As a freshman, I hadn’t experienced the paper age of the school newspaper like so many of the upperclassmen. Since COVID-19 hit, the paper went digital, turning ink and paper into Google Docs and the Arial font. 

As readers, you may stumble across this page for a specific reason. A podcast, video, or story that a friend wrote. Or, you were just really bored and looking for something to do. That’s a fact. The difficulty with a lesser-known club or program is that the chances of someone looking at this article or website are very low. Especially when one has no reason to read the articles, there’s no point in taking the time to Google this site and wait for it to load. 

So I think, maybe TYRO should have a printed newspaper or even a newsletter. Make a word of the month with a special prize to anyone who can guess it right. Create Google forms and see what people would want to read. Work with the library and create voting polls. Become a printed newspaper article people can get at the Lancer Lounge. The thing is, newspapers like this are going out of style. Nobody wants to sit down and read information. Especially if it’s just a high school newspaper. But, if we make it a printed newspaper with interactive activities, competitions, and valuable information for students with our own articles tossed in, the school paper has a chance to bounce back. Working in tandem with the Tyro website where all the videos and podcasts can still be uploaded, the newspaper could become a valuable resource for students looking for information. Even middle schoolers would be informed. They could get an idea of what high school is like from reading articles about different events and obtaining valuable information coming into high school. Those incoming freshmen could feel like part of the community even before they step through those doors. As the person reading this article, would you take the time to pursue a paper if it held information about the Wordle? If it showed crazy polls from the different grade levels and was easily accessible? I think you would. 

So, we should make the newspaper a fun, informative resource. Easily accessible, entertaining, and well-known. The majority of the school doesn’t even know we have a paper. Let’s change that. If we make this something people want to read, then maybe people will read it. Let’s organize the club, make some changes, and make a difference. One word at a time.