Alte Sententiam
The Alte Sententiam is HOL Ravenclaw's running newspaper and is run by her Holy Egg Empress, Prof. Cassandra Lobiesk. Currently, the Alte runs a number of stories which include but are not limited to: articles, reviews, scientifics, columns, puzzles, poetry, and graphics. Points are awarded per submission, and occasionally, so are beans.
The Beginning
The Alte Sententiam was started sometime in 2002 or 2003 (if my memory serves me right) by then-prefect Odysseus Moody (yes, she's a female). While I was not party to most Ravenclaw-related things at the time--me being an ickle newbie and a beginning RQT recruit--I was vaguely aware that it existed. It may have gone through at least two or three incarnations at the time, with web genius Conary Barclay and graphics goddess Kenna Love taking the helm in the layout design. By the time I actually did start writing for it, though, Ody, Con, and Kenna had since left the site.
First Reboot
After a year or two of hiatus, the Alte Sententiam demanded a reboot, one that prefects Celestia Starr and Malien Clementielle took to heart. Between the two, a new layout was designed--by Mal--and it got seriously legit from there when Celestia even got the Alte a new email address (which we still actually use to this day!). I'm not sure how long this lasted, but I'd probably say around two to three years before it went under again, mostly due to lack of submissions, lack of time, and certainly lack of enthusiasts willing to run it on a monthly basis.
Second Reboot
A generation of prefects later (one where I was finally involved as a newly-appointed prefect), one Chloe Fairchilde suggested revamping the Alte. This included a new design by Cassandra Lobiesk and an addition of the Scientifics section, where people submitted articles on the more scientific aspect of hobbies, occurrences, and other miscellaneous topics. From 2005 to 2006, Chloe and I produced one issue, a culmination of work throughout the entire year. It was then that we decided a monthly newspaper would not work, that it was too strenuous and there were clearly not enough submissions to sustain it. By 2006, the Alte became a bi-monthly newspaper.
Third Time's the Charm
Not necessarily a big change, but with Chloe's departure, it landed on me to continue the newspaper. At this point, Leah Samson (or Faye Laramie) took the helm in Alte's web design. This is where she introduced me to the wonderful CMS WordPress, which enabled me to put my amazing editors to work. Years and a couple layouts later, however, I have accepted that WordPress may not be the best in terms of security within the Roost, and it was again time to put on the thinking cap, and go back to basics: a simpler, more static layout.
In any case, while not as colorful a history as RQT throughout the years, there is that, and this is how Alte Sententiam stands now.
- Prof. Cassandra Lobiesk (Editor-in-Chief)
