A Decade After its Cancellation, Journalism is Back at Benson!
Fourteen years after the Tech Pep's cancellation, Benson Journalism is alive and kicking.
By Zahra Faruqui —
Let’s play a little game of spot-the-difference.
What does almost every PPS High School have, that Benson does not?
If you guessed a Journalism program, then you would be correct. Which is shocking, considering our rich history.
But it hasn’t always been that way.
In the summer of 1920, a Benson printing program was established, and the first issue of our new school newspaper, the Tech Pep, was created.
Now, even through impressive efforts made to preserve them, several issues have been lost to time. But from what we’ve been able to scavenge, one thing has been made increasingly clear; the intense passion shared by students.
“I really appreciated the opportunity to be part of the whole newspaper community there,” shares Micol Hutchison, a co-editor for the Tech Pep in the late 1980’s. “Learning about that whole process was really neat and interesting and useful in my life.”
In an era before mainstream internet access, school journalism held a different sort of importance. “It was the place, besides the yearbook, to highlight things like athletics and what was going on in classes,” adds Hutchison, “It was the only source of school-wide information. I think it had an impact that way. It was really cool to see your stuff in print.”
Unfortunately, in May of 2010, the Tech Pep released its final issue, as PPS budget cuts made it impossible to function.
The headline, “Is this the last paper edition of the Tech Pep ever? Are newspapers dead? Where are we now and where are we going next?” haunted the concluding paper, trailed by the line, “We take a look back at our history, and look forward to the future and the brave new world of news that lies ahead.”
Let’s fast forward to the present, fourteen years after the Tech Pep’s discontinuation, where a small group consisting of students and our wonderful advisor, Gregory Huntington, are working tirelessly to revive our Journalism program.
As you may have been able to guess, we’ve decided to do things a little differently.
For one, as our school has evolved over the years, so have we. Our new name is The Orbit, inspired by our cosmically themed mascot: The Astro. And, as you can surely tell, we’ve pivoted to an online approach, highlighting the digital age we live in, and granting us more freedom, versatility, and accessibility than we ever could’ve had in print. As of now, we’re only operating as a club, which is a major contrast to most other schools, who have Journalism classes. And so will we, next year. (If you’re interested in Journalism, keep an eye out for us on the forecasting sheet!)
However, we’re sure that, no matter the medium, the talent, creativity, and passion shared throughout Benson will be honored. We hope we’ll live up to the legacies left behind by the Tech Pep. And that all of you will stick around for the ride.