Student voices amplify local action

Voices are more than words. Voices are resistance and insistence, individuality and advocacy—voices are change.

The First Amendment right, freedom of speech, is undergoing attacks by the Trump administration. The defunding of NPR and PBS, targeting universities and students for political demonstrations, and the President’s hostility towards popular figures exemplify the administration’s opposition to free speech.

In response to these threats, the youth have been speaking up. 

In early March, Arcata High seniors and The Pepperbox staff, Mateo Phelan and Andrea Merezko, organized a “Resist Fascism” protest. The demonstration was protesting the Trump administration’s treatment of immigrants and the general rise of fascism in the US government. Despite the pouring rain, nearly 30 students showed up to support the cause. 

“[Mateo] was tired and I was like, ‘you know what, me too.’ [Mateo] said, ‘We just got to do something. We just got to be out there and have our voices heard or even just faces seen that were in distress,” Merezko said. “The goal was to get as many young people as possible and just be there for one another and know we’re not alone.”

Phelan has been an avid protester throughout his life. The first time he attended a protest was in 2016, during the post-inauguration Women’s March. 

“A day that I will genuinely never forget was the day after it was announced that Trump had won the election in 2016,” Phelan said. Phelan was nine years old when Trump was elected president for the first time. He experienced an intense grief as a result, although too young to fully comprehend what he felt. “A few months later, going to that march…was the first time I felt powerful in a group of people. It felt like there was something in me that was more powerful than what I thought.”

Amid the 2017 March for Our Lives protests, 10-year-old Phelan felt fearful going to school because he worried about the shootings he had heard about becoming his reality. Phelan felt compelled to take action after learning about a nationwide walkout from his older sister. 

“I took it upon myself to announce that to my fifth-grade class at the beginning of the day,” Phelan said. “I ended up being like, ‘there’s a walkout that a lot of schools across the country are doing, and I want to be a part of it.’ So, I got my entire fifth-grade class to do a walkout.”

Through the art of protest, Phelan discovered the power a community could hold when they unite on a common goal. “I kind of gained consciousness at a very pivotal time in politics and humanity. For me, [protests have] been a political crutch and a way to feel seen.”

Phelan continued exploring the value of his distinct voice through writing for The Pepperbox. Student-run newspapers provide a setting where students can demonstrate their understanding of complex topics and the student body’s interests. 

“High schoolers get a bad rep,” sophomore managing editor Kloe Bryant said. “People think we use AI for everything, and we can’t think for ourselves. But, I think [student journalism] really proves that wrong. High schoolers do care about their community and what’s happening in the world.” 

While an article about the newest trend may be written off as unserious to older generations, its importance is unwavering. “It’s a source of community, and something to look back on in future dates and years,” junior Charlotte Masaki said. “It’s a good way to document Arcata High life and what students go through.”

The content of student-run papers differs from traditional news outlets.

“The stories are a lot more personal, so it makes more people want to read about the news,” Masaki said. “There could be something that affects them within the stories or that interests them more.” 

Unlike large media outlets, student-run papers empower journalists to write articles based on their interests. 

“We’re not getting paid for this,” Bryant said. “So we’re putting out the stories we want to put out. Not the stories we think will do the best in a paper [because they] will make the paper the most money.”

Student papers encourage the participation of the youth in democracy. They provide writers with a platform to investigate and express their opinions on the world around them. Moreover, the press gives the student body a resource to better understand relevant topics.  

“At least when I was there, it felt like no matter what, there was one article that appealed to every student,” former Editor-in-Chief Forrest Lewis said. “As long as you can get everybody to be interested in at least one page, that’s the gateway into the newspaper. Hopefully, that’s the gateway into getting more people invested in journalism and being informed global citizens.”

The Pepperbox, along with many student papers, remains a voice for the students, rather than the school. The Tinker standard and California’s New Voice laws give student newspapers rights so students can investigate and criticize leaders’ actions.

“There are leaders at Arcata High that have decision-making power that has a strong impact on the student body and that in turn has a broad impact on the community,” Lewis said. “Being able to cover that with a fine eye by really paying attention to what the teachers and administrative staff are doing…plays an important role in serving the community.”

 Students are better equipped to advocate for themselves through watchdog journalism because they become more aware of decisions being made. 

“Having student opinions and student voices is extremely important because we are the ones here every day going through the rules and the decisions made by adults,” Masaki said. “Encouraging students to speak up about things that they don’t like on campus, even if they might not get fixed, is really important. The more students that bring it to adults’ attention, the higher the chance that something will change.”

Freedom of speech is a human right. At a time when many are uncertain of the security of free speech, we must use our voices to ensure its survival. 

“We can represent and advocate for ourselves in a way that may not seem like it matters to a lot of people at Arcata High, but does,” junior managing editor Ilana Maclay said. “It’s important to hear voices that aren’t necessarily acknowledged as serious, or even important, because we all deserve representation.”