Letter From the Editor: October

Hello, all,

I’d like to welcome everyone back to school–now that we’re through the first few weeks of mourning summer–and to MacDuffie’s student-run news site, The Magnet. For those who don’t know me, my name is Cassidy Polga and I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Magnet. I am the senior with hipster hair and too many responsibilities, but if you ever want to say “hi,” I promise that I don’t bite. Probably. I’ll just force you to write for the paper.

Journalism is an integral part of our world; it connects people, allows us to make informed decisions, and holds those in positions of power accountable for their actions. Even in a tiny New England private school, journalism has worth. I urge those of you who haven’t yet to check out the articles on the site to get a taste of the topics that we student journalists cover. If  you have even the slightest interest in journalism, The Magnet, or just want to see your name in print, we are always open to having more voices. This Thursday, we will have a booth during Club Fair,  open to any student who would like to write, photograph, or draw for the paper. Our purpose is to represent the student community in its many facets, and we need students who are willing to make their voices heard.

This year, our Senior Staff members are a healthy mix of veterans and newcomers, with junior Dollar Zhu and senior Evan Murdock in their second years, and sophomores Sophie Sharp, Sarah Scott, Nicolette Peterson, and Olivia Ramirez-Weissbach with the paper for the first time. My fellow editors, senior Managing Editor Alexis Chapin and senior Copy Editor Cecelia Messbauer, continue to keep both myself and the paper afloat. I am genuinely excited about the people on staff this year, as all are dedicated students and eager learners, and I look forward to the work that all of them will produce. Many of them have new articles which have just been posted on the site which are well worth a read.

There has been a reshuffling  of the administration this year which directly affects The Magnet and would be unethical not to address. Former English Department chair Alun Polga is now the Dean of Students and is no longer the teacher of the Journalism class. He and the current teacher, Meaghan Quinn, will act as the paper’s co-advisors, and we will include a disclaimer before all articles that require Polga to act as a source in his administrative position. And, yes, as careful readers will have noticed, we share a surname and a fair amount of DNA.

This marks my seventh year as a member of The Magnet and my second as Editor-in-Chief. I have many goals which I believe can be accomplished this year, not least of which is to establish a paper that will continue to reach new heights long after I have left it. MacDuffie is my home, and it is an honor to better the school and represent the community in this position. But that’s enough sappiness for now. We have a lot of work to do in the next eight months, and we are going to do as much as we are able.

Thank you for reading-

Cassidy