At some point around midnight in the Tower Lab, surrounded by countless InDesign files, Allie’s mom’s muffins, and the remains of far too many Uber Eats orders, we realized that to us, Tower had become much more than a newspaper.
Some of our best high school memories have happened in that room. The 2023-2024 three-day layouts where sophomore us got a glimpse into the chaotic lives of the seniors, and the ravaging of Los Ferchos tacos that broke the Tower budget of senior year. Blasting music as staff race to finish their pages before the lights shut off at 10 p.m. and get home at a reasonable time to complete their APUSH reading. Moments when production completely derailed because somebody said something so absurd nobody could recover for ten minutes.
Alongside those core memories, Tower forged the friendships that characterized our past four years. Our newspaper sits at the intersection of a diverse group of people across grade levels, interests and skills, bringing together students who may otherwise never end up in the same room – much less spend years working into the night, side-by-side, under deadline. Through long nights and shared chaos, those people can become the ones who know everything about you. The people who sit with you through stress, celebrate your wins, edit your work at 2 a.m. and make an exhausting evening the highlight of your week.
And in between all of that, there was journalism.
One of the most meaningful parts of being on the paper was how much it deepened the way we experienced Masters. Once you spend so long interviewing people and trying to understand a community well enough to write about it, you start to notice the little details you probably would have ignored before. You see how much work really goes into DoPA performances behind-the-scenes. You document a coach’s unique pre-game ritual, and report on the monumental efforts of the grounds and maintenance staff. You get to speak with members of administration, and better understand their “why” behind the decisions that shape student life.
For all of our reporters, this enrichment extends off campus. We cover the stories that sometimes fall through the cracks in local news, trekking into downtown Dobbs Ferry to get to know vendors and experience town events. We sit in on town hall meetings, and build strong reporting relationships with local elected officials. We wrestle with the way national headlines affect our local communities, seeking the perspectives of many constituents whose voices are often left unheard.
We aren’t saying that everyone needs to be a diehard member of the Journalism Collaborative (although they absolutely should!). Rather, some of the most formative and enriching parts of our high school experience came from being pushed outside of our comfort zone and experiencing new things. For the rest of your time at 49 Clinton, forge unexpected friendships, talk to everyone, go to the games, galleries and performances to support your peers. So, our advice? Experience Masters like a Tower reporter.
