Pray for Pulse | Daniel Yachi

I’ve been taking journalism for four semesters now. I have seen everything from art-filled issues to full-fledged scandals. But after all this time it has come down to this: the last online article of Pulse Magazine for the school year. I have so much more to say, and so many ideas I never shared, and opinions that will never have the time to surface. However, when I cross that stage and smile with my high school diploma, I will have zero regrets. Being part of a high school publication is something I will always be proud of, and so, for my last online, I would like to take the time to argue for school publications, and implore you to consider joining or simply support Pulse Magazine.

Pulse Magazine and other school publications are a unique fish in the sea of clubs that CCA has to offer. Most other clubs are like social gatherings or group projects. Pulse Magazine, however, is much more than that. It’s an empty platform with nothing but you and a microphone. No essay in high school ever amounted to anything more than a grade in almost every situation. Despite the fact that you may devote extreme effort into a piece or spend countless hours pouring your heart, soul, and ideas into a chunk of text, when it comes to school, it never goes beyond the grade book. Your writing doesn't go into society or even leave your teacher's desk filled with hundreds of other papers from other people. But, when you write for a school publication, your work is recognized, people see it, and it amounts to something. Publications are one of the few chances to bring your writing out of the countless papers and into the spotlight.

Having a platform is invaluable to young and outspoken teens, but what makes the Pulse platform so special? It is the freedom we give our writers. We have had crazy and random articles; if you’d like to see one, just ask our editors, Quinn and Kyle, and they'll happily show you pieces like “Who is David Anwar?” and the Kanye Krazy trilogy. We have also had articles that move people, articles that cause real change, articles on important issues, and articles that cause outrage. This is because the writers of Pulse Magazine have the freedom to write just about whatever they want. You get to assign your own project and work with a rather flexible schedule.

This publication is not only special for the writers, however. The readers of Pulse receive a magazine that is as local as it gets. The Washington Post would never write a feature on Hector, or a review of CCA’s food. Even the Union-Tribune or Encinitas Advocate would never have media tailored as closely to the CCA reader as Pulse Magazine would. Not to mention the fact that Pulse Magazine is free for all readers. This also means that our media as a whole has no bias. We have no owner and we are barely even an entity. Our class is free to take for all students, including yearbook defectors, so we have no inherent bias; articles from any part of the political spectrum are welcome here.