Stories...Sears

Charity Sears

Bloomington HS South - Ind.
July 9-13, 2001

Teen-agers Form Friendships Under Deadline Pressures

Pizza, cookies and pop; don't forget the coffee. Teen-agers hanging out with one purpose - meeting the publishing deadline. "Food is a key element," said Julie Fukes, co-editor of the "Rampage" at Grayslake Community High School in Illinois.

The 13 members of the newspaper staff spend their Sunday afternoon and sometimes into the night working in their pressroom before their Friday deadline.

According to Amanda Marsden, co-editor, Grayslake Community High School in Illinois, the page editors already have their layouts planned and use Sunday to "add finishing touches," place photos, and write headlines. Their adviser usually provides the food, and the editors show up to work - somewhat.

"It's so laid back and fun you forget that it's a class, which makes the staff closer and the paper a lot better," Fukes said.

The friendly environment is common among high school publications. My newspaper staff has such a relaxing atmosphere that we're more conclusive to working harder...but everyone knows when to buckle down and get to work," Adam Swinney, news editor at South Ripley Junior/Senior High School in Versailles, Ind., said.

Zack Arndt, Parkway West High School in Ballwin, Mo., said that it's always relaxed on his yearbook staff until deadline time.

The pressures and tensions of deadlines can reveal sometime hidden aspects of people's characters. "It can be stressful, and people don't always get along...but it's important to be a team player and be open," Fukes said.

Compromising is key to getting along, said Marsden." You might not get your way all the time but you can agree to disagree."

Tricia LaRocca, co-editor of the Parkway West (Chesterfield, Mo.) High School yearbook, also said that learning to get along with everyone is a crucial aspect of working on a publication staff. "It's a matter of letting people know who you really are and from that you learn how to work well with people and their different personalities," she said.

Being on the newspaper staff and working with all kinds of people has helped Jenny Bierck, Cathedral (Indianapolis) High School, to realize her strengths and weaknesses. "It's rewarding to me whenever we can overcome our differences and start bonding," she said.

Katie Behringer, sports editor at Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South High School, said, "Being forced together randomly" and "staring at the computer screens for long periods of time" result in inside jokes, which is her favorite part of being on staff.

The one bond that holds the students together is their common goal. It's all about students working together to meet deadline.

Swinney said, "We're friends trying to do what's best for the paper."