Letters from the Editors

Letter from the Editors

We keep saying that the world is changing in a way that it never has before, that everything continues to feel crazier than we could imagine, that nothing like this will ever happen again. But each time, we’re proven wrong. It just keeps getting crazier.

After coming back from winter break, the reality of COVID-19 took on a new meaning for our school. Students transferred to Zoom in the highest number we’ve experienced since 2020. Our community found itself split between online and in-person.

Our administration worked hard to create the safest environment possible: masking is now required indoors and outdoors, and many students on campus have switched to K-N95s or double masking.

Even as we all strive to remain as safe and healthy as possible, this is an unprecedented amount of crazy.

Especially now, we feel immense gratitude to have a school to come to every day, to be able to talk to our teachers, and to spend time with our friends. For our staff, these changes meant creating an issue while never knowing who was going to be on Zoom or in the class. We set up editor Zoom hotlines, encouraged texting during class, and, in the words of adviser Trish McHale, “Deadline? Schmeadline.”

With that being said, we feel profoundly proud of the way our scrappy, dedicated staff has pulled together this issue and taken each challenge in stride and with a good sense of humor.

When we first brainstormed articles, we gravitated towards the issues that hit close to us personally, to our school, and our greater community. We didn’t shy away from tackling subjects like grade inflation or the disparity of humanities support (in our school and in our world). We visited UCSB’s controversial Munger Hall, took a closer look into Santa Barbara’s redistricting issues, and celebrated the new girls basketball team.

But, above all else, our community mourned the loss of our beloved Lower School teacher, Clara Svedlund. Ms. Svedlund was our science-teacher, emu-expert, apple-butter-chef, and Earth-day-goddess for five years. She handed us our diplomas during our Fourth grade graduation, and never failed to tell us how proud she was of us as she saw us grow up through our years at Laguna. We dedicate this issue to her, eternally grateful for the profound effect she had on us and our entire community.

Editors-in-Chief Frances Carlson and Madeleine Nicks

• MISSION STATEMENT The Fourth Estate is an open forum created for and by journalism students of Laguna Blanca Upper School. We hope to use this space to cover events, interviews and topics of interest in greater depth. Our staff seeks to be a platform for creative expression and to report on events and ideas of importance to our readers and to focus on topics of significance and interest to inform and entertain the school community.

• LETTERS TO THE EDITORS The Fourth Estate welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and must be no longer than 400 words. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and/or taste. Anonymous letters will not be published. The Fourth Estate reserves the right to reject advertising. Opinions expressed in this publication reflect the perspectives of the staff whose goal is to inform our readers with reliable information from which to base decisions and opinions. Editorials represent the voice of the staff and are voted on by the entire staff. Columns and commentaries are labeled as such and represent the opinion of the author. The Fourth Estate publishes four issues per year with a senior insert in the last issue.

• BYLINE POLICY When two or three people work on a story, all names will be listed. If an editor rewrites a majority of a story, the editor’s name will be listed.

• ADVERTISING POLICY The Fourth Estate accepts paid advertising and will accept ads from all sources and shall determine if any advertisement is not acceptable. Ads for illegal products or services will be rejected.

• CORRECTION POLICY The staff strives for accuracy. When factual errors occur, mistakes are found or brought to the attention of the staff, corrections will be printed in a corrections box in the next issue.

• COLOPHON This is the 27th volume of The Fourth Estate magazine and the first issue of 2022. Laguna Blanca School, 4125 Paloma Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Contacts are available at tmchale@lagunablanca. org, (805) 687-2461x0317 or via the website www. thefourthestate.net. Laguna Blanca has an EK-12 student population of approximately 400, and a faculty of approximately 60. The Fourth Estate is a general magazine, created on MAC computers on Adobe InDesign CC2021, using Avenir Next and Mencken font families. 300 copies are printed and distributed free for US students and faculty, and available at $30 for annual subscriptions. We are associated with NSPA, CSPA and JEA.