As we approach the 10th year anniversary of The Roundup being an online publication, I am extremely proud of our accomplishments this year and excited for the future.
This year, we ventured into new territory as a newspaper and expanded how we communicate with the school community.
We saw a sharp rise in viewpoint articles, many coming from our new team of column writers. I am proud to say that our paper shed light on timely and controversial topics such as immigration, healthcare, social media, the Kavanaugh hearings, midterm elections, Game of Thrones, and of course, the Sage Cafeteria. We are no longer a passive recorder of school history; now writers can advocate for a cause or begin a new dialog.
Additionally, during our coverage of the midterm elections, we became the first high school newspaper to interview Dallas Congresswomen Eddie Johnson.
The Roundup not only saw an increase in video production and quality but an increase in using social media to reach the community. Thanks to our innovative Media Editor, Silas Hartman ‘20, our website, YouTube, and Twitter were flooded with the latest coverage of major sporting and school events. Silas’s hype videos for football and basketball helped engage new audiences of students, bringing in more traffic to our website.
Also, I am impressed by The Roundup Vlog, launched by Saad Zulqarnain, which gave unique and entertaining insights into the lives and opinions of Jesuit students. Social media is an effective tool for The Roundup to spread content and engage new audiences. I encourage The Roundup to increase its efforts to engage the community on all major platforms; this is the journalism of the future.
Due to The Roundup’s ever-evolving role of creating discussion at Jesuit and the importance of students sharing their opinions and experiences, I believe that freedom of publication will become a greater issue. I encourage writers to go after stories that are important and discuss issues they find relevant, no matter how controversial. If you get censored, try again. Through persistence and respect, our paper can gain more autonomy.
As a student-run newspaper, it is important that the students set the discussion at our school. I hope that our paper and school can be an example of how a community talks about its issues and what is going on in the world in a civil way.
I feel extremely lucky to have worked with such talented and hard-working people this year. I would like to thank Reed “Big Z” Zimmermann ‘19 our Managing Editor for holding writers accountable and organizing the spreadsheet. Thanks for being the calm, logical presence that holds everyone together.
To our section editors, Jack, Silas, and Trey, I am incredibly thankful for your dedication to The Roundup; you made Reed and my job much easier. You all have an impressive work ethic and dedication that will take you far in life. The Roundup will be in good hands with Trey Ashmore ‘20 as Editor-in-Chief, Jack Corrales ‘20 as Managing Editor, and Silas Hartman ‘20 as Media Editor.
I would like to thank the Associate Editors for doing the behind the scenes work that keeps articles flowing onto the front page, and the Staff Writers who are the Sage chicken and rice of our organization. The Roundup couldn’t function without you.
I am very grateful for Dr. Degen’s advising and daily check-ins, Mr. Asche’s support, and Mr. Nava’s commitment to designing our website.
Lastly, I would like to thank you, the reader, for being an engaged member of our community, being exposed to new ideas, and for (possibly) falling for our April Fools’ article. I hope you enjoyed The Roundup in 2018-2019.
Like the end of all Tuesday meetings, I would like to leave you with a motivational quote:
There are two types of people: those who push the boundaries, and those who stay trapped inside them. Who will you be?
