By Claire Guo and Audrey Kim, Co-Editors in Chief
Dear Reader,
From Donald Trump’s election to the current coronavirus pandemic, major events have bookended our four years at Conestoga — with plenty of news in between. Student rallies and upcoming renovations have transformed our local and school communities. We’ve been lucky to cover these events as student journalists.
We’ve also had the unique opportunity to become media literate from the inside out, exploring how and why journalists make their decisions. How does the headline and structure of an article, or the layout of photos and copy on a page, contribute to objective, ethical reporting?
The rapid spread of information across the internet makes media literacy more important than ever. How we engage with news, from print to social media, has changed the way we think and discuss issues. Most high schools and colleges don’t integrate media literacy into the curriculum, but it’s vital that we as individuals critically examine and evaluate the information we consume. Let’s reject echo chambers and embrace open conversations.
Although our four years here have ended in a way that no one could have expected, we’ll carry this time with us far beyond the limits of high school. To our advisers, thank you for always guiding us to the next story. To the incoming co-editors-in-chief Ananya Kulkarni and Christina Lee, we wish you the best. To our new staff, may your time at The Spoke help you grow as much as it did us.
And to everyone else, thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Audrey and Claire
Claire Guo can be reached at [email protected]
Audrey Kim can be reached at [email protected]
