Student body–
It has come to our attention that a few members of the student body and faculty have been less than satisfied with the most recent issue of the Free Press. Last summer, the four editors met and decided the topics for the 2013 issues. We decided that the last issue would be dedicated to detailing the lives of the 50 most influential people based on the student body’s actions throughout the year, whether or not they’ve won an award or skipped class.
The unifying theme for all of these candidates is that they’re influential, meaning they have an effect on the student body. An influence can be either good or bad, positive or negative. We are not agreeing with their actions or their viewpoints, nor are we disagreeing with their actions or their viewpoints. Rather, the Free Press is simply attempting to give a voice to those whose voices aren’t typically heard over the intercom, on the football field, or on the cheerleading squad.
We’ve heard people complain about how people were nominated and who was nominated.
The list was generated after the staff pitched many ideas and spent multiple hours deliberating who we thought belonged on the list.
On April 22 at 2:01 pm, the Free Press tweeted “Next issue is the “Most Influential People” issue. If you have any nominations for the list, let us know by either tweeting us or…” and the second tweet was “Next issue is the “Most Influential People” issue. If you have any nominations for the list, let us know by… http://fb.me/1FedX4P7Y “ a link to our Facebook page. No one responded! We would have been delighted to be flooded with nominations and accolades of undercover stars, and we absolutely would have included them. Unfortunately, no one provided any input as to who they thought belonged on the list.
Of course, no publication is perfect. If someone didn’t see the shout outs on Facebook and Twitter, seeing the issue may have been confusing. If we continue to produce this issue in the future, we will perhaps include news of the issue on the announcements or have nomination sheets at lunch.
We’ve heard complaints about who was nominated. Each individual who was on the list influenced the student body in some way this school year, whether or not their influence came via their religious beliefs or their weekend plans. Perhaps our readers should re-evaluate their preconceived notions about these people.
You’re welcome for starting a conversation. This further illustrates the fact that the people who we chronicled were indeed influential.
The future of the “50 Most Influential” issue remains to be seen, but next year, please tweet your nominations at us. @fsfreepress.
-Hannah and Sarah
2013 Free Press Editors
