The latest issue of Cardinal Sins, SVSU’s arts and literature journal, was released at a publication party on Monday, Nov. 24 – and this new edition came with some substantial changes.

The initial issue in the journal’s 34th volume, it is the first under the leadership of editor-in-chief Nathan Phillips, a creative writing and English literature senior.

Peter Barry, associate professor of philosophy and faculty adviser for Cardinal Sins, commended Phillips for a job well done.

“I’ve worked with him before, but this is the first time in this capacity,” Barry said. “He has been very proactive, very capable. Everybody on the editorial staff has been very independent, confident. They’re fantastic.”

This issue is complemented by audio version of selected written works, read aloud by theatre students.

Though Cardinal Sins has featured her artwork in the past, Alison Bur, an art senior and Cardinal Sins photography editor, had her first piece of writing published in this issue.

She said her creative non-fiction work “21 Game” was inspired by her recent 21st birthday: unrealistic expectations and the reality of growing up.

“I was completely surprised when (“21 Game”) got published because they are very tough critics, and there’s a lot of competition,” Alison Bur said. “I still can’t believe it’s in the journal. I’m very excited.”

English literature and creative writing senior Maria Bur, a member of the Cardinal Sins reading staff, was happy with the final product.

“I liked the variety of submissions we got, especially the amount of work we got from outside of SVSU,” Maria Bur said. “We just had an amazing variety. That was really fun, to look at the scope of everything we received.”

Maria Bur hopes students will look to Cardinal Sins to examine new writing styles and connect their own experiences to those of people in other communities. She also said she hopes the progressive nature of the journal’s writing can function as an inspiration to aspiring authors.

“This gives art majors and English and creative writing majors some kind of goal and a resume line,” Alison Bur said. “It’s got some sort of professionalism, which is great.”

Barry said his favorite experience with the journal is finally being able to hold the finished copy in his hands.

“There’s just something about being able to put your hands on a copy of it and flip through the pages,” Barry said. “Even if you’ve seen some of the content before, you haven’t seen it like that. There’s something very visceral, very enjoyable about it.”

Barry believes Cardinal Sins is more than simply good writing and artwork.

“There’s a reason we’ve won awards,” he said. “There’s a reason we keep cranking issues out. It really is kind of the pinnacle of the art and literary scene at SVSU. It really represents our students, our campus and our university quite well. What’s not to like?”