There's a cliche around journalism, that journalists should "give voice to the voiceless." As a high school journalist, I've found this motto gets to the core of what makes the Jacket special. The New York Times isn't reporting on BHS's bathrooms, the San Francisco Chronicle doesn't care about our soccer team. We report on what high schoolers think about, talk about, and care about, and without the Jacket, few other news outlets would report on those things.
Isn't that the definition of giving voice to the voiceless?
I don't think so.
High schoolers aren't silent. They're not "voiceless." Over the past four years, I've heard BHS students screaming. They've staged walkouts protesting everything from climate policy to racial disparities, yelled "SENIORS" again and again, and fought to have a seat at the grown-ups table. None of that is voiceless.
Even though I don't think it's fair to call high schoolers "voiceless," I think giving voice to the voiceless is the best way to end my past three years on the Jacket. As a freshman ("pre-Jacket"), I was shy and quiet. I didn't feel heard. Being a writer helped me realize that my voice could be impactful. Year after year I've heard my voice become more powerful, until I'm sometimes surprised by how loud it gets in front of the Jacket room every Tuesday lunch.
But my favorite part of those Tuesday lunches hasn't been hearing my own voice grow louder, it's been watching others find their own voices. I've come to fall in love with seeing someone realize that the work they do can literally change the narrative, and I'm so lucky to now be in the position to watch the space I facilitate in Jacket change others in the way it changed me.
It would be untruthful (and I am a journalist!) to write about Jacket without writing about Clara. Clara, as a co-chief, you have consistently outdone me with your organizational prowess, ambition, and confidence in your voice. But even more importantly, thank you for being my friend. You are deeply compassionate and lovingly sarcastic. I'll always appreciate the Jacket for introducing me to you.
There are so many people in and out of Jacket that deserve their names here, and there are just not enough words to name you all. You know who you are. I love you. Thank you.