Joel Barlow High School seniors have launched “The Columbiad,” a print newspaper written and edited by students for students and teachers. The first issue was released in October, and the editors plan to release the next issue on Jan. 3.
The newspaper club meets every other week and plans to publish four issues this school year. Grace Blawie, Lauren Klein Wassink and Willow Bradford, all seniors, started the new publication and act as editors.
“I really love writing, and while we had a literary magazine at our school, it wasn’t the same as a newspaper,” Grace said “I wanted to get experience writing for a newspaper and found the only way to do so for our school was to create one.”
Lauren said, ”To me, the paper is really about outreach and creating a stronger Barlow community. I even find that as I am interviewing students and teachers, the paper serves as a way for me to personally reach out to people as well.”
Willow said Grace approached her about joining the editorial team. “I love writing and have wanted to gain more experience editing other people’s work,” she said. “When Grace approached me with the idea of a school newspaper, brought closer to the student population, I was thrilled.”
The newspaper covers a variety of topics. These include sports, school dances and events, opinions on lunch food, and other information as it arises. “The goal of the paper is to appeal to every member of the community with at least one of the articles in each edition,” according to Lauren.
The October issue included an interview with Zac Colangelo, president of the student council, and Scott Romano, one of the captains of the football team. It also included an article on cafeteria food, the November performances of “Twelfth Night,” and information on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) for sophomores and juniors taking the test and freshmen and seniors who get to sleep later than usual that morning.
Since the three founders are seniors, they are seeking underclass students to work on the newspaper and gain experience. These underclass students can research and write articles, take photos, and learn how to edit articles. In addition to being a college résumé builder, the newspaper might help to address concerns of college and university admissions staff about the writing skills of incoming freshmen.
For example an article from the Eberly Center on the Carnegie Mellon University website poses the question: “Why are students coming into college poorly prepared to write?” The Columbiad will give students an opportunity to develop and demonstrate their writing skills.
The “Columbiad” will allow students to improve their research and writing skills. Students interested in working with the club should contact Grace, Lauren or Willow.
