As members of The Summit and The Spectrum Staff entered the journalism lab, they experienced a feeling of Deja vu. The scene was familiar, but this time something was different. The room was bare. With their second attempt at 4:26 am on Mar. 27, the perpetrators had managed to accomplish their apparent goal. Along with the six computers stolen in a previous theft on Mar. 13, the rest of the 15 brand new Apple IMac computers, awarded to the Mass Communications Department, had been stolen.

It has been a ground-breaking year for the publications of Mays High. With a new advisor and relatively green staff members, anxiety easily sneaked into the minds of those involved.

For many of us, this year was our first time writing for a publication. Ignorant about the journalism world, we trusted that Mr. Delbert Ellerton, the newly appointed journalism advisor, would guide us on our path to becoming real writers. He did not disappoint.

After the first issue of The Summit was published, we realized that we were a part of something meaningful. For members of The Summit staff, spending holiday breaks and weekends in the quaint lab, while our peers enjoyed the world outside of school, became a common experience. The constant threat of approaching deadlines became a unifying theme.

Students and teachers, alike, were surprised at the quality of the articles published in the paper. People became interested in the process of publishing the newspaper, students inquired about how they could become a part of the staff, and the school's administration became interested in helping to find resources for the program.

But with acclaim, comes attention. When hearing of the newspaper's success, people began to stroll pass the journalism lab. The passerbys not only saw students hard at work, but they also noticed the sleek figures of the Apple computers. The word spread of the computers and, obviously, to the wrong people, because they are no longer in the staff's possession.

The Apples were much more than word processing machines or gateways to the web. They were our outlets. The computers allowed our normally muffled voices to be amplified so that fellow students, teachers, parents, and the community could hear them. With every story that is written, a piece of the author’s soul is revealed. We write about issues in our society that are worth writing about. We say the things that others wish to say but do not have the outlet to do so. The feeling that consumes the staff when students and teachers tell us how they enjoyed reading the articles we produce is incomparable.

Finally, for those inquiring minds: We are not defeated, only stifled. The current school year has not seen its final issue of The Summit and the yearbook will still be issued.