Variety in The Beacon

There has been a lot of attention on the fact that The Beacon is “lacking” in variety. Being a member of The Beacon, and having written 31 articles over the course of this year, I can sadly agree with this statement. Ever since the beginning of the school year, Ms. Barga has constantly told The Beacon’s staff to interview others that weren’t other members of staff or a close friend of a writer. However, it seems as though that this year, The Beacon has had a slight “dip” in the variety and reliability of its articles (mostly based on School Life or Opinion categories) due to its lack of different interviewees.

The subject has recently been addressed in a comment on Prerna K’s article titled: “Dress Codes: A Necessary Restriction?” by a “dedicated reader of the Beacon”, using the username of “Anon”. They have gone onto articles written by Beacon staff and made a list of people who have been included in articles more than once and which articles they have been included in. This is an excerpt of their comment:

” – Jacky L: interviewed in ‘Seniors on IB Exams’, ‘Senior Prank Ruined?’, ‘Are Your Study Habits Effective?’ = total of THREE TIMES
– Cathy Z: interviewed in ‘Membean: a Piquant or Onerous Task?’, ‘”Academic” Summatives in PE?’ = total of TWO TIMES
– Sangyoon K: interviewed in ‘Membean: a Piquant or Onerous Task?, ‘Beerbongs and Bentleys’ = total of TWO TIMES
– Gabriel K: interviewed in ‘Membean: a Piquant or Onerous Task?’, ‘”Academic” Summatives in PE?’ = total of TWO TIMES
– Sophia M: interviewed in ‘”Academic” Summatives in PE?’, ‘The Way I See It Speeches’ = total of TWO TIMES
– Abby P: interviewed in ‘Membean: a Piquant or Onerous Task?’, ‘Forensics: A New Addition to the APAC Squad’ = total of TWO TIMES
– Henry Y: interviewed in ‘Why Freshman are not going to Prom’, ‘Poems and The AISG Community’ = total of TWO TIMES “

This shows that there have been readers noticing the accidental aversion of variety this year. I responded to “Anon[‘s]” comment hoping that he/she would give me their opinion on the importance of variety and whether or not others are aware of this as well.

Speaking on behalf of The Beacon’s staff, I can say that whenever I interview someone based on a particular topic I’m writing about, it isn’t because it’s easiest to turn around and ask the person to my right or left (Right, Prerna K. and Left, Abby P.), but because I choose to interview whoever would give me the best information. Grade 10 also has a group chat dedicated to quotes for The Beacon where Beacon members ask for their opinion and those who answer are quoted, and it’s seen that those who are more “open” are more willing to share their thoughts to be published on the school newspaper.

Has anyone else noticed the un-variety in The Beacon? If you have, make sure to join The Beacon next year to put an end to this closed-mindedness and open up new viewpoints in student’s minds.