100 Years of the BGQ

by AVERIE MCGRAW staff writer

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Black and Gold publication, we decided to dive into the original newspapers and interview people involved in it over the years

Looking back at the 1925 and 1940 Black and Gold newspapers gave me a very nostalgic feeling. I was curious if there were any big changes in the focus of the paper and discovered that we definitely have a lot more editing and technology today. There wasn’t half of what we have now, like iPhones, computers and big projectors. In the first issue of the “High School Review,” the main focus was on how students would get scholarships and how they would get to college, whereas today, some seniors don’t really think about college until the last minute. I also looked at an issue from October 1999, which covered teacher strikes and school violence, TV shows and gaming systems, sports music, and the 90’s style. This fashion era is back today as a “new style” to teenagers, which made me think about how I was raised. My mom was born in 1977, so she had a very retro lifestyle because of the way people dressed and the music they listened to compared to now. In the 2015 issue, writers focus more on the school being drug free, as well as the school’s “Out With The Old, In With the New” construction of F building. I spoke to English teacher Missi Yeomans, former Black and Gold newspaper adviser, about how Central has changed. “I taught [Newspaper] for 12 wonderful years,” Yeomans reflected. Since her time serving as staff adviser, Yeomans has noticed “the archives also reveal that student reporters had courage. Then as now, they asked tough questions and handled their role responsibly,” Yeomans added, “sure, there is fluff: who makes the best caffe macchiato, but there is substance too. Reporters tackled tough topics: sex, drugs and rock and roll, mental health, death. . . with the intent of informing, entertaining, and helping their fellow students.” In years past, she tried to switch to a magazine format with her students, but there wasn’t enough space, so she switched back to the newspaper format. “They went from broadsheet (the largest newspaper format, usually characterized by long vertical pages) to magazine for about one and a half years in 2008 to try it out, but didn’t like it because it is about a third less surface area space for spreads.” Eventually, Jim Filkins, retired publications teacher, switched the newspaper to the BGQ magazine in 2015 to modernize it. There’s been talks on how CHS wants to go to digital but is still printed today. “The mode has changed. I am happy the paper is printed, for then it is read and enjoyed and challenged as a momento.” Historically, radio and TV were more for bullet points; the paper was for in-depth analysis. Today, the national media is largely a disappointment due to editorial cuts, but the BGQ has been through many versions and is still going strong today. //