For approximately 35 years, the journalism classroom was filled with the chatter of students, zipping in and out to work on their stories while their deadline was fast approaching. On submission days, the room had a palpable tension, as they made their final edits to the paper while the clock ticked down. Until the 2008-2009 school year, when the printers stopped chugging out articles the room was no longer the journalism room but just another classroom where students sat, listening to a teacher lecture. No more hands-on work, cutting and pasting, or working to the very last second. But last year, something changed. While no longer glue sticks, paper scraps, and scissors are littering the room, there are laptops on desks, open to Google Docs, with students behind them, furiously typing away.
In 1973, when Anderson moved to the current campus on Mesa, Trojans of all grades came together to develop and lead a student newspaper. Without a name for the publication, the students began titling each paper The First Edition, The Second Edition, and so forth. They published The Christmas Edition for the holidays, but on January 17, 1974, the staff decided on an official name for their paper: The Edition. The students decided on the name for “its versatility,” and often put adjectives between the words to give readers an idea of what the issue would cover. Advisor Judie Gustafson kept the paper in line and on schedule, but it was up to the students to report, write, edit, and photograph their own pieces. The Edition was an instant hit in the community and a perfect addition to Anderson culture alongside the new campus.
The newspaper was taken over in 1984 by Jack Harkrider, a passionate journalism advisor who made The Edition a staple at Anderson for more than 24 years. When he retired in mid-2008, the program was taken over by Ms. Ballard – a teacher without a journalism background – who didn’t want to continue the paper. Instead, she focused on graphic design and the yearbook before being replaced by current Afterthought advisor, Ms. Sharpe. Anderson lacked a newspaper for 14 years until seniors Ava Rener and Luci Thompson started The Trojan Record in the fall of 2022. It began as a club, publishing five issues over the course of the year before students started expressing interest in journalism as a class. For the first time since 2008, Anderson offers a journalism class, taught by Ms. Zimmerman, which will be producing monthly editions of The Trojan Record, the new Anderson paper. The aim is to build back up the interest in journalism and create an informative, enjoyable publication for the entire community to enjoy.
“We are excited about the prospect of leaving a legacy. We’d be leaving something that benefits the school’s culture and can be passed down through each graduating class,” Senior Co-Editor Ava Renner said. “It gives students an opportunity to learn about journalism and be more engaged members of the Anderson community,” Senior Co-Editor Luci Thompson added.
It’s an exciting time as The Trojan Record is getting revved up and ready to cover all things Anderson, politics, opinion, and more throughout the year. The hope is to grow the audience and bring excitement back to journalism. Later in the year, the program is striving to get those printers chugging again, making paper editions that will stain your fingers with ink for everyone to read and enjoy. For the first time in almost 15 years, the journalism department is taking off at Anderson, researching, photographing, editing, and publishing, and it’s certainly a sight to see.