Before you double-check that this paper is the actual Scroll and not the glorious Scrawl, you may rest assured that this is indeed the Scroll publishing a self-criticizing article. But despite this exemplary display of America’s liberal principles, the Scroll is a poor student publication overall. Unlike a typical journal or magazine, the purpose of a student publication is to promote the students’ voice and allow them to gain experience writing, editing, and publishing thoughtful pieces.
Currently, the Scroll’s portrayal of campus events paints an insufficient picture of the Deerfield experience. Edited to a point of intolerable blandness, the Scroll’s mind-numbing style of reporting conveys neither the vibrance of the student body nor the creativity of the writers behind the articles.
By removing writers’ individuality and instead acting solely as a record-keeper, the Scroll reduces itself to nothing more than a print-out of a Deerfield Instagram post, only slightly larger.
I admit, though, that the Scroll’s focus on record-keeping does bring some undeniable benefits. For one, it helps uncover and preserve Deerfield’s history for future students, as seen in recent articles’ references to older articles, such as Allyson Xu ’24’s “From DBSC to DBSA: The Deerfield Black Student Alliance Throughout History,” which cites an interview from the June 1970 issue. The Scroll’s interviews with staff and spotlights on students in every issue celebrate individual achievements. As the Academy’s oldest student publication, its focus on journalistic quality and representing Deerfield life accurately is certainly important.
However, the Scroll must not remain content with being an uninspirational and decorative shrunken mummy head upon a Victorian mantelpiece upon the Academy’s résumé; it should promote the student voice. To this end, the Scroll has its wonderful Op-Ed section, which I believe is widely considered the one breath of fresh air among its otherwise stale pages. However, beyond Op-Eds, in just the latest issue we see articles like “A Pattern of Eating Disorders at Deerfield” by Kaitlyn Xia ’24 and McKenzie Goltermann ’25 and “Global News Catch Up: What is Happening in Brazil?” by Isabella Casillas ’24 on the 2022 Brazil presidential election, which deliver students’ concerns and thoughts about local and global issues.
Even with the Op-Ed section and such occasionally impactful non-Op-Eds, the Scroll’s representation of Deerfield students’ voices still lacks in comparison to that of the Scrawl and Albany Road. Albany Road, a creative platform that allows artists and writers to express their emotions, allows readers to emulate their bravery and be inspired. The Scrawl, a fantastic channel of Deerfield’s creativity and satire, stands as adamant proof of students’ continuing joviality and optimistic outlook despite the stress and busy pace of Deerfield life. Here I urge the Scrawl to publish more, so that the Deerfield student voice may be strengthened.
This article is by no means intended to denounce the Scroll for its understandable blandness, but to formally voice what is likely the communal opinion on the Scroll’s present state and how it may improve. Scroll writers are doubtless admirable and amicable individuals; the magnanimity of their editors is evident in the very publishing of this questionable article. In the end, however, it is ultimately up to the XCVII Board to decide how they wish to continue running their publication.