Kolos, Kolus, and Tempest. The Shorewood newspaper has known three names throughout the years, one of them having to be changed due to their harsh expression in Greek. The newspaper has reflected students’ opinions and creativity through writing and expression, first being established in 1974, student-run like it is now, it seems it lacked any sort of adult supervision back in the 70’s. 

Although the newspaper now does cover some rowdy topics, it is nothing compared to what students covered in the ‘70s, when the school had a designated smoking area, and the way girls dressed was more important than good grades and a social life. Sections of the newspaper that don’t exist now but were widely popular back then like “letters to the editors” gave students the power to write and submit their opinions, some being more questionable than others. An excerpt from one of the sections in a 1974 issue says it all. “This is in response to your gutsy little article about Rockers and Stoners… I dress nice, I keep my hair nicely combed, my grade point is 3.5 and steadily increasing. I take drugs, (only pot, cocaine, mushrooms) not at school,” said one angry stoner from the smoking section at Shorewood. 

Titles such as “Be prepared for Rape,” “Stun gun found safer than blade or nightstick” and “Prostitution moving into the community” litter the pages of the 70’s issue, talking about topics that are still prominent in 2022 but that no one has the guts to talk about. Along with the seemingly dubious headlines comes the more hilariously controversial quotes and titles when read out of context such as, “You can always lie to a judge, but not your wife,” “A star is born(?),” and lastly “News briefs.” But not the informational briefs, the underwear briefs. 

During this time, not only was the writing, topics, and opinions different, but the ads within the newspaper were much reflected by the decade. Pages showered in photos of girls in tight jeans commercializing the bell bottom pants that were the trend of the time, along with ads for the opening of the iconic Spin Alley, which is just a stone’s throw from the roof of school. 

Although the 70’s and onward was a much “looser” time looking through the lens of authority and consequences of what was written, the students on the newspaper were subject to events that shaped the paper and racked the news. Events such as the establishment of Shorewood’s Black Student Union in 2002, the tragic event of 9/11, and the passing of the bill Roe vs Wade, which gave women their own right to an abortion. The paper was absorbed into world issues and news, much like we were with the breakout of COVID and being stuck inside for a year. 

These events are reflected in full frontal tribute pieces and artwork done and submitted by students impacted by the worldly event. Paying tribute to family and friends who were lost, and the battle ground that New York was at the time.

So if you ask me, I think the newspaper has aged gracefully, rotating through years of great editors who choose to report on inside news such as sports, and how bad the football team is that year, and worldly events such as the regular political instability that lives in Washington D.C. And hopefully, as the newspaper ages throughout my years at the school, it continues to produce hilariously funny and interesting pieces that later writers can report on.