Looking at the Next Chapter

As we come to the end of our time as editors-in-chief, we begin to reflect on the time we’ve spent creating and working on The Blue and White. Now, in the months of April and May we are preparing to pass leadership on to a new group of students. We look forward to seeing how the paper will progress under their leadership. 

From our two years of experience as editors-in-chief of the paper, we have gathered insight regarding what collaboration looks like with each other and the school, along with the challenges that come with leadership. 

While the first two years of the paper have been overall a great success, we have had our fair share of challenges. Journalism is an important outlet of expression, especially for a Quaker school. As a student paper, we have advocated against censorship in order to allow all perspectives put forth by students to be well represented and published with the same amount of care. 

However, in the February issue, we experienced a situation where we were prevented from  publishing student work, which was extremely disappointing to us. That being said, this situation did give us valuable insight around the importance of advocating for our peers.  

Earlier in the year, students came to us with articles about the current situation in Israel and Gaza. This is obviously a situation that affects many students in our community and the world around us. We were apprehensive about the external response to some of the opinions expressed in the articles. 

Because of this, we went to the administration to ensure that the school was comfortable with the articles being out and attached to the school’s name, and ultimately they were not. 

In this situation, we are regretful of our personal lack of communication with the authors about the situation surrounding the publishing of their works. In that area, we could have given more clarity to the students who were in the dark about the status of their pieces for many months. 

Although our advocacy did not result in the publishing of the articles, we want to urge our new staff to continue to advocate for all articles every time. When a position is proposed in an article, even if you disagree, it is your responsibility to push for publication just as you would for any other article. 

When starting the Blue and White, we knew that it would be easy to write in our mission statement that we support all student perspectives and that the paper would be a space for students to come together in times of polarization. However, one of the things we learned was that you can’t always assume things will be as straightforward as receiving a piece and then publishing. 

We were surprised because of the outcome, but it taught us how sensitive certain topics are and how they need to be handled with care. It isn’t always going to be easy but continuing to advocate against censorship is one of the most important causes at this time.

A very relevant example of this tension is the recent doxxing and detention of a Tufts University graduate student after she published an Op-Ed expressing a critical view of Israel’s treatment of civilians in Gaza. 

Rümeysa Öztürk is a Turkish student working in Boston at Tufts on her doctorate in psychology. She was in the country on a valid F-1 visa, which was later revoked along with her detention by homeland security agents. Her information, resume, and picture were posted on a website called Canary Mission following her co-authorship of the Op-Ed last march. 

 It is situations like this one that shed light on the growing conflict between the press and the government, and although we are a school newspaper it is vital to preserve our integrity and get student voices and opinions out there. Our point of view matters and it is up to the student leaders to amplify and advocate for the elimination of censorship. 

An aspect of running the Blue and White that has perhaps been kept out of the public conversation is the time commitment and collaborative skills that are essential to making each issue run smoothly.

Over the course of our time together there have been a few instances where lack of communication has led to disagreements, unbalanced workload, and delays in publishing. More times than I think we are willing to admit. One big piece of advice we have is to develop systems where everyone has set responsibilities that are clear and make completing tasks more efficient. This also makes members and contributors more engaged in the work they are doing. 

As student leaders you are responsible for giving an equal amount effort as your peers, and supporting them when needed. This does not mean that every moment will be perfect. People get busy or burnt out and they need to lean on their collaborators. Be there for your partners, and in months where you can, take on some more to make it easier for your team.  

Stepping into leadership is a huge learning curve and mistakes are inevitable. Running a student newspaper teaches you more than just editing, writing, or organization. The Blue and White had us reflect on our own values, teaching us patience, and how to stay motivated.  

Being a part of a team that you are committed to will come with its rewards and challenges. As the paper evolves, we hope leadership will grow making the paper more inclusive and efficient. High school is a stressful time, where other commitments or obligations will feel more important. This is where communication and meeting weekly will keep the balance of difficult tasks. 

Whether our experience helps you better picture your role for next year or not, we want to emphasize that you have to be comfortable with making mistakes in order to better understand the paper and community you want to have. Moreover, proper communication with the editing staff, photo editors, marketing, and faculty is essential to continuing the legacy of the paper.

As new issues, students, and school events arise, AFS and the Blue and White will change under these circumstances. We look forward to seeing how the Blue and White grows in the coming years, continuing to evolve while staying to its core values.