Unbeknownst to many students at New Trier High School, some electives can be taken for major credit. For example, rather than taking choir as a level eight class, you may be able to take it for level four or nine credit by doing extra work, such as learning a solo outside of class. This option allows students who are heavily involved in their electives to boost their GPA—a boost that is much-needed for some students who may excel more in electives or struggle to balance coursework and elective assignments.

The New Trier News, which includes Advanced Journalism and Broadcast 1 & 2, is not one of these classes. I recently discovered that it can be taken as a level nine class, but this is not an option that is heavily promoted, nor is it helpful for all students. For students who earn As in level four and Advanced Placement (AP) classes, even earning an A in a level nine class can lower their GPA. Therefore, this option does not provide the same benefits as a level four elective.

I am currently enrolled in Choir-Opera as a level four “music major” student. While I enjoy the opportunity to receive higher credit for my commitment to choir and theatre, I believe it is entirely unfair that choir can be offered as a level four class and The New Trier News cannot. Choir students deserve to receive credit for Choir-Opera because it is a serious time commitment; from January to March, we rehearse for two hours after school on every weekday, and up to six hours on Saturdays.

While The New Trier News doesn’t have four musical performances to showcase our tireless efforts, we do have four print editions, requiring us to come in early and stay after school eight weeks out of the year. Our staff write multiple articles per month, and our editors, on top of writing, review and revise all work before publication. As the Managing and Features Editor, I write articles across the six sections—news, features, sports, opinions, entertainment, and multimedia—edit articles in the Features section, and adapt stories into website format for publication.

The New Trier News is written, edited, photographed, and published by New Trier students for the New Trier community. Sometimes, that means putting interviews and articles ahead of other coursework in order to meet deadlines. If other electives can be taken as level four classes, it is only fair that student journalists receive the same credit for our efforts. 

I strongly believe that offering The New Trier News as a level four would encourage more students to give journalism a go. Many students take fewer electives in order to boost their GPA and maximize their academic rigor, but this removes the opportunity for creativity. Offering New Trier News as a “major” class would allow students to take an elective journalism course at the same credit level as an academic class so they don’t have to decide between their GPA and their passion for journalism.

By offering The New Trier News for level four credit, New Trier would be promoting authentic and credible journalism. As students, we have been taught to cite reputable sources and connect our learning to current events from the moment we stepped foot on New Trier’s Northfield campus; in civics, a graduation requirement, one of the first units is media literacy. So why aren’t we promoting and crediting our very own, reliable journalism? With fake news and AI usage on the rise, isn’t this the time to be teaching students the importance of creativity and true journalism?