When I squeezed my way down into the Scroll room to pitch my first article, I was terrified. I knew that I loved writing, but that was the full extent of my knowledge of the journalism world. I had no idea how to copy edit and was completely shocked by the tight deadlines and quick turnarounds that made our newspaper work. When I first became an Associate Editor, I wasn’t quite sure if “lay out” was a time, place, or action (it turned out to be all three).
As I began my junior year, I started reflecting on what I believe the purpose of the Scroll really is, especially when it comes to what we should and shouldn’t publish. The Scroll is fundamentally different from “real world” newspapers because we have fundamentally different obligations to report the truth and consider our audience. I first began thinking about the goal of our newspaper when I was assigned to report on the new Simmons dormitory. I had two options: to report on the possibility of it becoming a gender neutral dorm, or to write the classic general overview article. I was confronted with interviews full of nonanswers and late nights wondering why I should even write if I would only be putting common knowledge into words alongside some fancy quotations. Did I have a duty to dig further into the story, report the full truth and possibly anger some of my interviewees and readers? Now, having become an opinion writer, that question still lingers in the back of my mind whenever I sit down to type. What are my responsibilities as a student journalist?
Currently, the Scroll has only a vague mission statement, saying that our newspaper should encourage “informed discussion of pertinent issues that concern the Academy and the world” (Scroll Website). This broad phrasing does not outline what it means, in the context of both Deer field Academy and the world of journalism as a whole, to have journalistic ethics.
Even within the Scroll, opinion writers hold drastically different opinions on the purpose of student publications, especially when it comes to their ethical duties. Associate Editor and Opinion Writer John Woo ’26 said, “I believe the role of an OpEd writer is to present their opinions on an issue, regardless of its sensitivity… I don’t think OpEd writers should have the moral obligation to ‘protect’ their audience from views that they don’t want to hear.” Woo further noted, “OpEd is the one section where there is actual vivacity in the writing, and the writing has meaning and purpose.”
On the other hand, Associate Editor and Opinion Writer Billy Tang ’25 brought up the delicate balance student publications must strike between writing about hot topics and being mindful of their audiences. “A student publication is supposed to emulate professional writing, but it isn’t supposed to have professional content,” he said. “I think oftentimes there is a level of prioritization of the school environment rather than actually addressing these issues and I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong.” He said he believes the purpose of the Scroll is education: to serve as a platform for aspiring journalists to learn the process of publishing a finished product without having to write about heavy topics, such as mental health issues and sexual misconduct on campus. Tang said he still believes that there is a place for hard hitting and well researched journalism in the Scroll, bringing up the much repeated Scroll platitude of the Deerfield Bubble. “D.A. is a bubble,” he said. “But we don’t want to blow the bubble apart. We want to slowly deflate it… I think there’s a certain level of gentleness that needs to be associated when it comes to reporting on controversial or very hot topics.”
Classics Teacher and Scroll Faculty Advisor Anna Delwiche offered her own perspective on these issues, saying that she doesn’t believe that any topics are or should ever be off limits for students. She said, “Some stories are more challenging to cover than others, especially when they are a little less positive towards the school… They are challenging in the sense of coverage, inter views, more perspectives, more research.” She said she only feels uncomfortable publishing an article if the writer didn’t take the steps to accurately and fully represent “the quote unquote truth to the best of their ability,” she said. This commitment to the truth is the only ethical responsibility Ms. Delwiche believes writers have. She acknowledged how difficult this can be for students though, especially when contacts are also funders, and interviews have underlying power dynamics that can often make student writers feel uncomfortable or even afraid to ask questions. This comment presented me with yet another ethical conundrum. Even without taking into consideration the emotions of our audiences, we find many topics barred from discussion simply because we are student writers. How can we ethically write about a topic when we won’t ask questions for fear of upsetting high power individuals, which could result in direct or indirect repercussions? The more I talked to people, the more it seemed immoral for the Scroll to publish anything beyond a weather report.
In addition to having closer relationships with contacts, Scroll writers also have a unique relationship with their audience compared to real world journalists. When discussing the independence that the Scroll as an organization and individual writers have, Associate Head of School for Student Life Amie Creagh said, “I would worry if a student felt completely independent because it would mean that they don’t have human connections, support, or input around them. I would love for students to care about something because they’re functioning as a member of a community.” Mrs. Creagh also brought up the additional complexity writing at a residential school has for student journalists, saying, “[Writers] see the people who [they’re] writing about and Continued from Front discussing in [their] everyday life. [They] are in the same environment as all of the other people who are reading [their] article and may be impacted by it or have an opinion about it… It’s exceedingly complex.” While we don’t necessarily have a duty as journalists to protect our audience, I and many other opinion writers, often feel the obligation to remain well perceived, both to maintain our social lives and our respectability as tame, moderate journalists. This is a sign of a thriving and tight knit community, yes, but it also creates yet another conflict of interests for increasingly exacerbated Scroll writers.
Once, I received a request from a student not affiliated with the Scroll to write about the Sexual Misconduct Response Committee. I declined, feeling that it was both unethical, considering the all too personal interviews I would need to conduct to craft a compelling article, and out of my scope of experience. There have been times when I have wanted to write more hard hitting articles about mental health on campus before reconsidering, wondering if it would truly be appropriate to bring up self harm statistics given the audience I am writing for.
My own emotions have compelled me to refuse to write many article suggestions or ideas, and I have often felt conflicted about my decision not to write. It was hard enough to be a teenager learning how to write; learning when and why to write was almost overwhelmingly challenging. So, reflecting back on the moral dilemmas I confronted as a freshman and still continue to face, I tentatively propose a new Scroll mission statement:
“The Scroll is a newspaper by and for future world citizens. We seek to document both the unnotable and the radical of history as it happens and inevitably changes our campus. We hope to inspire a love of inquiry in both our readers and our writers. We aim to give our writers and editors sufficient time and education to create an individual moral and ethical code of journalistic integrity they are proud of. We strive to show everyone involved in our paper that every story, no matter how mundane or eminent, opinionated or controversial, can become a story worth telling when the telling is rooted in both passion and compassion.”
I personally believe, as always, the truth falls somewhere toward the middle of all of my interviewees perspectives. I consider the only duty of a journalist is to report the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I also recognize that no one is forced to read the Scroll, and if an article or even whole issue isn’t to some one’s personal moral standards, they should simply not read it. I sympathize too much with my younger self, the 10 year old girl who would race home every week to devour a New Yorker, to ever run the risk of infantilizing the Deerfield community with my reporting, yet I also hold close to my heart the first news article I read to make me fear for my future. I believe that the most valuable lesson I have learned as both a student writer and a student of writing is that while all stories deserve to be told, there is a time and place for each of them. If it does nothing else, I hope my mission statement reflects that sentiment. While I have harped on about the journalistic technicalities of publishing the truth, ethical dilemmas facing students writing for a small, tight knit, and young audience, the mission of student publications, and my opinions on all of the above, I believe I can only give writers two moral obligations to always adhere to: always write like you care and always care enough to write.