CLAIRE PORTFOLIO AHAHAH

50,000,000 CLAIRE FANS CAN’T BE WRONG CLAIRE GEARE’S PORTFOLIO - Volume 2 SPRING 2022 CSPRESS EDITOR IN CHIEF AWESOME

LEADING

To include staff members into the team, I think inviting them to speak more when we meet at the back table would be helpful. At the beginning of the year, I hardly knew the staff writers since the back table meetings were so chaotic they would barely talk. Now that Hailey, Hudson, and Johnny are editors they have the confidence to speak up.

I am not very good at working with my peers in a leadership role.

I get extremely frustrated with the other editors frequently, and things get heated. We’re all very different people, but we’re all hot headed.

I’ve learned a lot about leadership from the tension in the room. I’m trying to be extra conscious of my tone and attitude towards people now.

It’s much more important to be respected by your peers than popular, but man it would be cool to be popular here. I wouldn’t get anything done, but I’d have a lot more fun.

I like being a leader because I enjoy having a say in how this publication turns out. Like I said, I sort of struggle being a leader in an interpersonal setting, but as far as actually directing and running the class I do a fine job. I have strong ideas for each issue, but I also have a massive ego. Learning this is the best lesson I have taken away from high school, and I feel more confident going into my adult life being aware of these flaws.

Creating an award winning publication starts with our ideas first and foremost. While our paper this year has had a variety of technical issues and mishaps, our coverage has been repeatedly praised for its variety. Looking back through this year’s issues, we cover every topical event at the school in the month, and spotlight the lesser known issues too. My AP government teacher specifically complimented our coverage, which I am very proud of. Our biggest problem is technical, but that is the fault of the past two terrible years. We have few experienced editors, and even those with experience have had to learn over Zoom. Placing greater emphasis on the editing process and style book could help with these issues.

I wholeheartedly agree that one of the most important aspects of leadership is direction. I’ve mentioned that I have learned this skill well in my time as a leader, but what this quote doesn’t mention is the importance of respect and camaraderie as a leader. Leading people means nothing if they have no faith in you, which I’ve learned the hard way this year. Certainty might make a leader, but without the dedication of others it doesn’t matter.

EDITING I did quite a bit more editing this semester than last, since me and Philip split our role as editors in chief more concretely. I read and edited half of all the stories in each issue, mostly making small rewrites and catching style errors. Since I only do “last looks” now, the editing is very impersonal. As an editor, I worked with every writer individually to create a story. Now I just fix glaring issues before we send the paper to the printer.

The persistent issues I see editing stories are mostly technical.

We still have some staff writers struggling to understand exactly what journalistic writing is, but I’ve seen that by the second year most writers improve greatly. However, even the best writers in the class have technical errors in every story. Contractions, informal language, and incorrect quotes are all too common. I think putting a greater emphasis on using our stylebook and editing in general would help next year.

WRITING

SUPREME CHOICE A

Claire Geare Editor in Chief

FTER THE RESIGNATION of Supreme Court

Justice Stephen Bryer in late January, all eyes have been on Joe Biden’s nomination for the position, Ketanji Brown Jackson. What most people don’t know, however, is that Jackson isn’t new to this.

“To be completely honest I hadn’t heard of [Ketanji Brown Jackson] until this interview In his four years of presidency, Republican President Donald Trump appointed three justices, a record number in such a short time. In fact, before President Obama stepped down in 2016, Jackson was one of five interviewees to replace Justice BLAH BLAH. Her journey ended there, with President Trump appointing Justice BLAH BLAH. Now, with the unexpected resignation of Justice Bryer, President Joe Biden plans to appoint a justice radically different than the court has seen in the past four years.

“I do think that appointing Jackson is important for everyone in the country. I might not really be able to grasp how big something like this would be personally, but I support the idea fully. It’s been too long for America to never have a black female supreme court justice,” said Aubrey Ozaki, an International Baccalaureate student.

Born from an educator and a lawyer, Ketanji Brown Jackson grew up in Miami, Florida but went on to study government at Harvard University. Jackson was active on campus in adolescence, leading a protest against a student with the confederate flag in his dorm window. After graduating in 1992, Jackson worked as a staff writer and reporter for Time Magazine before returning to Harvard Law School.

Jackson then continued to use her extensive academic background, working as a private lawyer, assistant special counsel, and federal public defender. In 2009, Obama nominated Jackson for vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commision. Jackson was approved unanimously, and in her time worked to create a two offense level system for drug crimes. (“Federal Prisons Could Release 1,000 Times More Drug Offenders Than Obama Did”).

QUOTE In 2012, Jackson was once again nominated by Obama to serve on the United States District Court of Columbia.

Jackson was introduced at the confirmation hearing by

Republican Paul Ryan, stating “Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, for her integrity, it is unequivocal.” She was approved by the full senate through voice vote in 2013, and approved by Justice Bryer himself.

“I had no idea she had been approved before to work in the district court, unanimously too. I’ve heard a lot of stuff on the news about [Ketanji Brown Jackson], but I haven’t heard anything about her background. I feel like that’s a bad sign or something,” said Ozaki.

With 26 years of legal experience, two unanimous confirmations for government positions, and over 600 opinions with a mere 12 reversals, it’s hard to see how Jackson has become a controversial choice to fill Justice Bryer’s shoes. But in a divided government, confirmation hearings can become a battleground between parties.

QUOTE In 2017, a Republican majority senate voted 52-48 to lower the supreme court nomination vote threshold to a simple majority. This action prevents filibusters, and allows nominees to be voted in theoretically along party lines. This is an act of retaliation against the Democrats, who in 2013 voted to lower the voting threshold for most federal judicial positions. However, this is the first time the threshold has been lowered for supreme court nominations.

QUOTE Despite Jackson’s many years of experience, she has become quite a controversial pick to replace Justice Bryer.

Republicans have criticized Jackson’s past as a public

defender, specifically her work challenging rulings against Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Jackson herself has declined to comment on the actual content of the case, stating at her district court hearings “it would be inappropriate for me to comment on whether I disagreed with Khi Ali Gul, found his alleged crimes offensive, or considered resigning my position as an Assistant Federal Public Defender based on any such disagreement or offense.”

QUOTE There is a case for Jackson’s past as a public defender making her more qualified for the supreme court. Jackson will be the first public defender to join the supreme court in history, and her experience in the “trenches” of the legal system could be a valuable asset to the bench.

It’s also important to note that Jackson’s appointment wouldn’t actually change the makeup of the bench too radically. As it stands, the court has six conservative leaning judges and three left leaning judges. Even with her appointment, the court has a conservative majority.

QUOTE Ketanji Brown Jackson is a court room veteran, with 26 years of experience and over 600 opinions. Jackson has consistently been a top candidate for the position, and her confirmation is no surprise with her background. In a diverse country, we deserve a diverse court, and Justice Jackson is a qualified choice.

May 2, 2022 Volume 13, Number 7 Cactus Shadows High School Scottsdale, Arizona

\Maya camas

WRITING My best work of writing this year is my front page story about Ketanji Brown Jackson. Her nomination is a hot button issue right now, and covering relevant or controversial news can be difficult at a student newspaper. I wanted to best present Jackson’s history while remaining unbiased. This task was semi-difficult, since I personally believe the backlash against Jackson is purely prejudice and politically fueled. By the end, I think I painted a fair picture of both her mistakes and accomplishments as a judge, which I’m very proud of.

Every time I write I do it in one sitting, which is terrible. I wish I didn’t do that, but alas. If I could go back and change anything, it would be my quotes. Usually my quotes from students effectively move my story along, but this was a lot of nonsense. Most of my quotes are people saying “I didn’t know she did that” or “That’s cool.” Which I hate!

What I do like about this story is my emphasis on Jacksn’s background as a judge. Critics of her nomination argue she’s only being elected because of Biden’s politics, but she was nominated long before Biden. Diving into her past as well as her failures created a story that I think fairly assessed both arguments.