What is Scratch Paper?

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Athirai Ambikkumar, Staff Writer

Scratch Paper is Warren’s very own newspaper, written by students aged freshman through senior year, who report on what’s happening in and around our school. Our staff is composed of students from all four years and is extremely diverse, coming from far reaches of the world and differing backgrounds. This diversity lends itself to varying aims for this club.

Jessica Lim, a senior and the head editor of the newspaper says, “”This year, my goal is to gain a greater readership by uniting our school and surrounding community through a common informative platform: Scratch Paper. I’m really proud of how far this club has come in such a short time. We were once a monthly print copy, transitioning to online-only just this past year. Now we will continue to expand and improve upon our website to make it more accessible, more relevant, and an empowering voice for students at Warren.”

The club’s advisor, Mr. Georgatsos, defines Scratch Paper as “the voice of WTHS,” highlighting the newspaper’s goal “to really give the student body and staff, and the community, information on what is going on at school and promoting our school.”  He further elaborates that they are hoping “to bring in the underclassmen [as] that’s been a struggle.” With this year being his first time leading the club, he has already begun implementing great ideas, such as enabling easy access to Scratch Paper through a simple tab on Warren’s homepage, and has high hopes for the abilities and reach of the newspaper this year.

Still, many of the senior members feel like they have fulfilled their goals, and now aspire to leave a legacy.

Lauren Kim, co-editor of the paper wants her work to “help other kids really create a strong foundation [in writing] and allow the club to grow.” Kim’s work on fashion and creative pieces from the paper’s previous years has set an example for younger and newer staff.

In addition to incoming club members, Lauren Kim seeks a greater reach for the paper, to “make ourselves known… I just want people to know that ‘hey, we’re here, we’re a club, and we’re here to educate people on what’s going on.’ Shoutout to everyone who actually joined the club, I’m really grateful we have so many new people.”

Offering a separate perspective from her colleague, Sophia Diaz, senior and co-editor of the newspaper, hopes to make progress in “address[ing] social issues. . . I’m a huge feminist and not afraid to say it. We should address issues on ethnicity and diversity.”

The seniors are setting up goals and rules for the new writers, but will they be able to handle it?

Expectations this year are especially tough on the freshmen. “I’m scared for negative feedback,” reveals freshman staff writer and photographer Delaney Pettigrew.

These fears seem to be reflected among many newcomers, but their excitement and passion for writing take precedence over their anxiety.  Despite criticisms that the writers may receive, these students are ready and proud to stand at the front lines for our school.