my fellow students process the complicated emotions of these times,” Berger wrote.

Students can follow the Veritas Instagram, @ophslitmag, or email the club with questions and submissions at [email protected].