Club Spotlight: Recess Magazine’s footprint on Geneseo’s creative community

Photo of the Recess Magazine team via Genesis Flores

For years, Geneseo’s literary community has been regulated by general writing groups and magazines—Creative Writing Club, Gandy Dancer, and MiNT Magazine are each championed as organizations that welcome writers of all kinds, from all different experience levels. This accessibility is important; however, it is crucial, too, for students who may not feel well-represented in the Geneseo student body to have a haven to express and explore their identities as well. Recess Magazine, a platform that aims to provide, as Genesis Flores, a sophomore English literature major and editor-in-chief of Recess described, “an overarching safe space for every BIPOC student on campus,” aims to do exactly that.

Flores stepped into the role of editor-in-chief this past fall semester, taking on this major responsibility directly after her first year at Geneseo. As a new organization on Geneseo’s campus, founded in the fall semester of 2021, Flores is forging ahead a path for Recess that will define its future for years to come.

“It’s been really rewarding so far,” Flores said. “People [are] wanting to collaborate. I’ve had people from BSU [Black Student Union] saying we need to collaborate…same with ASU [African Student Union] and other groups [like] Iris [Magazine]. It’s been really nice knowing that we have that support, even though we’re still…building up a reputation for ourselves.”

As much as she’s hit the ground running as editor-in-chief, Flores has plenty of plans for the future of Recess that will only strengthen the relationship between Recess and the Geneseo community.

“The one main goal that I had in mind since…I first joined was to have Recess Magazine printed as…[an] actual magazine, like the format of an actual magazine so that we could be taken seriously,” Flores said. “Just so that it’s something that doesn’t feel cheap, because our work was not cheap…We put all of our dedication into it, and so I want that to be encapsulated in the way that it’s presented.”

This effort is one that has already made itself apparent on campus; Recess’s launch party at the end of the 2022 spring semester and its consistently artistic PR, in addition to its passionate e-board and collaborators, has made it into a publication strongly connected to Geneseo students, whether or not they are involved with Recess directly.

“We have to grow a little bit more in our reputation, which is completely fine,” Flores said. “But I feel like [Recess] almost gives hope to the different BIPOC students simply because whenever they see our Instagram story of just like, you know, we have a meeting, people will just like the story and [respond], ‘Oh my gosh, good luck!’”

Flores continued, “It’s all support, and they want to see us grow and thrive because we’re also highlighting not only ourselves, but also the other [multicultural] groups because that’s the whole point of it…the way that we live on campus and how we have to live on campus and what we do to make sure that we feel comfortable is being highlighted, is being noticed.”

When asked about her hopes for Recess once she has graduated, Flores’s eyes lit up with exhilaration. “I would love to, in 10 years…have our own room, like The Lamron has their own room to produce and write and have their meetings,” Flores said.

“That would be amazing for Recess, for it to just be bright and colorful and just be almost like a safe haven for anyone who walks in, [so] even though they have work to do…it doesn’t feel like work that they’re doing. I just want it to be as professional as we try to make it; because, obviously, it is an extracurricular, it is something that you voluntarily choose to do, but it’s something that is for the community, it’s something that is serious…Although it’s [a] very fun and freeing magazine, it still takes a lot of serious hard work to produce and do and be a part of.”

To get involved with Recess’s projects and endeavors, follow their Instagram, @geneseo.recessmag, email them at recessmagazine.geneseo@gmail.com, or attend one of their general meetings Fridays at 3 p.m.