🏆 Seras’ Top Photo: May🏆
Cody Snow works to build small homes as part of the carpentry program.
Reminiscing on the past four years
Hey, Hawks! I know this may be a bit unusual, seeing me write something. I always refused to write as I didn’t feel capable of it– which is a terrible mindset to have, by the way! But considering I’m a senior and this will be my final issue, it felt about time to actually try.
Without this newspaper, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. When I first joined, it was out of guilt for quitting orchestra freshman year and due to my previous experience with photography. Never once did I think I’d get to the point of Co-Editor-in-Chief. These four years have flown by and Hawkeye has taught me so much. I’m incredibly grateful for it.
One of my favorite things about it is the opportunities it’s allowed for me to have. It’s given me the chance to participate in competitions, visit states I’ve never been to, talk to professional journalists, work with MLTnews and so much more I can’t even think of right now.
I’ve created so many amazing memories in this program and It’s all thanks to our previous editor in 2022, Ritika Khanal, for pushing me to do this. The photo of the issue is from my very first story in Hawkeye, where Ritika dragged me along with her to take photos of the carpentry class for a story she wrote. Before that, I had been too afraid to take photos for the newspaper. Thanks to her, I had the confidence to photograph and now I’ve gone to more events than I can count.
I cannot wait to see what Hawkeye continues to create, and for all of you to read it! It’s time for me to step back.
Students Losing Opportunities
Dear Hawks. This month I have a slightly more serious letter and story to tell. If you’ve been caught up on the letters since my takeover as co-editor, you might recognize the name Radioactive. It was previously our local NPR station – KUOW’s youth program where students were able to create stories and share their corner of the world. Why am I speaking in the past tense, you may ask? This program no longer exists.
On Apr. 30, Radioactive’s department lead Zaki Hamid announced that the decades-long program would end due to unmentioned circumstances. Distress arose among the Radioactive community, as many graduates had lost a sense of what brought them to love journalism. Although Radioactive’s closing didn’t automatically make people take their words back, it made me realize the lack of resources there are for students and young adults throughout recent years.
In the beginning of the school year, KUOW had announced that the Radioactive program would be working more as an internship-type of program. While this benefitted the journalism industry by being able to have employees with more experience, it also closed off the opportunity for people to get their foot in the door to begin a career in journalism. Now by removing the program as a whole, KUOW has taken away the possibility of learning about a career path someone might not have taken before.
Kea Lani Diamond, a close friend of mine, posted on her Instagram regarding the closing of Radioactive.
“The destruction of youth development programs is detrimental to the young people of today,” she said in her post. Over my past few years with Radioactive, I was able to see how the community provided support and opportunities for both me and others my age. In July 2022 I participated in their summer ‘Intro to Radio Journalism’ workshop, and met people who gave me boundless support. This past summer I had the privilege to come along and watch the progression of the 2023 Radioactive members in their intro workshop.
Along with the closing of Radioactive, students and youth all over the country are losing the opportunities to speak up about their beliefs in all capacities. Journalism classes across the region are being removed, even from Brier Terrace Middle School — it has been rumored that after this school year, Journalism won’t be a class option.
According to the National Institutes of Health, students are most impressionable at age 12-14. This means that if students aren’t given the opportunity to try things out in middle school or freshman year, it’s likely they won’t consider new interests in high school. The types of classes offered also brings up opportunities, since most are elective or career-based. In classes like technical theater, for example, students who enjoy tech are given individual opportunities to apply for jobs working in both the school and other theaters in the region. Despite this lack of resources and due to our school’s ‘autofill’ with class schedules if someone doesn’t sign up for alternatives, high school classes that have been excelling to give students the opportunities that they need end up on the chopping block.
