Lions' Digest

07/01/2025

On June 25, State High student journalists Grace Levy, Anne Yingling, Anna Herickhoff, Julia Noel and Sarah Ocampo visited Harrisburg with adviser Samantha Corza to advocate for the Student Journalism Protection Act, a New Voices sponsored bill that would strengthen first amendment protections for student journalists in Pennsylvania. Students were introduced to the senate and met with legislators and legislative aides from across the state, including State College’s own Rep. Paul Takac.

06/08/2025

“Doing something different from everyone else is hard. It’s scary to take a risk and for there to be the possibility of failure. But there is a chance that risk can pay off, and for me, it did.“

Thank you .autumn.photography for everything you’ve done for State High Publications!

Read about Saige’s photography journey using the link in bio.

05/28/2025

On May 15, the State High journalism program hosted their inaugural Media Day. Students highlighted their work from Lions Digest, the Little Lion Yearbook, and WSCH to build connections between student leaders and SCASD administrators. Thank you so much to all of our attendees, we can’t wait for future events!

Photos by

05/28/2025

Shout out to our Sports Manager, and future Editor-in-Chief, Noah Radio!

Noah Radio is going where no one at State High has gone before.

Radio recently was chosen to attend the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C., June 22-27 as Pennsylvania’s representative. He is the first State High student to earn a trip to the prestigious scholastic journalism conference.

One junior from each state and Washington, D.C., will take part in the immersive five-day program aimed at inspiring and encouraging students to pursue journalism and media careers. In addition to panel workshops on various media-related topics, conference scholars visit different newsrooms in Washington, D.C., and network with conference alumni journalists.

As a member of the Free Spirit Class of 2025, each student also will receive a $1,000 scholarship to the college of their choice.

The conference was established in 1999 to honor Al Neuharth, founder of the Freedom Forum and USA Today. Conference scholars attend the Freedom Forum’s annual Free Expression Awards ceremony, which the forum says “honors the achievements of those who have championed or celebrated free expression and the First Amendment in ways that have inspired others.”

05/27/2025

Following a school-wide election in early May, five students were elected to serve as Student Government officers for the 2025-2026 school year. These elected students will represent the State High student body and communicate student and school-wide needs to administrators.

Sophomore Yidi Zhang (parliamentarian), junior Olivia Shen (treasurer), sophomore Dasha Nekrutenko (secretary), junior Ryan Brown (vice president), and junior Grace Yang (president) will represent the student body in the coming school year. Here is a closer look at the elected officers and what they hope to accomplish for the upcoming school year.

Read more about each elected student using the link in bio.
Article and photos by Clara Kraft

05/09/2025

On April 11, the State College Borough Police Department arrested 20-year-old Braeden Phillips for allegedly plotting to attack State College Area High School in late April. Phillips, of Milroy, and formerly of State College, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. A State College Area School District official familiar with the matter confirmed to the Lions’ Digest that Phillips attended State High, but did not graduation.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by the Lions’ Digest, Phillips was planning to attack State High on April 21, the day after the 26th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre. On April 20, 1999, two Columbine High School students killed 12 students and one teacher. The massacre was the deadliest school shooting until the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, and is often the subject of copycat shootings and threats.

State High students, teachers and parents were notified about the planned threat in a message from Superintendent Curtis Johnson sent on April 12. The message stated: “An arrest has been made and at this stage of the investigation, police have nothing to indicate that there is an active threat against the school. Accordingly, we can hold school on Monday as normal.”

Read more using the link in bio.

Article and photo by

05/09/2025

OPINION: The planned attack on State High this month has brought school safety to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Situations such as this highlight how the learning environment and small measures play a large role in the school’s security during a crisis.

Read more using the link in bio.

Article by Kate Reinhard
Photo by Eries St Sauver

05/09/2025

OPINION: On April 11, State College police were made aware of a credible threat against State High. According to the criminal complaint obtained by the Lions’ Digest, 20-year-old Braeden Phillips allegedly planned to execute a school shooting with an unlawful handgun around 8:40 a.m. on April 21, a day after the 26th anniversary of the Columbine massacre.

Sadly, threats like these have become commonplace in America. With few restrictions on gun ownership and trafficking, school shootings have reached an all time high. Bystanding while children are killed isn’t the solution: America needs gun control.

Read more using the link in bio.

Article by
Photos by

05/09/2025

On Friday, April 11, the State College Police Department, with the assistance of SCASD administration, began investigating allegations of a credible threat against State High scheduled for April 21. An arrest was made, and the school implemented metal detectors at doorways and bag checks as school safety precautions from April 14 to April 21.

Prior to the threat, SCASD only owned two metal detectors, so trying to get the whole student body through the detectors in a timely manner proved to be a challenge.

“2400 students at State High, 300 students at Delta, two machines were not enough,” Assistant Superintendent Jonathan Bucher said.

On April 21, the school board approved the purchase of three additional metal detectors to be used as needed. On May 5, they approved the purchase of five handheld metal detector wands.

Read more using the link in bio.

Article by Max Radio and Eric Liu
Photo by

03/25/2025

Last week, State High journalism students attended the CSPA convention in New York City. Students learned from experts in newspaper, yearbook, broadcast, photography, leadership and more! Thanks !