By Lisa Carolin
Chelsea High School students as well as area residents have an important news source that is just a click away. It’s the high school’s newspaper The Bleu Print and it’s in full swing this school year.
Teacher Adam Schilt is the advisor to the newspaper and leads weekly meetings with the staff, maintains the website, and recruits new writers. There are ten “dedicated” writers on staff, and Schilt wants that number to grow.
“There are currently no requirements to write for The Bleu Print besides being willing to write and meet deadlines,” said Schilt. “We encourage students to join even if they cannot contribute every month. Moving forward, we would like to grow a consistent staff of passionate writers who will help us update the paper more frequently.”
The newspaper is published monthly with the goal to get something out on the last Friday of each month.
“We are open to the suggestions and passions of students, but we particularly look for stories that examine issues at Chelsea High through a critical lens,” said Schilt. “Our goal is to achieve a good balance of traditional news coverage, features, and opinion pieces that look at issues from a variety of perspectives.”
Schilt believes that Chelsea students deserve an outlet for their voices. One of those students is Ben Zivsak who says he joined The Bleu Print because it provides an “opportunity for the diverse voices of students to be unveiled and exposed.”
“Through loaded editorials, font sizes, interviews, or article editions, these powerful and influential voices are unmasked and brought to light,” said Zivsak. “Very distinct and sometimes contrasting opinions, ideas, or feelings all from within the same school doors, can be incorporated in a newspaper or even a single article.”
Staff member Laura Scudder says she enjoys being part of something that allows her to exercise her first amendment right.
“Having a school newspaper allows for students of Chelsea High to form their own opinions and push back against articles creating dialogue within the school, something needed in this sort of environment, and to discover new information,” Scudder said.
“Chelsea High School is strong when students are aware of and are involved in issues affecting the school,” said Schilt.
When he grew up in Kentucky, Schilt served as editor of his own school newspaper.
“I remember doing my first piece, an editorial raging against the school’s ban on rolling backpacks,” said Schilt. “Ever since that article, I was hooked on journalism. School papers provide an opportunity to change minds and policies through writing. What an awesome privilege and responsibility!”
The next issue of The Bleu Print is on Oct. 27 at the website www.chsbleuprint.com, where you can view the current edition.
