East Grand Rapids — Its reach is broader than one might expect. Copies have made their way to the doorsteps of students’ grandparents in Florida, to the state capital in Lansing, to exchange schools around the globe, and even to — Sarah Palin?
Yep, East Grand Rapids High School’s student-led newspaper, The East Vision, was sent to the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, in conjunction with class discussions about free speech and press issues during the 2008 election. It was at the request of the students, said Katie Mitchell, the Vision’s class adviser, and they made it happen.
Why?
“So the free press stays alive,” said Mitchell, explaining that the paper’s printed edition is distributed near and far to contribute to the preservation of the Fourth Estate.
‘I found that I really love covering stories that find new voices that maybe haven’t been heard before.’
— Senior Linnea Dever
Over its 12 pages per edition, and around seven editions per year, The East Vision features school news articles, sports coverage, student columns, think pieces, arts and entertainment and more. The paper helps high-schoolers from all grades and social circles find a sense of purpose, belonging and common cause, students said.
The young staffers see journalism as “something you can go to and rely on” for measured, unbiased information, said senior Luci Perez-Simons, editor-in-chief.
Luci’s fellow newsroom leaders, Managing Editor Linnea Dever and Sports Editor Brogan Bernard, both seniors, share that attitude.
“I think journalism is super important, still today,” said Linnea. “More and more, the internet and social media is becoming a place where people are their own reporters, which to some extent is a good thing. But also, we need trained professionals who are seeking the truth, because I think misinformation is a humongous problem right now.”
Brogan concurred.
“There’s a clear divide in a lot of the mainstream media, and having a place to go to where it’s the actual truth and there’s a lack of bias is really important,” the senior said.
Telling Stories, Finding Voices
Luci, Linnea and Brogan each took different paths to the paper. Luci, who’s been with the paper since her freshman year, grew up hearing stories about the journalism field from her mom, a former magazine writer, so she already had an interest.
Linnea — also in her fourth year with the Vision — started with yearbook in eighth grade. That wasn’t going to be an option schedule-wise when she entered high school, but the Vision was. She said she “jumped right in” and “completely fell in love with it.”
Brogan, who came to the paper as a junior, said his interest was piqued after being tapped to give comments.
The students each get something different out of the experience.
“I enjoy thinking on my feet, and I also really enjoy being a leader and supporting other people,” said Luci, adding that she likes helping reporters find the right angle for pitched stories.
Linnea savors the chance to think critically and work through challenges.
“You’ve got to figure out how to get the story, how to get the photo, who to interview,” she said, “and I think that helps people, including myself, grow.”
Linnea added that she also appreciates telling people’s stories and amplifying the voices of her fellow students.
“I joined the drama department sophomore year, and I found that the people there sometimes don’t get the coverage they deserve,” she said. “So I found that I really love covering stories that find new voices that maybe haven’t been heard before.”
Aside from sports coverage, Brogan enjoys writing food reviews, and he loves the fact that stories are student-pitched.
“I like the liberty of choosing your own articles,” he said, adding that the class is “the highlight of most of (my) school days.”
Community & Accountability
In addition to writing and editing articles, Vision staffers are also tasked to design and lay out pages, take photos, make social media posts and manage the publication’s website, as well as market the paper and keep up community connections.
‘We need trained professionals who are seeking the truth, because I think misinformation is a humongous problem right now.’
— Linnea Dever, East Vision managing editor
Printing is done at the Argus Press in Otsego, but aside from that, the students handle it all, with Mitchell’s help.
“There’s real-life business consequences,” Mitchell said. “We’re self-funded, and that means that they’re responsible for getting ads and subscriptions and getting donations and that sort of thing. That’s a huge responsibility that’s hard to manage as well.”
It’s a lot of work for Mitchell, who’s been advising since 2008, but she said it’s worth it to teach valuable, practical skills to student staffers.
“It’s important for students to practice journalism. It’s a great skill. … It’s a great opportunity to talk to other people and get other viewpoints,” she said. “You have to shape every article … around ideas other than yours, so it kind of gets rid of some of that solipsism that students get stuck in.”
A pivotal and particularly rewarding piece of the process is giving students an environment in which to try, and even to fail, if necessary.
“We try to get it right as much as possible, but I feel like it is a safer place to learn from mistakes,” Mitchell said. “It’s an opportunity to make some mistakes before you’re in the real world. To learn about ethics, learn about people’s feelings and doing no harm.”
She added that reporters “have to be accountable to the community here at the school and the community at large,” and that Vision students are “more responsible to each other than they are to me or their grade.”
As for Luci, Linnea and Brogan, while they’re not necessarily planning to pursue careers in journalism, they’ve valued their time with the Vision.
“The paper means a lot to all of us and we want to keep it running for years to come,” said Linnea. “We just keep passing it down to new generations and we’re really excited to see where it goes.
“We have a lot of different people in our class, but it’s cool how we all come together to create one thing.”
Read more from East Grand Rapids:
• On state council, junior hopes to ‘make school better for every individual’
• Ukraine ambassador: Students ‘have the power’ to shape the world
