Letters from the Editors

Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers,

This letter marks the end of an era for us. We have been on this staff for four years, watching, learning, and growing. Jack Stein let us have confidence in our ideas as first-year students, and Beau Glazier showed us that creativity is chaotic.

One year later, Mia Humbred-Hilf taught us that dedication comes with long hours. And then, during our junior year, Phoebe and Daisy gave us the freedom to let our ideas have a real impact. These are the people who shaped us and taught us what it means to carry the name of The Fourth Estate.

We said goodbye to those leaders and watched as they started their new journeys that felt, at the time, utterly unimaginable to us.

And, somehow, now it’s our turn to say goodbye to high school, hand off the magazine, and start our unimaginable adventures.

Reflecting on this year—the year we have been waiting for—was more fulfilling than we could have ever imagined. In our first letter, we described the new staff as enthusiastic and willing to learn, and they only become more enthusiastic, more willing, and more dedicated with each issue.

Walking into class each day, the room was filled with joy, new ideas, and weird snacks. We are immensely grateful to have led a group that starts to cry happy tears during our post-issue discussions because they “feel like journalists.”

Each issue, class, and late-night panic could not have been the same without the (better) half of our editorial board, Dare and Hanna. They made us feel like every bad text wrap, problematic layout, and incoherent sentence would be okay. And the process of making it okay would, of course, be filled with laughter. It’s time, now, for a nap.

Oh, Trishy. How we love you so. Always with the snacks, always with the rage, always with the idiots who don’t know about Didot. You have always upheld this magazine to the highest standard, spending hours of our own time combing through every page, graphic, and word.

This year, you gave us your trust, and we did not take that lightly. Thank you for giving us the gift of these last four years, where we were able to find a place and a purpose.

And to next year’s staf, we’re only a call away.

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 final 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.