Today, The Campus Courier is a website, an elective, and is run by a large team with an editor-in-chief and advisor (teacher), but it hasn’t always been that way. In fact, it has existed for over 4 years now. So today, let’s talk about how we got here, how we got from a printer and 1 guy to a campus institution and the 7 doing it now, and the incredible people who did and are making it happen.
The story, admittedly, begins with me. In the 6th grade, I founded the Campus Courier. First, I wrote about sports, clubs, school events, and even world events. But it would only begin to truly vary when it became an elective. The first issue was a decently designed printout, mostly in the same font as this, with some Bebas Neue for the cover. The first major world article was about the government deficit, and the first major school article was about the baseball team. It was about a 43-4 loss; it was called Bad News Bulldogs, and they did not like me after that. Shocking, I know. Thereafter, around 11 more issues were produced over the years, improving in quality as time went on. The main hit article after that was a point-by-point coverage of New Way’s high placing in a cheer competition; if memory serves, it was in Issue 6. The paper’s popularity, established in the street as I yelled, “Read all about it!”, eventually culminated in my 9th-grade year when journalism became an elective.
Once it was an elective, the Campus Courier, while some may say it didn’t, I say it hit the ground running. It got a website shown on the NWA homepage, a feat in itself. It also, most importantly, was run by a small team of some you may know—Daisy DeLeon and Grant Moser—and some you may not—Tyler Davidson and Stuart S.—at its back. (Not AI, just what Grammarly wants.) They worked throughout the year, producing countless great articles while bonding as a team. Their group playlist, while listened to by essentially no one, was one major sign of this camaraderie. They also took a trip to a real radio station at which they trained in their art and learned for the podcasts they were making at the time, primarily What’s New With DeLeon. By the end of the year, countless quality articles were produced, but all great things must come to an end, and thus did the year. But still, I, the editor, Daisy, and Grant saluted Stuart and Tyler goodbye and continued into the next year with righteous passion to achieve the same quality and more in the next year.
And so this school year began, with veteran journalists Daisy and Grant alongside excited new staff, Brodie Hood, John D., Lia Juarez, and Mathew Becker. While some took a while to get down to it, others did so instantly. In the first half of the year, we covered world events, giving students a valuable perspective on our nation. Daisy DeLeon, Mathew Becker, and Grant Moser, in particular, were covering politics. Lia Juarez founded the now-famous Teacher Spotlight column. John D. became head of graphic design. Mathew Becker started taking pictures for the team. Brodie Hood covered the esports season through the lens of a champion while strengthening his journalistic skills at lightning speed. That happened in the 1st and 2nd quarters, and it evidenced that this is the Campus Courier’s year, just like we thought last year was, and just how next year will be.
And now, in the latter half of the 2nd semester, we’re going back to Bulldog basics and primarily focusing our lens on the campus itself. So now that you’ve heard how we got here and where we might be going next, my only question for you, dearest reader, is will you join us on the journey? Start reading our paper today, tomorrow, and into the future. We can and will be brave.
