Some MVHS students are trying to bridge the gap between STEM fields and the arts through Res Novae, a club that writes articles and publishes newsletters about science and technology.
Res Novae lead editor and senior Srijani Saha said that merging two seemingly different interests –– writing and science –– is what the club is all about.
“Science and the arts don’t really have to be separate,” Saha said. “And it’s up to your perception of it. If you perceive that they’re going to be separate, they’re always going to remain separate. But if you believe you can do both, then you definitely can. And [Res Novae] is one of the many opportunities you can do it with.”
Trying to incorporate both passions into one activity is one of the main motivations for many of Res Novae’s staff writers. Res Novae appeals to a wide variety of students who see the club as an intersection between both passions.
For freshman Janya Budaraju, a first year staff writer, the attraction to Res Novae was just that. She hopes that working with the club will help her learn more about scientific current events, along with improving her writing skills.
“Two of my passions are STEM subjects, like technology and bio, and I’m also really interested in writing,” Budaraju said. “It was pretty important to me to find an intersection between them, and Res Novae was the perfect place for that.”
Besides creating a connection between two different topics, Res Novae serves as a platform for students to explore writing styles different from those usually used in school. According to Saha, one of the biggest goals for Res Novae this year is to help staff writers try out different types of writing, including science fiction writing and opinion writing.
“It introduces you to a new style of writing,” second year staff writer and sophomore Ellie Chen said. “Most of the writing you do in school is like essays in lit or research papers in bio. It’s more of a different perspective and a different style of writing.”
Chen’s interest in learning about a variety of writing styles reflect Saha’s goals for the club. As the year starts and the new staff writing team begins plans for their first newsletter, Res Novae continues to serve as a special meeting point between two very different topics.
“I truly enjoy science and I truly enjoy the aspects of journalistic writing, and [Res Novae] gave us a really specialized niche for doing both,” Saha said. “I thought that was a great opportunity that I didn’t want to let go.”
