It’s not about shocking people.
A newspaper answers the questions that most of society cannot answer themselves. A newspaper looks for the answers, verifies them and presents them so that the community can be informed.
The Highlander strives to do this as well.
In order to properly inform Carlmont students, we cover a variety of different topics and remain as objective as possible to the best of our ability.
There have been some instances recently when a student has made a comment about the content of our paper and what we are writing. Some people have questioned why we put a section about religion in the paper for one issue. Some feel that it is not our place to speculate on such controversial topics. There has been considerable discussion about the fact that our center-spread in this issue is all about sex. The question on the minds of many Carlmont students is can you even do that?
And the answer is yes we can. As an open forum student newspaper, we have the freedom to choose the material we want to cover and the freedom to choose the way it is presented as long as it meets the standards of protected speech.
Moreover, we are not writing these articles for shock value or to be risky and catch the readers off guard. Although some media outlets rely on this type of attention, that it not what the Highlander is about.
We are simply doing what every newspaper’s job is, to provide the answers to your questions, even the ones you normally wouldn’t ask aloud. We want to inform our student body in every way possible on every topic, including the questions that normally never get answered because they never get asked.
The reason there was a spread in our January issue on religion is because there are many different views and types of religion that are not always so commonly expressed.
The reason the center spread for this issue in about sexual health and information is because many high schools students are not well informed before they make decisions.
The reason we openly discussed the cliques at Carlmont is because they are present and they have an effect for better or for worse on this school.
We strive to discuss all that is relevant to Carlmont and its community regardless of how uncomfortable it might be.
