Dear readers of The Lowell,

With just a few weeks left of high school, we are reflecting not only on this past year, but on all our time at The Lowell. Working on this publication has been an integral part of our high school experiences, and now it is finally coming to a close. We published five magazines this year, with our October issue winning third place for Best News Magazine in the Journalism Education Association of Northern California’s annual contest. Sophomore Aida Donahue, a reporter who joined our staff this semester, won second place in the review writing category for her article on the film Arrival. It feels good to continue the publication’s award-winning tradition.

We are particularly proud of our staff’s work on this final magazine of the year. At the start of the spring semester, our publication gained an influx of talented new reporters who have eagerly committed their time and effort, whether that be through Instagram posts, online content, or within our magazines. Sophomores and new reporters Stella Schulte and Uma Van Yserloo took initiative by co-writing this magazine’s cover and feature article, respectively, and a number of other new reporters also contributed to this issue. 

Many Lowell students love San Francisco and see it as their home, but some students struggle, for financial or housing-related reasons, to remain living in the city. This magazine’s cover article, “An Impossible Situation,” features students who feel they are detrimentally affected by San Francisco’s high cost of living. This causes housing insecurity for some, while others are forced to leave San Francisco entirely — these students, if they continue to attend Lowell, are doing so illegally. We recognize the controversial nature of their circumstances, and are grateful to these students for sharing their experiences with us. In covering this story, we hope to uphold The Lowell’s tradition of reporting on difficult topics, illustrating the gravity of this issue and its impact on students.

Though we are moving on, we could not be more confident in the staff members who will remain. We have no doubt in their ability to uphold the high standard of quality that The Lowell is known for. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience to watch our newly trained peers grow into their roles, and we trust them completely in continuing to advance The Lowell’s mission of amplifying student voices through in-depth and impactful reporting.

With pride,

Thomas Harrison, Ramona Jacobson, and Katharine Kasperski