SSHS Literary Magazine

Code of Ethics

I. Originality
A. All pieces created by authors with the intent of publication with the
literary magazine should be original written work. Plagiarism in the form of
uncredited pieces, quotes, or ideas is never allowed.
II. Respect
A. The Santa Susana Literary Magazine values respect first and
foremost in all of its publications. Pieces submitted should abide by general
school guidelines and should refrain from promoting derogatory, disrespectful, or
otherwise offensive material.
B. The above rule is not to be confused with pieces that respectfully
discuss issues or topics that often carry conflicting opinions. A piece that contains
a reasoned discussion of ones opinions or ideas that does not exist solely to
inflame readers may not automatically fall under offensive content.
III. Truthfulness and Accuracy
A. All pieces submitted should contain, to the best of the authors
knowledge, accurate content. They should not attempt to distort, misquote, or
convolute facts or ideas that may mislead the readers of the relevant piece.
IV. Diversity
A. The selection process undergone by the literary magazine staff
values pieces that place diversity, sensitivity, and an awareness of global issues
at the forefront of their narrative. In addition, the literary magazine values these
characteristics within its own staff.
V. Collaboration
A. Equality among staff members will be prioritized in all staff
meetings. When voting on magazine decisions open to the entire staff, every staff
member is guaranteed one vote regarding the current issue. As an extension of
this, all ideas proposed by staff members will be given an opportunity to be
considered equally during staff deliberations.
1. All staff members are allowed to contribute to
discussions at board meetings. However, voting taking place during board
meetings will be limited to the votes of board members only.
B. The theft of ideas between staff members is never allowed. When
possible, all ideas should be credited to those who created it or contributed to its
development in collaboration with its original creator.
C. Bullying or intimidation amongst magazine participants is not
allowed under any circumstances. In addition, conduct of this nature violates
school conduct rules, and participants may be subject to discipline by school
officials.
D. As the literary magazine staff emphasizes collaboration and
teamwork, students are discouraged from taking on responsibilities with the
intent to complete them independently and without input from their fellow staff
members. This kind of independent contracting prevents staff members from
participating equally and can hinder the growth of the publication as a whole.
E. In the event that two people are interested in writing a piece on
the same subject, both individuals are allowed to submit their pieces
independently. This is to prevent any sort of monopoly on an idea. When it comes
time for selection deliberations, the staff may likely be faced with the decision of
choosing one article over the other for publication. This decision will be made
exclusively on the pieces literary merits.
 SSHS Literary Magazine

Submission Rules and Guidelines

As this is a school publication, the content of Santa Susana High Schools Literary Magazine is
in keeping with the educational mission of the school. While every effort will be made to respect
authorial agency and the free exchange of meaningful ideas, the submissions for this magazine
represent the school in our community. With this consideration in mind, the SSHS literary
magazine will only accept for submission pieces that demonstrate scholarship, skill, and an
empathetic, humane world view.

All pieces submitted for publication considerations must:

1. Be original work, as plagiarism of any kind is not allowed.

2. Relate to the literary magazines current theme, gender issues or feminism.
3. Discuss its subject matter in a respectful, meaningful, and thought-provoking
way.
a. Submissions must not demean, insult, or discriminate against any
group of people, whether based upon religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, or political views.
b. Submissions must be made in good faith and not be intentionally
inflammatory. If a piece is obviously and intentionally in contention with another
viewpoint, it will be rejected.
4. Meet the technical guidelines in place for the type of piece.
a. Written pieces, excluding poetry: 1,500 word count maximum
5. Undergo an editing process led by student editors on the magazine staff.
6. Submissions that advocate for illegal activity, intentional disregard for school
policies, self-harm, abuse of drugs or alcohol, or violence against others will not be
accepted and may be turned over to the administration for disciplinary action.

Guidelines for submissions:

In line with the SSHS Literary Magazine Code of Ethics
Contain only school-appropriate content
1500 word limit
Topic related to gender issues or feminism
Accepted formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf, Google Doc, .pages, .rtf, .txt

Disclaimer: Anything accepted for print will be put through an editing process by the editing
staff in association with the author of the piece.