At Glenbard East, the student newspaper known as the Echo has been around for over 40 years. Throughout all those years, the news at Glenbard East has been covered by the staff of the publication. 

After all, when we look at modern society, one of the largest influences on our lives is the news: journalists digging up stories, and keeping the country informed about events happening around us. Student journalists are incredibly important to our community because of that. 

“We are living in a moment where the news is constantly being attacked, and the truth is that trained journalists are incredibly important to democracy, it’s the 4th branch of government,” says Mr. Kasicki,  the Glenbard East Instructional Technology Specialist and Echo Staff Advisor. “It watches to make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do.” 

When student journalism works the same way, it can be incredibly powerful.  

This year the Echo evolves to continue the publication’s promise to the student body. Within the group, leadership structure changes have been made to produce a more effective line of communication through all staff members. 

Another huge evolution to the paper is it will now be 100% electronic! Anytime and anywhere, readers can access the Echo through an app on the school-issued iPad.  On the new website, recent content will be posted regularly. 

Regarding this, the 2019 Editor-in-Chief of the Echo, Jenicel Carmona, says,  “I think that making Echo electronic this year has opened up many possible options for the publication. Students will be able to be more involved in viewing the content compared to years past, allowing them to pick the articles they want to read and not be stuck with a paper all day.” 

Like Carmona mentioned, readers will be able to go through the articles posted and pick what they want to read.  Also the content will always be on the site, so readers can return to old articles at anytime, similar to how major newspapers such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Atlantic have gone electronic. 

There will also be opportunities throughout the year for students to interact and contribute to the paper through the “Crowd Surfing” section  This section gives students an option to express themselves.

These changes are really launching the classic journalism we have here at East into the 21st century, and updating Echo’s software to 2.0.