The Statesman insider
An all-exclusive pass to a look inside Statesman and its staff. This includes daily activities, plans for the issues and a few staff secrets that may not be known to most students.
November 17, 2020
DAY TO DAY
At the start of the school year, there are many new students added to the staff, allowing veteran staff members to assist and teach them with information regarding designs, photos, AP style and how the Statesman works altogether. There are usually two Statesman class periods, and from those classes, each of us either chooses to write for the paper issue (once a month) or for online (once a week). However, in order to keep up with the flow of online stories, students writing for the paper also write one online story for the month. If we decide to be on paper, we’re responsible for writing our own stories and placing them in the correct editors’ folder. In addition, we create our own designs that are featured in the paper, but we all pitch in to help one another no matter the responsibility. As a staff, we also collectively take our own pictures for the issues, although they’re mostly taken by the staffers who are more experienced in photography.
THE “J-LAB”
The famous J-lab is where all the magic happens. Staff members work on their stories, designs and really anything they need to. Many of us come down during WIN or before school to work on issues or just to chat. There are five editors-in-chief on staff, which have their special place in the back of the J-lab, with tall, comfortable chairs.
CANDY DRAWER
One of the best parts of being on staff is the seemingly never-ending candy drawer, thanks to the one and only, Katie Kroeze. Only if you’ve been a part of the Statesman would you recognize the small, red filing cabinet full of goodies. The only downside is that students often forget to lend a hand and the candy drawer becomes the “couple of suckers left” drawer. On good days, however, it is filled with a variety of chocolate and candy, but we’re all vultures and sometimes it’s gone by the end of the day.
STATESFAM FRIDAYS
Another great upside to the Statesman is that at the beginning of the year a sheet gets passed around the room, and each student signs up for a specific Friday they can provide treats. Occasionally, we have special Fridays where we play in the Statesman Olympics: a competition between different groups of the staff members.