The Panther Press has faced many changes over the past few years: a new teacher, and several changes in staff, including the position of editor-in-chief. In spite of all of the changes, the Panther Press remains strong with a bright future ahead of it.

    As I look back upon the process of creating this month’s paper, all I can say is that I am extremely proud: I am proud of our Panther Press staff. In spite of what many people may think, writing stories for a newspaper is no elementary task. It involves a lot of thought, preparation, and time and it can often be quite stressful. However, this semester’s press staff, which, apart from staff reporter Zach Smouse and I, is made up of entirely of freshmen and sophomores, have worked diligently to write stories for our readers. It has been my honor to work among such bright young reporters with such a strong work ethic.

I am confident that with such strong young writers in the class, the Panther Press will continue to be an award winning publication through the years. The staff decided to compose a brand new mission statement that will reflect its desires as a newspaper through the years:

“We as the Panther Press strive to inform and entertain our school and our community with current information that is accurate, and relevant to our school, community, and nation. We as the Panther Press staff wish to print an honest, ethical, and unbiased newspaper that will equip our students and our community members with the power of knowledge and understanding of our world as it relates to our high school.”

    We hope that this semester’s stories serve to both enlighten and entertain our readers. We as a paper promise to never compromise our integrity, to never settle to publish a paper that is simply “good enough,” and to never stop working to make the Panther Press a stronger publication.