"The Pulse of the Student Body"
The Spectator, as “The Pulse of the Student Body,” is a forum for student expression.
The paper was founded in 1915 and is the official Stuyvesant High School newspaper. It is a bi-weekly publication that is run completely by Stuyvesant students. It is independent of any other organization, such as the Student Union or school administration. It receives no funding and is uncensored. All printing is paid for by subscriptions and advertisements. It is accessible to all parties and is available at no cost.
The Spectator has been independent of the school administration, both in terms of funding and prior review since 1998, when the school administration briefly shut down the paper. As a result of this, we developed a formal written charter and the policies of financial and editorial independence.
The newspaper staff is composed of 12 departments, six writing and six non-writing. Each member of the newspaper staff, consisting of over 250 students, works for one or two of the 12 departments. The writing departments include News, Features, Opinions, Arts & Entertainment, Sports and Humor. The non-writing departments include Photography, Art, Layout, Copy, Business and Web Development.
Together with the Editors in Chief, the Department Editors comprise the Editorial Board, the backbone of The Spectator. The Editorial Board, which meets daily in The Spectator Journalism class, makes most of the decisions that affect The Spectator. These decisions include content selection/changes, voicing opinions through Staff Editorials, and managing work flow.
The Spectator, most importantly, is an open forum for the Stuyvesant High School community. We report on issues that affect our school and aim to do so with the best of our ability, while maintaining the highest levels of journalistic integrity and excellence.
We welcome and encourage Letters to the Editor, which can be sent to [email protected] or be put in our mailbox in the mail room on the second floor.
