Something out of nothing
June 22, 2010
By Tiffany Xu
L’arte d’arrangiarsi — the art of making something out of nothing. The initial idea of The Beat is a product of this Italian expression. Read more
Beating the odds
June 22, 2010
By Rachel Osgood
Reflecting on all of the decisions that I have made this past year, one of the most memorable and beneficial was my decision to join The Issaquah Press’ teen page staff.
Before I decided to pursue my interest in journalism, I was apprehensive about people even peer editing my writing. Through The Beat, I have had six articles published that have circulated to thousands of readers.
But even more than my personal accomplishments, the most valuable part of being a member of The Beat staff was helping fulfill our guiding vision of letting the youth voice in our community be heard. The Beat has served as a window into the potential of Washington’s youth and has shed an optimistic light on their future.
The untold stories of today’s teens are just a keystroke away from making a difference in the lives of those who read them. The Beat has shown me and hopefully all our readers that, against all odds, teen voice can and will continue to influence and impact anyone who takes the time to listen.
From plan to print
June 22, 2010
By Ehrik Aldana
Since The Beat’s first publication in December, the Issaquah community has had the opportunity to hear more from the youth of Issaquah. At the same time, a group of enthusiastic teens had the opportunity to better realize just what it takes to survive in the journalism industry.
I have had the pleasure to see this venture grow from the initial idea into the publication that has been a youthful rejuvenation of what is often regarded as a dying art.
At the beginning, the concept was simple but bold: Teens have a voice that should be put into the public eye. Putting this idea into action, however, proved to be a bit more difficult. After holding conversations with Youth Venture — an organization geared to helping youths create lasting projects to improve the community — to help jumpstart the project and The Issaquah Press to sponsor it, senses of skepticism began to surface. Times before, inspired youths would show up with similar projects, but fail to follow through as a result of a lack of their own ambition or of running out of their initial enthusiasm.
Regardless, six publications and 490 (and growing) Facebook members later, The Beat has grown into the forum for youth voice that you read today.
Stories worth telling
June 22, 2010
By Michelle Dvorak
I admit I was nervous when I ran in to speak to the Issaquah Schools Foundation in October about funding The Beat. What were the best words to describe why I felt teens should have a voice? Why were our stories, accomplishments and opinions worth noting to an entire community?
The words came easier to me after some time with The Beat. Where once I had only faint notions of sports championships, academic achievements and national scholarships awarded to a few teens, journalism brought me face-to-face with the everyday successes.
There were Natural Helpers who strived to connect to students and raise suicide awareness, and teens in bands who hoped to never give up their music or their friends. Interviewing became a way for me to answer the questions I didn’t have words for before. Why was The Beat important? I’ll just say I wrote to bring out the stories we couldn’t necessarily see, but were certainly worth telling.
The end is just the beginning
June 22, 2010
By Daniel Pickering
It is no secret that the newspaper industry is facing some difficult times. Subscriptions are decreasing at an alarming rate, and major newspapers are moving their entire publications online or closing down completely.
One must look no further than the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and its ultimate fate to see that the general population would rather read from a Twitter feed on its phones than from a newspaper.
In a mad scramble for a new customer base, the journalism industry has begun to experiment with marketing strategies that target youth. That’s where we come in. The Beat has been and will hopefully continue to be a milestone in youth-produced media, being only the second teen page in a Washington newspaper — the first being Unleashed, the weekly teen page at the Yakima-Herald Republic.
Why should newspapers appeal to our interests, though? We get our information from the internet now; Google and Wikipedia are our tools of choice, not The New York Times or the Chicago Tribune. It is because we as youth are wholly underrepresented in the media. Before the women’s rights movement, it was unheard of to think that women should have a significant standing in society. It is not too far of a stretch to say the same thing about youth.
No matter what The Man tells us, we are not “too young” to be making our voices heard. The Man will be handing the world to us in the next decade, and at this rate, it is going to be a mess. Climate change, oil spills, unresolved international conflicts, all of these will be left behind for us to handle.
Our voices are starting to be heard, however. Liberty students have recently created the Writer’s Block literary magazine, Issaquah students have published The Colored Pages, a general art magazine, and then, of course, there is The Beat. This is the beginning of a movement in youth-operated media.
A creative outlet for public expression
June 22, 2010
By Max Smith-Holmes
Physics students are usually known more for their brains than their video game prowess. For Skyline High School’s International Baccalaureate physics students, however, the latter may be the more valued trait.
Each spring, Skyline’s IB physics classes take a field trip to the Silverwood theme park in Idaho. Last year, the annual trip adopted a new tradition: a Pokémon video game frenzy brought about by usual school boredom.
Then senior Tyler Ninomura came up with the idea to bring Game Boy video game systems into physics class on days when there was free time. The students used cables to link their systems together and battle each other one on one.
The activity grew in popularity and eventually became an organized tournament for the bus rides to Silverwood.
“Since we had such great success with it last year, we decided to do it again this year,” said Tim Abbott, a key player in the tournament.
All students on one bus this year are participating in the competition. The winner will get the glory of dominating their physics-minded peers in the epic game of Pokémon.
“To wrap it all up, it’s a way the IB physics class gets to unwind at the end of the year,” Abbott said.
Pokémon skills pay off in surprisingly big ways — Ninomura earned a scholarship that is helping him pay for tuition at the University of Washington.
Teen Talk
June 22, 2010
“What did you think of The Beat?”
Dana Greenberg
“I love The Beat! I think it is fantastic that students from the three comprehensive high schools were able to come together and create something splendid. The reporting is balanced and gives insight into the three schools. I find it entertaining and really appreciate the fact that these students are out getting the resources to further their journalistic ambitions on their own. We create venues for high schools to meet and plan endeavors together and have been somewhat successful, but this initiative was organic and really shows what students can do when they put their minds together.”
— Dana Greenberg,
Liberty High School ASB teacher
Kate Brunette,
“I think that The Beat does an excellent job showcasing the talents of youth writers in the Issaquah area and presenting articles that interest teenagers beyond the normal information included in The Issaquah Press. It is also a great example of teen entrepreneurship, as it is run by teenagers in the area.”
— Kate Brunette, senior, Issaquah High School
“This is a great opportunity for students to express themselves in the community and for community members to read about what their teens are thinking. It is important for adults to acknowledge our generation’s opinions. Eventually, us teens will be running the community. We are not that far from adulthood. This page brings journalistic students from all Issaquah schools together so everyone has a voice.”
— Lindsey Vanosdall,
Liberty High School junior
Alan Blickenstaff
“It has been a pleasure to see The Beat take shape this year, as they have championed an outlet for a youth voice that is too often left out of the discussion. I read each issue with great respect, treasuring not only the perspectives that each writer brings to the table, but also knowing that The Beat is doing the hard, necessary work of inspiring students to take an active role in community dialogue.”
— Alan Blickenstaff,
Youth Venture Seattle mentor
Steven Do
“The Beat really is something out of the ordinary; of all the student-led organizations in Sammamish I’d say The Beat is unequalled in any way. Its goal is to get the message out that teens aren’t dependent beings and have so much potential. I know The Beat will succeed in their future goals and I am so proud of them.”
— Steven Do,
Skyline High School junior
An amazing, profound experience
June 22, 2010
By Alex Tucker
Writing for The Beat this year has been an amazing experience.
When I first heard that The Issaquah Press was starting a teen section, I jumped at the chance to apply to be on the staff. I imagined it would be a great way to get involved with the community, meet people with interests similar to mine, and, most of all, write.
All of those things happened, and so much more I could have never foreseen. One notably profound experience was writing about the choking game. It is a topic I am very passionate about, especially because of the loss Issaquah High School experienced last year with Kevin Tork.
Writing and researching this issue was a very eye-opening experience and, though emotionally taxing, it was incredibly rewarding. I received a beautiful letter from Kevin Tork’s parents after the article was published, and knowing that my writing meant something to people so close to the topic was amazing.
I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had because of our teen page, and look forward to another year on The Beat staff!
A great deal of effort and teamwork
June 22, 2010
By Olivia Spokoiny
Our teen page seeks to highlight a vast variety of students in Issaquah using the underappreciated art of journalism. It truly is an art, and writing for The Beat has made me realize that a great deal of effort and teamwork is required for a successful team of journalists.
Motivated by The Beat’s vision, I volunteered to be one of three staff members to participate in the Social Venture Plan Showcase at Seattle Pacific University. Our team designed a 10-page business plan and spent three hours at SPU discussing The Beat’s vision to have a social impact on students in our community by producing a page “by teens, for teens.”
Many of the teams of SPU students had years more experience than we did, and they could probably do a convincing showcase of their project in their sleep. For us, however, it was a much more difficult task. We were faced with questions from adults about how we expected to successfully reach out to teens and keep our page running on grants rather than using advertisements.
I had never put thought into these things before, but I am confident that the feedback we received that day will help us improve our page for the future. The three of us displayed extreme enthusiasm in The Beat, and we left the competition with $250. I am glad to have been part of the SPU Showcase, as it opened my eyes to the amount of effort that is necessary to ensure that “The Beat goes on.”
Pledge 2 not txt n drive
May 25, 2010
In March, Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill that made texting while driving a primary offense. Starting in June, violators of this new law will be penalized with a $124 fine.
By Olivia Spokoiny
Previously, tickets for texting while driving were only issued if the offender was pulled over for another infraction, such as speeding. The new tougher law ultimately forces us to completely break the habit.
Adjusting to this law has been especially hard for teenagers. Generation X grew up having access to technology and the media at their fingertips, and as a result has become addicted to cell phones. In fact, one-third of drivers under age 24 have admitted to texting behind the wheel.
However, what teenagers need to realize is that an immediate response to a message is not worth the cost of anyone’s life.
Jason Epstein, an auto accident lawyer and Seattle personal injury attorney, is the founder of Teens Against Distracted Driving. He created the project earlier this year upon hearing about a car accident in California. The intoxicated driver was texting while driving, rear-ended a car and killed a 4-year-old boy in the backseat.
