By Avery Boulware, Campus Carrier News Editor

Freshman Savannah Harris, left, Katie Ott and Lacey-Mae Arnold view the finished online magazine along with Valkyrie staff members at the launch party on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

Kicking off with a launch party in the Jewel Box on Tuesday, Berry’s new online magazine, Valkyrie, is officially up and running. 

“I’m really excited to see where this goes, how our staff grows and how the students take to it,” managing editor Sara Arms said. “Our release party went really well and our magazine has been really well received, and I hope that just continues to grow.”

The online magazine is 60 pages long and includes six sections: funk, arts and music, food, sports, style and buzz. The first issue features a wide range of subjects, including student tattoos and a timeline of Berry sports history. There will be two more issues released this year, the next one appearing in February. 

Arms said creating the magazine was, at times, a leap of faith.

“It was something that none of the editorial staff had ever done before,” Arms said. “We were excited to start something new and become a part of something, building it from the ground up.”

Valkyrie staff includes more than 20 students working as section editors, graphic editors, proofreaders and photographers.

“It’s been such a great opportunity to work with really talented people,” Arms said. “It’s inspiring to me.”

As managing editor, Arms double and triple-checks other editors’ pages and helps staff members wherever she can. Arms said she wants to make sure that everyone enjoys coming to work for the magazine. She also said there are positions open for anyone who wants to expand their writing and design skills.

Because Valkyrie ended Cabin Log’s more than 80 years at Berry, editor-in-chief Emilee Burroughs had concerns about how the student body would react.

“I was really worried about branding ourselves,” Burroughs said. “People don’t know what happened to Cabin Log, so I was afraid about how people are going to receive this. One of my concerns was that people wouldn’t respond well to the change or even know that we changed over.”

Having done yearbook for six years, Burroughs herself felt bittersweet saying goodbye to Cabin Log. However, she knows that better things are ahead.

“Change is good,” Burroughs said. “It’s necessary at times. I think the yearbook was serving a purpose, but the needs of our audience has changed.”

A link to the issue is posted on Valkyrie’s Facebook page.