Prior to becoming Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) Yearbook advisor, Gabriel Garcia was Newspaper advisor for the student-run publication, the Crusader. Garcia switching from one form of journalism to another, left many wondering, “Why did he switch?” Garcia explains what factored into his decision and how pressures from outside sources impacted him.
“I loved teaching journalism. I initially taught [the] newspaper [class], and enjoyed it a lot, but as an advisor, outside pressures were found to be more than I wanted to handle, teaching IB English along with Newspaper. So I decided to move on, and by then I believed my stint in journalism was over,” Garcia said.
However as opportunities arose Garcia realized his stint was not close to being over. Garcia would take up the Yearbook advisor position after the previous advisor had stepped down. Furthermore, taking on a new position allowed Garcia to reflect on his time as the Newspaper advisor, and understand these “outside pressures”.
“There was a lot [of outside pressures]. There was a clientele. So there was a lot of outside scrutiny. Every time an issue of the Crusader was published, I was invited into the Assistant Principal’s [AP] office, sometimes issued threats. It was a difficult job. It’s a huge responsibility to get everything right, it just didn’t seem worth it for me at the time,” Garcia said.
The outside scrutiny included complaints on how The Crusader was organized, what was published, and what information was not being posted. Though there were challenges, Garcia had a passion for journalism, and looked to yearbook (photojournalism) to continue pursuing his passion. As time went on, Garcia recognized the similarities between being the Newspaper advisor and Yearbook advisor.
“One of the biggest similarities is the similar scrutiny of being the yearbook advisor, that I also experienced as the newspaper advisor. However, this scrutiny only comes when the yearbook is released at the end of the year. Parents feel that maybe their child was not highlighted in the proper way that they wanted them. […] I really do not have my finger on every sport and who is the strongest, and who is not.” Garcia said.
Another similarity between the two is the organization and skills required. Senior Jeremy De Las Alas, comments on the skills needed to be successful in yearbook that are very similar to the skills that students in the newspaper class also require.
“There is a practical aspect, we need to be able to take photos, interview people. Another aspect is having good communication. There are the chief editors, the editors, us the staff and Mr. Garcia, when we all have good communication among each other, then definitely we will have a good school year [in yearbook],” De Las Alas said.
Along with similarities, there are also visible differences between the two, as explained by IB English teacher and current Newspaper advisor, Eric Helle, who describes the differences in traditionalism and what information is gathered and collected by the student journalists.
“Yearbook captures memories to record, the history of the [school] year, and students’ thoughts relating to the school year. So that type of journalism captures a keepsake of that specific year. It is documenting the people who were in a club,” Helle said. “ Newspaper is very different. It is more traditional. The role [of a newspaper] is to not just collect keepsakes, it is to really report on the individual events that happened on campus, it is to figure out new policies and how they might impact students.”
Even after Garcia departed from the Newspaper advisor role, his influence on the class and its organization is still apparent to this day. For example, Helle explains that the ranking of two Editors-in-Chiefs and Editorial Board is something that Garcia put into place.
“We still use the banner that he created and we still use many of the same font styles that he had used. He created a great foundation for what we’ve been building on from. When I took over the paper, I asked what are some major things that he thought should be done. He really encouraged going to an annual convention because the kids will get a lot of new ideas,” Helle said.
Convention is a meeting where journalists from around the U.S and other countries come together and discuss everything journalism entails and Garcia along with Helle really pushed students to attend this event. Garcia’s effect on the newspaper has been evident, and when asked about his feelings about the newspaper program, his attitude towards it is very positive.
“What I have seen is that the [newspaper] program has grown exponentially. The bigger it gets, the more likely it is that they need all those moving parts that all need to work in harmony. The New York Times makes mistakes every day. So people need to understand that about the [BVH] newspaper, kids are running it,” Garcia said.
