The Manastash Literary Arts Magazine is not just a poster you happen to notice on the bulletin board posted in the hallway. It’s a literary journal created to give students a voice on campus in the hopes of continuing the conversation of social equality for all.

This year’s theme of the literary journal is “Mass Incarceration and Racial Justice – Black and Brown Lives Do Matter.”

The theme was chosen by Xavier Cavazos, head editor of Manastash Literary Arts Magazine, and Stacey Robertson, Dean of Arts and Humanities .

Cavazos felt strongly about bringing this subject to forefront of Central’s conversation.

“We want students to have an understanding of diversity and of the role racism has played in social injustice,” Cavazos said. “We want to raise awareness because college is an institution to keep the conversation open.”

The publication has no agenda to say one side is right and the other one wrong.

According to Cavazos, the purpose of this theme is “to educate students.”

This is the only thing Manastash is hoping to say to the students and faculty of Central and to Ellensburg.

“This is not a game and there are no right sides,” Cavazos said.

The journal has been and will continue to accept submissions from writers and artists until Jan. 31.

Submissions could be but are not limited to short stories, poems, plays, visual art, painting and photos.

Editors are looking for work that speaks to the theme and that are powerful pieces which will continue to help stimulate the conversation of equality for all on Central’s campus.

Although the magazine does have a theme, it will also accept submissions that are not related to the theme.

Casey Friedman, editor for Manastash, advises students to “keep it short.”

The review process starts this quarter in a class designed to edit for the magazine. The class is comprised of about 25 students editors that will be tasked with choosing the best works produced by students.

Each editor will read different student submissions and, at the end of the quarter, each editor will choose a submission to sponsor in hopes that it will be published.

Next quarter, after the editing class has chosen the submissions to be published, a design class will create the Manastash magazine which will be published this May.

“I hope that this theme will challenge them,” Friedman said. “Like poetry is structured, it is a breeding ground for activity.”

This theme is not only meant to challenge students and continue a conversation, it’s also meant to shed light on the fact that there is inequality on campus.

Diversity programmer at the Center of Diversity and Social Justice, Evelyn Briscoe, thinks this theme will “shed more light on the inequality on our campus and what it looks [like]”

Central is not the exception to inequality. We may not like to talk about and it is a hard thing to address but even our campus needs to change and continue its efforts to help every student feel like they have a voice and that they are being treated equally and fairly, Briscoe said.

To continue to kindle the conversation of equality and to help celebrate our diversity as Central students is the hope of the Manastash Literary Arts Magazine.

“I am excited for this theme because it brings up current issues that are happening in our society today,” Briscoe said.