First Writes of the 142nd Board
EXECUTIVE
The Exonian is a vehicle for change like no other.
The paper’s responsibility is to pursue truth in a fair and transparent manner. We are the Exeter community’s source for credible and holistic reporting. When our job is done, the truth rests in our readers’ hands. We empower them to wield this truth for the betterment of our community.
To fully realize The Exonian’s potential, the 142nd Executive Board looks to continue the paper’s evolution. Over the next three terms, we will hone our focus into streamlining our operations by boosting the retention of our writers and maximizing the synergy between the Editorial, Web and Business boards. In moments when other areas of weakness are identified, we will concentrate our energies on new initiatives in addition to those outlined here.
It is also time to make The Exonian a more inclusive and accessible paper. The Executive Board has identified diversity and outreach as two of our central priorities. In its role as a community publication, it befits The Exonian to reflect the majority. Nevertheless, it is incumbent upon us to represent all perspectives to the best of our ability—not just what is convenient. We will strive to do so with humility and an open ear.
The 142nd Executive Board is also aware of our place in the larger, nationwide climate of media. Journalism, across the industry, is migrating or has migrated online. At the end of our tenure, we would like to see a paper that is visually distinct from its current iteration. We are committed to improving our website, graphics, photography and community engagement to ensure that a reader’s experience with our platform matches the caliber of our news.
Our visual changes will also extend to our print layout. As an Executive Board, we have brought the paper a more modern aesthetic, designed by lower Otto Do. Yet, as we strive to innovate, we will also celebrate the storied history of our publication. As we forge ahead, we will not forget our roots. Looking forward, The Exonian will re-adopt its original logo, used by our founders over a century ago. Our heritage will guide us as we move into a time of evolution.
We, the 142nd Board, led by Editor-in-Chief Anne Brandes, Director of Writing Erin Choi and Managing Editor Felix Yeung, will be open in all correspondence and welcoming in all respects. We will not only sustain, but improve the paper where we can. Along the way, we will make mistakes, but we will learn from them. The paper, too, will grow as we do. Care, thought and collaboration have guided The Exonian through its 142-year history. We are confident that, with these same values, The Exonian can run for 142 more.
-Anne, Erin and Felix
NEWS
Over the span of its history, The Exonian has been dedicated to being the fairest and most thorough source of news at the Academy. Whether covering the community or world at-large, we deliver news with objectivity. As the News Team of the 142nd Board, we—Daniel Chen, Bona Hong, Emily Kang and Senai Robinson—promise to hold ourselves accountable for providing the full truth to students. Providing the full truth is to consider and view all people’s truths, and we intend on including all ideas and beliefs with objectivity.
Although “true” objectivity may not be attainable, we will nonetheless exclude our personal sentiments and emotions when seeking diverse perspectives and opinions. As we see Exeter face challenges, develop new systems and change traditions, we will report to the community with as much information and diverse perspectives as possible. We will push ourselves to not only report events, but to investigate critical aspects of our community in fulfillment of our promise to pursue the full truth.
In all these ways, we commit ourselves to the tradition of The Exonian, but we also promise to better these traditions by continuing to seek ways to improve our skills, include more diverse perspectives and maximize the level of objectivity. As the 142nd Board News Editors, we hope to uphold The Exonian’s legacy, enhance The Exonian to a higher standard and to be providers for the Exeter community. We look forward to working with other members of the 142nd Board and hope we contribute positively to the Academy.
-Daniel, Bona, Emily and Senai
LIFE
Life at Exeter, between clubs, dances, midnight screams and an intense spikeball culture, is unlike that at any other high school. The Life Editors of the 142nd Editorial Board hope to capture every aspect of campus life that defines our distinctive Academy culture. We serve as a bridge between different on-campus communities, and we hope to strengthen this vital bond through written engagement. This year, we will celebrate the faculty, staff and students of Exeter, commend and critique our artistic performances and showcase columns and reviews on subjects that matter most to readers.
Though the Life Section’s leadership will shift in the coming weeks, we are confident that this team, like life itself, will “uh … find a way” to represent the close-knit Academy community that everyone knows. Through the trying times that Exeter presents us with, the Life Section continues its aim to report on the joy of the day-to-day of our lives here.
-Ben, Zane, Morgan and Ella
OPINION
Exonians, in the final estimation, are citizens, both of their school and of the world. They are engaged, they debate, they research, they protest. Because of that, we are graced with unique environments. From the quad to the dorm rooms, we translate this intellectualism into discussion that you could hardly find anywhere else. They are spaces designed for the messy romanticism of youth and for logical proofs set into stone, inflamed by our relentless optimism for a better world and a better school.
When done right, those real conversations are the greatest antidote we have to the pressures of callout culture and the greatest tool we have in the pursuit of truth. Though oftentimes difficult, discussion builds a healthier, more lively community.
We, as editors, do not make those conversations; our job, rather, is to lift late-night debates and silent voices onto a pedestal.
We seek to fashion a well-crafted pedestal—one that can support the entire community. To this end, we will actively seek out different voices more reflective of our school’s diversity, work with writers to make opinions writing more accessible and protect the right of any student to voice their opinion, however controversial it may be.
-Dennis, Emmanuel and Stephen
SPORTS
What do you get when you combine three fish and some random land animal? Yup, your 142nd Sports Section editors! With Sydney Kang, Ginny Vazquez and Cooper Walshe making up three quarters of our sports board, Charlotte Lisa, the remaining quarter, will learn more this year about water sports than editing a newspaper. So, be sure to keep up with our section every Thursday for the latest news on all things Big Red athletics. The back page of The Exonian is where you can find the best content, from Athlete of the Week, to Exeter sports highlights, to quippy Quote Boxes and much more. Get ready to read all about your friends and your very own teams as a part of the greatest sports writing yet in this decade!
P.S. All rumors of nepotism surrounding the editor selection process are false. We know you’ve already survived two Walshes, rest assured, we now have the best one.
-Sydney, Charlotte, Ginny and Cooper
HUMOR
Hello. Hi. We are Humor. Hopefully, you have laughed at the Humor Page at some point in your time here. It is our hope that under our careful, scrupulous, very-last-minute editorship (this was written about a week after it was due), you will laugh again. Maybe even for the first time since coming to Exeter. Maybe for the first time since coming into existence. Who knows? We don’t. Anyway, we promise to make you guys laugh—or at least smile, or at least do that thing where you exhale out of your nose rather quickly—every Thursday. So, please laugh. Even better than laughing, write. Please submit to exonianhumor@gmail.com.
[Insert quote about how humor page is so disappointing].
-Humor 142