“We expect Tech Pep’s future to be as bright and pioneering as its past,” the final issue of Benson Polytechnic High School’s newspaper read. That future is finally arriving. It’s just sixteen years late.

Student journalism is the heartbeat of a school. It celebrates our accomplishments, challenges our assumptions, and records our history for the people that come after us. It gives students the power to ask hard questions in a democracy that depends on informed voices. For ninety years, Tech Pep did just that — covering championship wins, publishing fierce student opinions, and documenting what it was like to be here at Benson. But in 2010, amidst district budget cuts, Tech Pep shut down, leaving a newspaper-sized-hole in our community.

For a decade and a half, Benson went without student journalism. Our story, of course, never stopped. Buildings were renovated, a new mascot took the field, and generations of students walked through these halls. Thousands built, forged, and created as Tech Shows came and went. But without a shared page to bring it all together, many of those stories went untold.

A school that is united by spirit and bonded by name deserves more than just fading memory. We deserve a record that listens closely, looks deeper, and keeps our history alive. In 2024, we brought journalism back to Benson by launching The Benson Orbit online, reviving a tradition that had been silent for too long. Now, the Orbit widens.

This first print issue is a nod to our past and a commitment to our future. It’s something you can hold in your hands, stuff in your backpack, and pin to your wall. It’s proof that we were here, that we built this, and that we have something to say.

We’re back from the dead.

— Nick, Zahra, and Zayd, Editors