Letter from the Editors
F
or the final time, hello and farewell Laguna! What exactly to address in our last letter from the editors was not an easy choice to make—there are too many people to thank, and too many experiences that we want to highlight, if only there was enough space to fit them all. We have published nine letters, as your Editors-in-Chief, and with each one we tried to give you, our readers, a brief introduction to both the process of writing the issue with our staff, and what you can expect to read in the pages in each issue. In this letter, however, that doesn’t seem enough. First, we need to give a true thank you to the Laguna community. We’ve spent the majority of the last four years on this campus, learning, growing and reporting on the most important, or the exciting, updates and changes on our campus. While a part of the staff, we reported on the Montecito mudslides, the Thomas fire and the coronavirus from its beginning to we are now, equipped with vaccines and a little bit of hope. The Fourth Estate has acted as a place of catharsis, where we could turn tragedy or times of stress into informative stories, student and teacher perspectives or simply a time to reflect on the best part of our community as we came together. For that, we must thank you all. Next, the staff itself—a group of students from every grade, from every social group and subject interest, all coming together a few times a week to focus on our communal passion, The Fourth Estate. As freshmen, we walked into Kalfas for our first journalism class unaware that this would become our legacy on campus. We have made friendships, grown as writers and artists, and most importantly, learned how to be leaders, all while working with a group of peers who supported us, every step of the way. I can’t express how proud I am of the growth that each staffer made this year. Finally, to our adviser, Trish (yes, we get to call her that — sometime during a 10-hour work party with just the three of us, Trish ceased being Ms. McHale). We’ve had our differences, but without those little arguments, we would never have learned to listen to constructive criticism, and would not have been able to meet deadline, issue after issue. It’s been four years of learning with our adviser and without Trish, this magazine wouldn’t be what it is today. So, for the final time, thank you all. We have been so lucky to learn at a place like Laguna.
Editors-in-Chief Phoebe Stein & Daisy Finefrock
• MISSION STATEMENT The Fourth Estate is an open forum created for and by journalism students of Laguna Blanca Upper School. We hope to use this space to cover events, interviews and topics of interest in greater depth. Our staff seeks to be a platform for creative expression and to report on events and ideas of importance to our readers and to focus on topics of significance and interest to inform and entertain the school community. • LETTERS TO THE EDITORS The Fourth Estate welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and must be no longer than 400 words. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and/or taste. Anonymous letters will not be published. The Fourth Estate reserves the right to reject advertising. Opinions expressed in this publication reflect the perspectives of the staff whose goal is to inform our readers with reliable information from which to base decisions and opinions. Editorials represent the voice of the staff and are voted on by the entire staff. Columns and commentaries are labeled as such and represent the opinion of the author. The Fourth Estate publishes four issues per year with a senior insert in the last issue. • BYLINE POLICY When two or three people work on a story, all names will be listed. If an editor rewrites a majority of a story, the editor’s name will be listed. • CORRECTION POLICY The staff strives for accuracy. When factual errors occur, mistakes are found or brought to the attention of the staff, corrections will be printed in a corrections box in the next issue. • CORRECTION In our March Issue, we incorrectly identified the writer of the article “Our Democracy Is Threatened.” Luca D’Arguma is the author and Claire Tolles is the artist. • COLOPHON This is the fourth and final issue and 26th volume of The Fourth Estate, Laguna Blanca School, 4125 Paloma Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Contacts are available at tmchale@lagunablanca.org, (805) 687-2461 x0317 or www.thefourthestate.net. Laguna Blanca School has an EK through 12th grade student population of approximately 400, with 100 in the Lower School, 110 in the Middle School and 182 in the Upper School, and a faculty of approximately 60. The Fourth Estate is an 8.5 by 11 general magazine, created on Apple computers on Adobe InDesign CC2019, using FreightNeo Pro and Big Caslon font families and printed on glossy paper free for students and $30 for an annual subscription. The magazine is distributed to all Upper School students through the school’s advisory program and sent by mail to subscribers. We are associated with NSPA, CSPA and JEA.
4 • NEWS thefourthestate.net
