Lake Stevens students take on a tough job

By Eric Stevick

Herald Writer

LAKE STEVENS — One by one, the headlines were rejected.

"Disillusioned by Cowards" — too long, the editor figured.

"Beyond Reality" — didn’t make sense "because it was reality," he said.

"Why?" was rejected because a lot of people had their minds made up about the cause of the worst act of terrorism in American history.

The editor eventually settled with the one-word headline "Unbelievable." It was a term his reporters heard often.

The newsroom was not in New York or Chicago but a classroom at Lake Stevens High School, where a staff of 18 teens spent much of Wednesday putting out a special edition of the Valhalla student newspaper.

For Randy Adams, the student editor, the mission of journalism and the magnitude of the story were decidedly different than covering traditional campus issues.

"This is real," he said. "This actually happened. My rule as a journalist is to be accurate and be quick to the point. It feels like I should be paying more tribute than I actually can to these people."

Several student journalists worked into the evening. There were news stories and opinion pieces, comments from students and tips on how to contribute to the victims.

Along the way, the Valhalla staff encountered many pitfalls of the profession.

Erin Myers anxiously chewed her spearmint gum while searching for comment from principal Pam Sturgeon. Photographer Meghan Guthrie had to work with a dying camera battery.

Then there was Christian Anderson, who filed a story, his first ever, only to have it disappear from a computer disc. Adams tracked him down in the band room and Anderson stayed after school for a rewrite.

Students also faced ethical issues of the trade.

They opted not to press two staff members and a student who may have had friends or relatives lost in the carnage. The students decided to wait and perhaps pursue the stories later.

One Associated Press photo they were given showed a man jumping to his death from the World Trade Center in New York. Four of five students said they would not run the photo.

Sara Taylor was torn. On one hand, it depicted the horrific reality of terrorism. On the other hand, it was hauntingly graphic.

"As a journalist, I would probably think about using it," she said. "As a private citizen, I wouldn’t."

"In general," she eventually concluded. " I wouldn’t (use it). That could be your dad."

Sarah Dinnis, the school’s journalism adviser, believes there was value in putting out the special edition for several reasons. It was not only a good learning experience and gave local context to a national tragedy, but it provided a slice of history for students in the future.

On Tuesday, Dinnis tried to slog through prepared lessons with her journalism students. Their minds were 3,000 miles away, trying to comprehend televised images of mass destruction.

Early Wednesday morning, she approached Adams. By 10:45 a.m., the staff was canvassing the campus interviewing teachers and fellow students, providing a voice for their school.

"I am really glad they did this," Dinnis said. "You could tell during class they really needed to do this."

You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446

or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.