Journalism is both a commitment and skill high school students often opt out of. However, it gives students both in and outside of the class an opportunity to express their voice.

Although freshman Jackson Jerome is not enrolled in journalism, he actively reads and comments on the FUHS online newspaper.

“I read Tribe Tribune to hear other people’s political viewpoints and also to learn about anything that may be considered important for someone my age,” Jerome said.

Although high school students may not know about the GOP tax plan or who our California senators are, reading the school news website gives them a chance to be more aware of the issues surrounding them.

“To go back to the political thing again, it allows people to convey what they believe, both politically and just in general about the world and people,” Jerome said.

Sophomore Madeleine (Ting-Ting) Yang expressed interest in the editorials.

“I can see both sides of a story [when] you guys write opinion editorials. It’s interesting to see what your writers think versus what some other people may think,” Yang said.

Senior Opinion Editor Kaya Ortega is proud of the work journalism students published under her guide. As the editor, Ortega assists writers in sharing their perspectives on topics like news and social issues.

“The biggest thing for me is to allow the writers to be able to express their opinion in a way that is professional and challenging,” Ortega said. “My hope for all the writers is that they find themselves with the capability to report the truth and write elegantly and purposefully about what is right and wrong.”

However,  Ortega believes that the importance of controversy and debate behind the articles allows students to broaden their views about important local and global issues.

“We really took risks in what we published politically. Most of our opinion pieces are extremely controversial and, as we all know, there are many different sides to a story. I am very proud of everyone in journalism for having the courage to take on hard topics from both sides,” Ortega said.

Due to the growing gap between liberal and conservative ideology, the heightened political climate emphasizes moreover the importance of student voice through writing.  

“In public school, with lots of different people from lots of different beliefs and cultures, you’re going to have good conflict of interests. Different people believing different things. You’re gonna have a lot of different viewpoints,” Jerome said.

The Tribe Tribune strives to encompass the student body by featuring diverse perspectives and personal stories.

“I think that the school newspaper and journalism is a really good program and I want to join,” said Jerome. “Whenever I go on there, I am just ready to be pleasantly surprised for whatever different articles there might be.”