Newsroom by the Bay

Hi all. Here's some news about NBTB — one last loop, I'll say, with gratitude for everything and everyone who was part of this wonderful program. Thank you! -Beatrice https://bit.ly/3XNE8sP

Calling all student journalists!

Enter the 2021 Future of Privacy Scholarship competition to win $5,000 and a one-year ExpressVPN subscription — answer the prompt below in a 600-800 word essay. Deadline August 31, 2021.

"With the emergence of Covid-19, countries have introduced tracking and control measures that may intrude on individual privacy. Looking ahead to future crises, how should countries approach the needs of public health vs. those of individual privacy?"

Submit your essay:

The ExpressVPN Future of Privacy Scholarship | ExpressVPN Submit a short essay for a chance to win the ExpressVPN Future of Privacy Scholarship!

Newsroom by the Bay would like to congratulate Riley Atkinson, the 2021 JEA Journalist of the Year and $3,000 Sister Rita Jeanne Abicht Scholarship winner. Atkinson is a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School, and the online co-editor in chief of the school's student publication, The Harbinger.

Congratulations as well to the three runners up:
Eddy Binford-Ross, South Salem High School, Salem, Oregon
Grant Johnson, Rock Hill High School, Frisco, Texas
Anna Vazhaeparambil, The Harker School, San Jose, California

To all of the talented and dedicated journalists in the running for this year's award, we tip our hats to you and the amazing work you have done through some of the toughest circumstances this past year.

Atkinson of Kansas named the 2021 JEA Journalist of the Year - Journalism Education Association Riley Atkinson’s high school journalism journey started on an espresso-stained, saggy sofa in the back of the newsroom at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, Kansas.

After much uncertainty due to the ongoing changes caused by the COVID pandemic, we will not offer a residential program at Stanford this summer.

See how we are using this summer to work on some long-needed program development, plans for Summer 2022:

An announcement on Summer 2021 Due to ongoing changes caused by the COVID pandemic, Newsroom by the Bay will not offer a residential program at Stanford this summer. Stanford began welcoming back undergraduate juniors and senior…

ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISTS!

There is still time to enter the American Foreign Services Association National High School Essay Contest for the chance to win $2,500, a trip to the nation’s capital and an educational voyage courtesy of Semester at Sea.

Entries close April 6, so don't wait!!

National High School Essay Contest Sponsored by the American Foreign Service Association in partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace, Semester at Sea and the National Student Leadership Conference.

Today, on the 3rd annual Student Press Freedom Day, we want to bring attention to one simple fact:

While student journalists are providing an essential service to their communities throughout the U.S., only 14 states have laws specifically protecting .

That’s why we began Student Press Freedom Day. Learn more and take action today by visiting https://buff.ly/3kl3Wdo

Take Action - Student Press Freedom Day Post a video testimonial Tell your story this Student Press Freedom Day. Create a short video responding to this question: How did you show up for student journalism over the past year, and what were the odds you were fighting against? Post it on any social media platform using ....

The theme for Day 2021 (culminating Feb. 26th) is Journalism Against the Odds, in acknowledgment of the phenomenal news coverage student journalists produced this past year, despite being faced with incredible challenges in a year consumed by not only a global pandemic, but widespread racial justice protests, a major election and a rise in targeting and censorship of journalists.

To see how student journalists have been keeping their communities informed on COVID-19, as well as the important stories that did not stop during the pandemic, head to the link below for 21 times throughout 2020 that students persevered to tell the stories that matter.

21 Excellent Stories of Student Journalism Against the Odds Protecting student press freedom is a powerful public good, just look at these student stories on COVID-19, racial injustice, public health, civic concerns, and government accountability.

This past year, as journalism programs across the country faced budget cuts and many had to adopt an online format or be forced to stop production, student journalists persevered. That is why the theme of Day 2021 is ‘Journalism Against the Odds’.

Today, we want to highlight a phenomenal story from Amy Chen, Editor-in-Chief of the Beachcomber, about the impact of student press censorship and the essential service provided to the community by student journalists. Read the story:

Throughout the pandemic, student publications have remained committed to maintaining their journalistic integrity, even in the face of public crisis, threats from school administrations, and the immense personal toll 2020 has taken on everyone. To learn more about how you can support student journalism, go to https://buff.ly/2ZH17tH

Prior Review and Student Censorship — Where’s the Line? During the past few years, The Beachcomber‘s coverage has come under increasing scrutiny, just as professional journalists have been increasingly attacked by politicians. However, while the First Amendment may guarantee freedom of speech and freedom of the press, as a student publication that unde...

2021 marks the 3rd annual Student Press Freedom Day. Student Press Freedom Day was created by the Student Press Law Center in 2019, with three goals:

- Raise awareness of the vital work and impact of student journalists as they report on their schools and communities (including the important role they play filling gaps in news deserts).
- Highlight the challenges student journalists face as they are confronted with censorship and prior review policies.
- Showcase the contribution of journalism education to engaged civic life.

We have shared countless stories from our students over the years, and in honor of Day (Feb. 26) we will be taking this week to highlight even more amazing student journalism from 2020, as well as how you can support student journalists.
Stay tuned and learn more:

February 26, 2021 - Student Press Freedom Day Student journalists have always done incredible work keeping their schools and communities informed, but the connection and clarity they provide have never been more important than in the past year. In 2020, students conducted an essential service by disseminating public health information related t...

In 2020, several of our students submitted their stories to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The competition was tough, with entries coming from all over the country, but Newsroom by the Bay would like to congratulate three students on their recognition in the contest!

Kanchan Naik received a Gold Key for her story about the impact of the movement within the South Asian community, placing in the top 5-7% of all entries.

Grace Sandman received Silver Keys for two of her stories: one exploring the revelations of “@ Dear” Instagram accounts about elite private schools, along with “Supreme Court’s newest justice follows in the seat but not the footsteps of Ruth Bader Ginsburg”, placing in the top 7-10%. Sandman also received an Honorable Mention for “@ Dearmayfield reveals history of unchecked racism”, placing in the top 10-15%.

Madison Rojas received an Honorable Mention for “Activism should be more than just a hashtag”, placing in the top 10-15% of all entries.

Congratulations from everyone at Newsroom by the Bay!

Read the stories here: https://buff.ly/3rkcX92

On the morning of this historic Inauguration Day, people around the country will be reflecting on the political chaos that seems to have engulfed Washington over the past several weeks. Young people in particular have taken center stage in the recent election season, with the Nov. 3 election seeing the highest youth voter turnout in American history.

team leader Claire Chu highlights a few of the ways young people can make an impact on civic life — even if they aren’t old enough to vote.

Read the full story on page 4 of 650 West:

650 West Volume 2, Issue 2

Hope for a new year — NBTB Now turns the page: https://newsroombythebay.com/2020/12/31/the-year-that-was-and-will-be-turning-the-page-with-nbtb-now/

The year that was and will be: Turning the page with NBTB Now An orange-tinged sky hovers over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Sept. 9, 2020. The unusual event was the result of smoke accumulating from multiple blazes across Northern Califor…

staff writer Margaret Redfern spent this election season as an election judge.

“From my first shift on Oct. 19 to the last on Election Day, my behind-the-headlines perspective was different. I’m a high school junior, so naturally, I took notes through it all.”

“[F]or me, a first-time election judge in Routt County in northwestern Colorado, Election Day was … blessedly boring. It was hour upon hour of slow, silent civic homework…
True, it was for an important cause. But the work itself was anything but glamorous.”

“Here’s a diary of my (short) life as a citizen in the front row of a historic election.”

Read the full story on Global Student Square:

My (short) life as an election judge From my first shift on Oct. 19 to the last on Election Day, my behind-the-headlines perspective was different. Here’s a diary of my (short) life as a citizen in the front row of a historic election.

650 West staff writer and Poll Hero Project co-founder Leo Kamin explains his hopes for the role the Poll Hero Project could play in the Jan. 5 runoff Senate elections in Georgia.

"[W]e have turned our immediate attention to Georgia, where we hope to use our social media strategy to register young voters."

They have also seen positive results in places like Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where only five polling stations opened for the primary elections and long lines discouraged busy voters.

On Nov. 3, the city opened 173 polling locations.

"I like to think that Poll Hero... played at least some role in ensuring that there was no major shortage of poll workers in the election."

Read the story on page 4 of the latest 650 West and online on Global Student Square:

Making voting safe again: How Poll Hero recruited an army of youth workers for less than a penny per student — and shaped a historic election The student-run organization garnered the attention of many on social media, ultimately recruiting over 37,000 individuals to work at voting centers during the general election on November 3, 2020.

staff writer Sydney Lee reports that it took a pandemic and a presidential election for American universities to tackle mental health with renewed vigor, as many students have been and are still studying in isolation around the country.

Check out the online StoryMap to see how universities across the U.S. are handling the intense post-election stress students are experiencing: https://buff.ly/3prUiXQ

It’s clear that many universities recognise the need for increased mental health support for students, but responses have varied wildly across the board, from Zoom chat rooms, to digital post-election guides and drop-in counseling sessions.

Read the full story online at Global Student Square:

Colleges make mental health a priority following a divisive 2020 election Stress isn’t a subject you’d expect to find in a college syllabus. But this year, American universities took a cue from a pandemic and a presidential election to tackle stress and offer mental health resources for students, many of whom were learning remotely.

650 West writer Hunter Black spoke with Karima Lynch, executive director of the San Francisco Democratic Party and former deputy mayor of the city of Taverny, France, about what the recent election means for the Democratic Party and the Bay Area after the past year of marked unrest, especially for BIPOC communities.

Lynch also comments on the recent string of terror attacks in France and President Emmanuel Macron’s controversial response, which has been criticized as Islamophobic.

“We need to bring Muslim people into the table and talk; in those debates there are no Muslims, or talks about religion. And now the religion has been attacked. And it’s hard, really, to defend it when there are no Muslim people at the table,” says Lynch.

Read the full story online at Global Student Square:

Five Questions with Karima Lynch As America moves on from a historic election that saw Kamala Harris, the former district attorney of San Francisco, elected vice-president, Lynch talks about what the vote means for the Democratic Party and the Bay Area, and the work ahead after a year marked by unrest.

staff writer Louisa Stuhec speaks to the legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, her startling catapult to mainstream celebrity and what that means for women in politics.

“There is no longer any doubt that women can perform at the highest levels of the legal system... Because of their hard work, I’ve had the luxury of never thinking about my gender when writing my blog,” says Anna Salvatore, creator of High School SCOTUS, a Supreme Court blog written by teenagers.

Salvatore also illuminates concerns about Ginsburg’s celebrity status among the public, encouraging us to remember her legal achievements, rather than her "coffee mug" catchphrases.

“I think this mythologizing of a judge is pretty profoundly unhealthy because people see the court more as a hyper-political institution than a neutral, law-interpreted institution.”

Read the full story on page 9 in 650 West and online at Global Student Square:

A SCOTUS watcher with a youth eye on RBG When it comes to remembering Ginsburg, says Salvatore, it’s a human being we should recall, not a coffee mug.

“Around the world, some women live in terrible conditions and cope with appalling stereotypes. And around the world, some situations are worse than others ... Documenting this demeaning reality is the only way to commence a conversation to stop it,” Paige Mays reports for @650.west

Mays spoke with Tehreem Azeem, Annam Lodhi and Laiba Zainab about the challenges they have faced working in Pakistan as women in journalism.

“I remember when I joined journalism, I wanted to be a crime reporter," said Zainab, "but I was told that women are made for 'soft beats' only. When I didn’t go by these rules, I was labeled a slt who wants to be surrounded by 'men.' This motivated me to change this narrative."

Read the full story on page 13 in 650 West and on Global Student Square:

“We wish it becomes safe” — three Pakistan journalists describe the challenges they face in life, career "I remember when I joined journalism, I wanted to be a crime reporter," said Zainab, "but I was told that women are made for 'soft beats' only. When I didn’t go by these rules, I was labeled a slt who wants to be surrounded by 'men.' This motivated me to change this narrative."

650 West staff writer Paige Mays discusses the potential for a fifth wave of feminism — but what would it look like?

For Mays, a fifth wave looks like women helping each other up, rather than climbing over one another to get to the top. It also means more allies committed to equality, and greater clarity on what we mean by “choice” — not only concerning reproductive rights, but also in the clothes girls can wear to school, how they live with and talk about menstruation, and how they present themselves to the world in relation to others.

Read the full story on page 12 of 650 West and on Global Student Square:

Break the box and create a fifth wave of feminism The fourth wave, which Grady says was triggered by the Women’s March after Trump’s inaugural, included the movement and a fight against stereotypes. That leaves the fifth wave. As a 16-year-old, I know that my generation gets to create it. But what should it be?

“Supreme Court’s newest justice follows in the seat but not the footsteps of Ruth Bader Ginsburg," Grace Sandman reports for .

“The new justice will shift the conservative to liberal balance to 6-3 from 5-4 and will likely have an immense impact on future cases.”

There is much controversy surrounding Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court appointment, and while many are prepared to wait and see how Barrett acts in her new position, America’s youth express concerns that Barrett’s values don’t reflect their own on such pivotal topics as abortion and LGBTQ rights.

Read the full story online at Global Student Square:

Supreme Court’s newest justice follows in the seat but not the footsteps of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Who Barrett is, what she represents and how she will shape the court going forward is a question that will endure well into 2021.

In the wake of professional athletes using their platforms to encourage social change, staff writer Devon Lee reports:

“Young people are making their voices heard more than ever, sparking the ongoing battle for social change."

"While professional athletes such as Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James and Megan Rapinoe dominate the social and political circuit of the sports world, amateur and student athletes have started to make noise. For some high school athletes, using their platform as players can serve as a way to elevate their voices.”

Read the full story on page 7 of 650 West and online at Global Student Square:

Doing “something we’re proud of” — how athletes are kicking social change forward by using their voices off the field While professional athletes such as Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James and Megan Rapinoe dominate the social and political circuit of the sports world, amateur and student athletes have started to make noise.

staff writer Sydney Lee took an unconventional approach to the political division plaguing the United States: she spoke to a lawyer, a psychologist and a comedian for their insight into what it would take to heal the country and move forward.

Whether you think negotiation, self-reflection or managing conflict with a cool head is the answer, you may learn something from the discussion.

Read the full story online at Global Student Square:

When it comes to making political peace, leave it to the pros We consulted with three experts — a family lawyer specializing in divorce, a clinical psychologist, and a stand-up comic — for a different take on the kind of conflict resolution America might need.

“It seems simple: If a fire is burning, especially one that threatens people, put it out... But it turns out that putting fires out may not be the best way to prevent the next one,” Shruthi Narayanan writes for 650 West in a counter-intuitive opinion piece: “Why California needs to burn”.

Read the full story on page 14 of the new 650 West, and on Global Student Square:

OPINION: Why California Needs To Burn Practiced in the U.S. by Native Americans before it was put to a stop by the federal government, the idea of letting wildfires burn to their natural conclusion instead of seeking to suppress them has recently gained popularity.

Erika Hornmark tackles a difficult subject in her piece, examining the rise in celebrity su***des in Japan's entertainment industry and how the country as a whole can improve its mental health support-system.

"At a time when the world is suffering from a pandemic, there is a very different but similarly tragic death toll taking place in Japan, one that is striking young people in the prime of their lives and in ways that challenge easy explanations. Since mid-May, the su***des of some of the biggest names in Japan’s entertainment scene, such as Yuko Takeuchi, Hana Kimura, Sei Ashina, and Haruma Miura, have sparked discussions on su***de prevention and the accessibility of mental healthcare in Japanese society."

Read the whole story on Global Student Square: https://buff.ly/3rqPgfS

Recent string of celebrity su***des puts spotlight on mental health in Japan At a time when the world is suffering from a pandemic, there is a very different but similarly tragic death toll taking place in Japan, one that is striking young people in the prime of their lives and in ways that challenge easy explanations.

Natalie Venable, editor-in-chief of 650 West, discusses the sorely misunderstood California Healthy Youth Act in her opinion piece: "When it comes to s*x ed, California teens deserve a healthy approach."

The goal of the act was to "require comprehensive s*x education with an emphasis on HIV prevention and to encourage healthy attitudes, behaviors and relationships", but correct implementation has been slow at best.

Not only are parents, teachers and district officials stunningly misinformed about the Healthy Youth Act, Venable reports, the curriculum merely skims the concept of "consent" and uses outdated tactics borrowed from abstinence-only approaches.

Read the full story on page 10 of t650 West and on Global Student Square: https://buff.ly/2KuRB96

OPINION: California teens deserve a healthy approach to s*x ed It’s 2020. Why are we still pretending that “Just Say No” works?

Our students covered topics from voting, to climate change, to the state of s*x education in high schools, and staff writer Grace Sandman sums up the sentiment of this term’s reporting in her Last Word, "Resolution for a new year — private schools must catch up to public goals".

Although this piece concluded the new 650 West issue, we think it’s fitting to introduce our showcase of stories:

“From police brutality to presidential politics, many of the adults in our lives have failed us. We know change will happen only if a younger generation steps up. Gen Z is ready for the lip service to stop. In the stories we tell here, we represent the voices of teens of every color, gender and belief. They may not have had a chance to speak out.
But we did.”

Read the full story on page 15 of the latest @650.west issue, and on Global Student Square: https://buff.ly/3pjB9r3

OPINION: Resolution for a new year — private schools must catch up to public goals By law, public schools cannot refuse any student who comes through the door, for reasons of color or any other. But the ability of private schools to select the students they want makes diversity a choice and not necessarily a given.

Our students worked through some of the roughest months of the pandemic to produce content that tells THEIR story — head to the link below for stories from our newsroom, as well as the new 650 West 2020 issue.

Read everything here: https://www.globalstudentsquare.org/test/nbtbnow2020.html

As the election approaches amidst the ongoing pandemic, a new generation rises to work at the polls. NBTB student Leo Kamin co-founded The Poll Hero Project, which recruits young poll workers and encourages them to become more politically engaged.

Leo will also be a guest speaker for our current NBTB Now program.

Read about the initiative Leo is a part of in the The New York Times story here:

With Polling Sites Lacking Workers, a New Generation Steps Up Older volunteers are reluctant to work during the pandemic. High school students, who are increasingly politically engaged and have more time, are taking their place.

We know there's a lot going on in the world right now, but we PROMISE you don't want to miss this! Join us this fall for .

Finalize your application and pay by Friday, Oct. 2: http://bit.ly/NBTBNow

History. It's happening. Cover it with us. Apply today for our Fall 2020 session: https://bit.ly/3i5FoCD