Letter from the Editors

We’ve been thinking about this letter for a long time. When we joined the Fourth Estate as freshmen, we knew we had found our place. Our first months on the staff were chaotic, confusing, and joyful. It took a bit to learn how to write a deck, and creating an InDesign page was a struggle. As we published more issues, the things that were difficult to grasp soon became routine, and we adjusted to the wonderful craziness that comes with publishing this magazine. Our first year concluded with the annual JEA/NSPA National Journalism Convention when we joined the yearbook staff and ventured to Anaheim and spent two days with Trish and Mr. Dorfman in endless seminars. We attended a baseball game, conquered Disneyland, and traveled on Amtrak.

Then came sophomore year. We moved into section editor positions; Frances on Feature and Madeleine on Opinion. Our responsibilities became more substantial as we learned how to edit articles, manage pages, make stylistic decisions, and change dress codes. Suddenly, we were confined to our homes, and we had to do the impossible and publish the Senior Issue while on zoom… but we were determined to do it.

Junior year wasn’t what we expected. While the year started on zoom, we were fortunate enough to be back in person by October, thanks to the hard work of our administration and faculty. Nevertheless, it was an uncertain year without our standard schedule, sports seasons, dances, assemblies, or lunches—but there were lots of APs. And still, the Fourth Estate endured. We revisit that year through the covers: the first one took place underwater at 7 a.m. the day after Halloween. The second one required Gus Sabino ‘21 to eat an entire birthday cake on camera. The third one was decorated only with flowers. For the Senior Issue, we made a group of seniors move a bleacher onto the middle of the field during an elementary school football practice.

As we face our senior year, we are preparing for our last year on the Fourth Estate. Our group of new staff members brings unparalleled enthusiasm, an open willingness to learn, and, of course, a bountiful amount of food to the work party. We could not be happier to share the magazine with our exceptional and dependable group of editors (Dare, Hanna, Claire, Luca, and Myles). But most importantly, our beloved Trish who has guided us through these four years with an unwavering belief in our purpose and abilities. Only because of her have we gotten to this point, and we are incredibly grateful.

We hope that you enjoy this issue in all its glory.

Until next time ... Frances and Madeleine

• 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.

• 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 first issue of the 2021 school year and the 27th volume of The Fourth Estate magazine. Laguna Blanca School, 4125 Paloma Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Contacts are available at tmchale@lagunablanca.org, (805) 687-2461 x0317 or www.thefourthestate.net. Laguna Blanca School has an EK-12th student population of approximately 400, with 100 in the Lower School, 110 in the Middle School and 182 in the Upper School, and a faculty of approximately 60. The Fourth Estate is an 8.5 by 11 general magazine, created on MAC computers on Adobe InDesign CC2020, using Avenir Next and Mencken Std Head font families and printed on glossy paper free for students, and $30 for an annual subscription. The magazine is distributed to all Upper School students and faculty through the school’s advisory program and sent by mail to subscribers, as well as distributed to alums, with 450 copies printed. We are associated with NSPA, CSPA and JEA.