Gavin Schmidt ’24 | Nayan Shankaran ’24
Student journalism publications have an important obligation to the community. Their job is to make all of the voices of their fellow students heard. To make an effort to connect with the students on a personal level by affirming their experiences, and discussing their interests. Scholium has taken this ethos to heart. We have something for everyone.
Through written articles across sections that each report on different issues from different angles, we provide a medium by which students can talk about things affecting them. In the absence of this medium, freedom of speech and expression would not be upheld, and the perspectives of the students could not be used as a driver to create positive change. Our standard articles highlight the diverse opinions of students and members of our community by means of quoting, and our columns and spotlights provide snapshots of their daily lives and accomplishments.
Our digital offerings, spearheaded by our E-Scholium team, adapt to our advancing technological society by posting videos, highlights of our articles, and upcoming opportunities for student engagement on our Instagram page (@escholium1785). On our website, e-scholium.org, we have articles in an online format to broaden accessibility and to preserve the history of our analysis and commentary with our “Archives” page which houses every article published since 2011. In the future, to supplement the body of perspectives that our written editions include, we aim to use E-Scholium to showcase more opinions in different ways to appeal to other audiences and to increase community engagement with Scholium.
After talking to many students about their connection to and contact with Scholium, we have found that each student’s experience with Scholium is unique. Due to our wide array of topics and offerings, students gravitate toward things that speak most to their own interests and experiences. President of Young Independents Winston Tang ’24 is most drawn “toward Scholium’s articles that seek to create mutual dialogue in the current political climate.” He explains that it is in these types of articles that his role in Young Independents intersects with that of Scholium. “[I aim] to foster good dialogue as well as a place where people can share their opinions, left or right,” he states.
Izzy Rozes ’24, Co-President of the Girls-in-STEM club, is interested in the articles that “focus on changes in curriculum and EA’s structure, especially those [concerning] the science curriculum, which [she] thinks are important to learn about.”
Tang believes that Scholium’s mission of discussing the student voice is significant, saying, “I think that getting a wide assortment of opinions from both sides really provides insight on how both sides think and why they think, and that really makes a more comprehensive image about why social divisions exist today.”
We have also found that in addition to students, teachers, and administrators engage with Scholium based on their role at EA. Summarizing his interpretation of Scholium’s role, AP U.S. History teacher Charles Bryant articulates, “Variety. Student perspective. Human interest.”
Detailing how Scholium connects to his interests and personal experiences, Bryant comments, “I gravitate toward controversial [articles], I gravitate toward [articles] about my colleagues or students, and then anything that impacts history.” He adds, “My favorite article was the one that had a picture of me playing basketball in Wales where I was spotlighted.”
Additionally, Executive Director of the Office of DEI Erica Snowden explains, “[Scholium] is serious… It’s a newspaper written by young adults who are voicing their opinions and synthesizing news and their ideas into one.” She continues, “If you look you can find something that’s going to be a mirror for you where you can see aspects of yourself positively reflected and lots of windows where you can see the perspectives of people who are different from you.”
Scholium begins and ends with the students. That being said, we want to hear your thoughts about our articles and offerings, even if you may not be directly involved with Scholium. As an evolving publication, we are constantly looking for ways to improve and expand, so giving us feedback would ensure that the student voice endures.
Through our conversations with several members of the EA community, we have already received positive input that we will implement in our next editions. Snowden mentions, “I wonder how we might get more representation from BSU or other groups that maybe aren’t as represented on the Scholium staff.”
Tang suggests, “You do a lot of interviews one-on-one, so I think you could coordinate discussions and debates between people.”
Bryant states, “Objectivity. In newspapers, there’s a clear separation between editorials and news analysis… The lines have been blurred recently in the national news, and I have a feeling that those blurred lines have trickled down to higher education and secondary education.”
Whether it be commenting on our Instagram, sending us an email, or talking to us at our meetings, every member of the EA community can engage with Scholium. And, this engagement is crucial to the survival of our publication and to make sure that we build upon our existing goal of reaching all of you.