Editor-in-Chief Speaks: End of the Year!

Hi, all! This is Alex Milshtein, Editor-in-Chief of Art Ducko. Here we are, and another school year has (practically) passed us by. A lot has happened for Art Ducko this year. We’ve increased our magazine’s length from 32 pages to 40 pages, and this is the first year we’ve a released a magazine every term. As this year ends, I want to publicly say thank you to our senior members, who are graduating this term, and who really made all of this possible: Louis Cicalese, Jalan Ember, Ruby Lambie, and Benni Rose.

Louis Cicalese

Louis Cicalese served as our Events Director for the past two years. He was with us from the beginning. Before we had ever gone to print, we had Art Ducko events, and Louis is the reason why we were able to have those events, and why they were so successful. Having strong events was pivotal to establishing ourselves as a new magazine on campus. Louis put a lot of work into the magazine—in spite of how busy he got, Louis always had time to make Art Ducko events perfect. He is a good worker, and a great friend. I wish him the best of luck come graduation, and of course I’ll miss him. I’m sure he’ll find success, and whatever success he finds I know he’ll deserve it.

Jalan Ember

Jalan Ember served as our Layout Chief for the past two years. Like Louis, he’s been with us since the beginning. In fact, he and Louis are roommates. They would always walk into meetings together. One of my favorite Art Ducko moments was when the two of them walked into a meeting twenty minutes late… because they were watching a squirrel get into a fight with a woodpecker. For those of you who are curious, the woodpecker won. Anyway, back to Jalan. He is a major reason the magazine looks as good as it does. Art Ducko was incredibly lucky to have someone so talented join its ranks. He will be going on to the UO’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program this fall. I would wish him luck, but he has so much skill and talent when it comes to art that wishing him luck would be a moot point. Don’t believe me? Check out the cover for Issue 3—that was all him.

Ruby Lambie

Ruby joined the layout team after our first issue. Besides putting the magazine together, Ruby has had several comics published in Art Ducko, most notably Man Under the Iron Skin, from Issue 4. She also drew the fantastic EC-tribute cover for Issue 5. Putting together Art Ducko takes a lot of work, and Ruby was able to lend her talented hands and make Art Ducko look as wonderful as it does. Her art style is distinctly innovative and is one of the reasons why Man Under the Iron Skin turned out as such an amazing comic. Ruby will also be going into the UO’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program this fall—another stepping stone in her journey in the world of art, and I’m sure she’ll keep producing fantastic work.

Benni Rose

Benni Rose served as the Chief Copy Editor for the second issue, and has served as a leading copy editor ever since. Benni has helped to make sure the text, articles, and interviews are the best they could be. As a part of our copy editing team, a lot of their work is the kind that goes unnoticed by the reader: the stuff that ensures the magazine reads smoothly. It’s a lot of work to organize the magazine’s articles and to edit all the text—and no offense to artists, but it’s great to have more word-savvy people on staff. Benni served on the magazine as Art Ducko integrated with the ASUO. They provided an ear that would listen to me as I talked about the stressful process and provided advice, guidance, and comfort. Ultimately that’s how I’ll remember Benni, as the person who helped me get through the politics, and as a friend who I can trust.

Once again, a huge thanks to Louis Cicalese, Jalan Ember, Ruby Lambie, and Benni Rose!