Production is underway for Manhattan College’s first women’s lifestyle magazine.  Masthead positions have been assigned for the Lotus Magazine 2017 editorial board.

The board is a series of leadership positions that oversee the production of the magazine, and consists of a managing editor, two executive editors, four section editors, a photography director, an art director and a technology director.

All positions will be presided over by Melissa Gallardo and Olivia Paladino, the magazine’s Editors-in-Chief.

“We manage our staff of editors, writers, photographers and models in production of a once-a-semester women’s empowerment magazine,” said Gallardo of her and Paladino’s position.  “We organize our weekly meetings with our staff and editorial board and oversee production and layout of the soon-to-be online magazine.”

Sophomore Madeline Davids will serve as one of the magazine’s two executive editors.  The position entails reading articles from all three of the magazine’s section before they are finalized for publication.

“Essentially, I am one of the final people who will see and edit an article before it goes to print. I don’t work on any one particular section of the magazine, as I am editing work from every staff writer who has submitted to the publication,” said Davids.

Junior Katherine Compton will serve as the magazine’s managing editor and one of the two Self-Expression section editors.

“As the managing editor, I will be helping out with the chief editing position as well as editing all submitted articles to the magazine and working on the layout of the whole publication,” Compton said.

Her other position as Self-Expression Editor will focus primarily on topics such as fashion and beauty.

“We want to promote confidence with this section, and show women they can find that with what they wear or how they present themselves, or simply by the song they listen to on the way to class,” said Compton.  “I think this section is going to be extremely empowering for all women.”

The other section, Changing Outlooks, will focus mainly on women’s issues and health and will be supervised by junior Grace Ostolozaga.

“Our ultimate goal is to tell stories that focus on pressing issues, especially those that are typically told through the lens of misogyny or the male perspective, shame women in storytelling or are ignored altogether,” Ostolozaga said.

Paladino, a sophomore communication student, said that the magazine was conceived through collaboration between Gallardo and herself.

“I’ve always been very into living positively and supporting the women around me, who are often put down and picked apart by our society today, and I feel this is an attitude that is often lacking in the fashion/beauty industry,” said Paladino.  “I liked the idea of combining the two.”

Gallardo said that she met Paladino during the college’s Open House, and that Paladino had mentioned starting a women’s lifestyle magazine.  Once Gallardo signed on, the girls began their collaboration on Lotus Magazine.

“After talking about how our magazine could be different from other publications on campus and out on your local newsstand, we decided to become a women’s empowerment magazine,” Gallardo said.

The magazine’s mission statement and overall goal is “to honor the body, mind, spirit, interests and diversity of Manhattan College’s female population by producing articles related to such, and through recognizing [its] powerful female faculty, students and alumni.”

“Society has done a great job at making us feel like we will never be good enough or beautiful enough,” said Compton.  “I want to change that because so many women feel insecure about themselves in various aspects, and I believe with all my heart that needs to change.”

Davids also hopes that this magazine will provide more positive representation of women to the community.

“Through this magazine, we hope to highlight and honor the diverse, powerful females at Manhattan College while simultaneously dispelling harmful female stereotypes and discussing the issues faced by all women,” Davids said.

Lotus Magazine is currently pending club status through the Office of Student Engagement.  If said status is approved, the magazine will receive funding, which Paladino said will contribute to publication of a print edition.

MC students are encouraged to contribute to the magazine’s inaugural issue, which will tentatively be released electronically at the end of the Spring 2017 semester. Weekly meetings of Lotus Magazine are held on Mondays at 7 p.m. in Kelly Commons, Room 4.12.

“We are always looking for contributors: boy or girl, of any grade,” said Paladino.