On the second day of this school year, an email was sent to Upper School students, inviting anybody interested in fashion, music, food, art, politics, entertainment, or activism, among other topics, to an informational meeting the following Tuesday in Room #476.
Nearly six months later, the first issue of “SCOUT”—a student-run, pop culture magazine—was distributed throughout the Upper School, and was received with some skepticism from fellow students.

Created and overseen by sophomore Leila Sheridan and juniors Ava Stepan and Georgia Weed, SCOUT recruited writers—most of whom were female—from all Upper School grades. The Editors-in-Chief accepted submissions on topics ranging from New York Fashion Week to activism in sports.

In addition to politically-charged articles and feature pieces on student entrepreneurs, the 70-page publication included poems, photo spreads, anonymous anecdotes about mental health, and vegan cooking recipes.

“We really wanted to make it a space for teenagers to, first of all, express themselves,” Weed said. “We also really wanted to provide a tool for teenagers to be able to learn about the world around them. So, we felt that the best way to do that was to include as many perspectives and stories and topics as possible.”

Prolonged by technical difficulties with faulty computers, SCOUT’s first issue went through several rounds of editing before it was sent to publish in late February. According to Upper School English teacher and SCOUT’s faculty advisor Cory Zeller, the three co-Editors-in-Chief were “striving for excellence” while designing the magazine. They learned the intricacies of the magazine’s editing software, InDesign, along the way.

“I liked the final product a lot, junior Anjali Chandel said, Chandel co-wrote an article with junior Senna Gardner about the pop-culture feud between female rappers Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. “It looked really professional. It looked really pretty. There was a wide variety of topics covered. Obviously, the female voice is very prevalent, but that’s who the writers are.”

While SCOUT’s publication was met with positive feedback from many Upper School students, some were put-off by the magazine’s cover page.
The front cover image featured a group of six junior girls—who were sophomores when pictured—smiling, posing with signs at the 2018 Women’s March. Some of the posters the girls held displayed anti-Trump views, including one which said, “No Trump no Pence! No Wall No Fence!”

“Personally, as I’m not a Trump supporter, it didn’t attack me,” sophomore Alex Schapiro said about the magazine’s cover, “but I felt bad for people that would be too scared to speak up against this because of the backlash they know that they will get for supporting Trump.”

In addition to Schapiro, other students and faculty have acknowledged the taboo surrounding conservative dialogue at Parker. “As a conservative, I’ve made a conscious decision to not speak my mind as often, which is unfortunate because I know it’s good to speak your mind,” senior Caroline Viravec said, “but I know if I do—in Parker’s environment—I’ll be harassed for it. I’d rather be silent and say nothing at all than be harassed.”

Since the content of SCOUT is submission-based, the magazine’s editorial board staff, sought out student writers with conservative viewpoints but came up short in finding students willing to write such articles.

“There wasn’t a lot of conservative opinions in the most recent publication because we tried really hard to get some, and we couldn’t within Parker,” Weed said. “So, I think people, even if they have conservative opinions, are unwilling to share them because they’re probably scared. If I had a conservative opinion at Parker, I’d probably be scared as well.”

Zeller agrees. “I think what we’re experiencing right now at Parker is a time in which some students feel, because they are the minority numbers wise…in this building, they feel silenced,” Zeller said on the lack of conservative student opinion at Parker. “There’s a lot of fear here, maybe founded, that if you were to express opinion that’s not mainstream here that you’ll get backlash, and I think that kept some people from submitting an article.”

Looking forward, SCOUT plans to expand beyond the Parker community. For their second issue, titled “Growing Up in America,” SCOUT will seek submissions from students across the country to gain a broader perspective.

“We’re hoping that we continue to be a space where people feel comfortable expressing their opinions, whatever they are,” Zeller said. “What you’re seeing is what kids wanted to talk about in this moment, and I’m hoping that every issue, there’s something new.”