Author Archives: Lyra Silverwolf

Editor in Chief Announced

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Frankly Speaking has been an integral part of my Olin experience, and I cannot begin to express how much I will miss it when I leave. However, as I will be graduating in less than a month, I am pleased to announce that Gigi Chow ‘18 will be taking over my role as the sole editor-in-chief next year. The paper has not only seen a fifth year of existence, but it will also fearlessly enter its sixth year in the fall under Gigi’s careful guidance and leadership.

Gigi joined Frankly Speaking with a wealth of knowledge and experience from her high school newspaper, and she has been heavily involved in all aspects of our paper since she arrived here. During her four years of high school she held the positions of photo editor and website manager, before transitioning to be a co-editor-in-chief during her senior year. I am glad to leave the paper in her capable hands.

However, Frankly Speaking can’t survive on the editor-in-chief’s passion alone. The paper isn’t possible each month without the help of our editors, writers, and contributors. Gigi needs your help to keep Frankly Speaking running!

We have several seniors who work on the paper graduating this month, including myself (EIC, 2 years), Kai Austin (editor and website manager, 3 years), and our esteemed Video Game Trivia columnist, Elizabeth Mahon (columnist, 2 years). Many thanks to them for all of their hard work!

Here’s who we need:

Editor – reads, edits articles, helps with layout. Must be able to spell and edit.

Layout editor – uses InDesign to lay out paper. Must be willing to learn InDesign.

Website manager – keeps FS’s website up to date. Kai Austin revamped the website two years ago, but he needs a successor to upload new content each month.

Copy Editor – check the first print copy of Frankly Speaking for grammatical errors, typos, and layout faux pas.

Staff Illustrator – sometimes we have these awkward spaces and they have to be filled with drawings. Can you draw things at the drop of a hat? Be staff illustrator!

Contributor – the bread-and-butter of the paper. Everyone is a contributor! Submit articles to:
submit@franklyspeakingnews.com

Five Cool New Things in the Library

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libraryUncovered

  1. Cardboard Study Carrel
    Venture down to the lower level of the library to check out our brand new study carrel made entirely of cardboard. We heard lots of feedback about replacing the carrels, and we heard you. Don’t worry, it is very sturdy.
  2. Sprout Computer
    This new computer, located on the main level near the printer, combines a touch-screen Windows computer with a 3D scanner and a projector.
  3. Tools on Display
    The tools that were formerly locked up in the lower level tool shelves are now on display on the main level. This means that you can stop by the library any time of day and check out any tool with the self checkout machine.
  4. Fiction Section
    All of the fiction from West Hall is now in its own section arranged by author’s last name in the lower level of the library.
  5. Owl Crayons
    Multi-color owl crayons. ‘Nuff said.

Welcome to Frankly Speaking

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Welcome to the sixth volume of Frankly Speaking, Olin’s student-run, monthly newspaper.

The ongoing mission of Frankly Speaking is to foster communication between students, faculty, staff, the greater Olin community, and beyond, through publishing many types of content created by anyone with a desire to be printed.

This version of Frankly Speaking has been publishing monthly issues of the paper since Fall 2010, meaning that this is our fifth consecutive year of active publishing. Surviving more than four years is a major milestone for any Olin group since each person who resurrected Frankly Speaking four years ago has by now graduated and moved on.

I’m incredibly proud to be a part of such a momentous year for our tiny, yet tremendously powerful paper, but we need your help to continue publishing. First and foremost, a paper cannot be published without content, and we rely primarily on Olin students to submit articles, comics, and drawings each month. We’re looking for writing of any skill level on topics you are passionate about. The Frankly Speaking editors will help you refine your writing to a point where you are proud to see your classmates and friends reading your work on publication day.

Additionally, we need you to join Frankly Speaking. Positions are flexible, so if you have a new idea for a position or would just like to help, please reach out to me. We need enthusiastic, passionate students to fill the following rolls for this upcoming academic year:

Editor – reads, edits articles, helps with layout. Must be able to spell and edit.

Website manager – keeps FS’s website up to date.

Columnist – write about something or answer questions every month

Contributor – the bread-and-butter of the paper. Everyone is a contributor! Come to the first meeting with your article ideas or send them to: submit@franklyspeakingnews.com.

Thank You from Frankly Speaking

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I would like to sincerely thank every single person who has made the 5th volume of Frankly Speaking such a success. As you all know, a newspaper cannot survive without inspired writers and a devoted staff, both of which I have been so grateful to have this year as editor in chief.

A big thank you to every person who contributed in any way to Frankly Speaking this year. No matter how small your contribution was, they sum to one of the most successful years the paper has seen in its short existence. Let’s keep the ball rolling!

I also owe a tremendous thanks to the Olin College IT department for letting us print for free each month.
Have a great summer, and don’t forget about Frankly Speaking when you feel like writing!

Olin to Cut the Power

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At 3pm today the College will turn off all non-essential power.

The idea of turning off the power was first pushed by Assistant Dean Nick Tatar after hearing about several experiments to turn off the internet on other campuses. “The reports coming back from those campuses were incredible. It was like the weights had been taken off everyone’s shoulders. Everyone seemed so happy to not have to keep one eye on their inbox and the other on Facebook and Twitter. We’re just taking this one step farther by turning all of the power off for the day.”

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Newspapers Require Writers

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Many of you probably don’t know that Frankly Speaking was originally created three years ago as a means of fighting back against censorship by the Olin administration and promoting open dialog within the Olin community. As such a small school with a relatively small body of administrators as compared to the average college, it is not always easy for us, as students, to get our messages across to the right people. Often, I hear students expressing frustration about something without knowing any obvious path of remedying that frustration. Frankly Speaking hopes to bridge the divide between the students and the administration and to provide a forum for communication about issues facing our community.

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Welcome to Frankly Speaking

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Welcome to the fifth volume of Frankly Speaking, Olin’s student-run, monthly newspaper.
The ongoing mission of Frankly Speaking is to foster communication between students, faculty, staff, the greater Olin community, and beyond, through publishing many types of content created by anyone with a desire to be printed.

Frankly Speaking has been publishing monthly issues of the paper since Fall 2010, but we need your help to continue publishing. First and foremost, a paper cannot be published without content, and we rely primarily on Olin students to submit content each month. We’re looking for writing of any skill level on topics you are passionate about. The Frankly Speaking editors will help you refine your writing to a point where you are proud to see your classmates and friends reading your work on publication day.
Additionally, we need you to join Frankly Speaking. Many of the Frankly Speaking staff graduated last year, leaving several open positions on the paper. We need enthusiastic, passionate students to fill the following rolls for this upcoming academic year:

Editor – reads, edits articles, helps with layout. Must be able to spell and edit.
Layout editor – uses InDesign to lay out paper. Must be willing to learn InDesign.
Website manager – keeps FS’s website up to date.
Business manager – FS sells ad space and sometimes gets emails about it! Respond to ad requests and ask local businesses to sponsor FS with food!
Staff Illustrator – sometimes we have these awkward spaces and they have to be filled with drawings. Can you draw things at the drop of a hat? Be a staff illustrator!
Contributor – the bread-and-butter of the paper.

Everyone is a contributor! Come to the meeting this weekend with your article ideas or send them to:
submit@franklyspeakingnews.

Boston Incident Reactions

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Slater Victoroff

“Boston bombings represent a sorrowful scene of what happens everyday in Syria. Do accept our condolences.” The bombings in the Boston marathon were a tragedy, and I truly wish that those few that were killed or injured in the explosion hadn’t been. I don’t mean to trivialize the pain and suffering that these events have put people through, but I think there’s some important context to be considered here.

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Why Do Our Leaders Lead?

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I am currently the Project Manager of the Olin Robotic Sailing team (ORS). However, in choosing my successor for next year, I had to ask myself: Why does anyone lead a large design team? What do the leaders get out of leading, and moreover, what do the participants get out of participating? I set out on a mission to interview leaders from the other project teams, REVO, HPV and Baja, to get a feel for their team cultures and their motivations behind leading these teams.

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