They may belong to the TikTok generation, but a group of Australian high schoolers is reviving the classic tradition of the student magazine. The teens believe it’s more crucial than ever that their voices are heard away from the realm of social media.
Student Spotlight is now up to its seventh issue and between student writers, editors and graphic designers, it can count on more than 20 volunteers to fill its pages. It is available online to all the schools of the Greater Darwin region.
For these students of the social media era, going “old-school” was very appealing.
“Someone has sat down and really put their time and effort into this, and I feel like there’s more care, and people will take that more seriously, rather than just ‘oh, an Instagram reel, scroll’,” says contributor Nicole.
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“This is entirely student-driven. I’m just here as a supervisor, and I think they’re showing what students are capable of when we sit back and let them take charge,” says teacher Trilokesh Chanmugam.
Student Spotlight was founded by 16-year-old Pak who grew up in Hong Kong, where he says he witnessed violent arrests of young pro-democracy protesters.
“I think just seeing those protests and seeing so many young people not being heard really left a long-lasting impact in how I think and how I act,” explains Pak.
The students hope their magazine will give young people in Australia’s Northern Territory a voice.
“The Northern Territory fosters a lot of great young people and a lot of the time they have to work under less resources, but they’re very resilient and they’re also very good at finding different opportunities, there must be a way to showcase that,” says Pak.
“Even if I’m one person, one person still makes a massive difference,” concludes Nicole.
This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.
[High school students Pak and Nicole working on a magazine]
[Pak on the phone, Student Spotlight founder]
[Pak and Nicole working]
Nicole (interview): “Someone has sat down and really put their time and effort into this. I feel like there’s more care, and people will take that more seriously, rather than just ‘oh, an Instagram reel, scroll’.”
[Student Spotlight pages on a screen]
Trilokesh Chanmugam (interview): “This is entirely student-driven. I’m just here as a supervisor, and I think they’re showing what students are capable of when we sit back and let them take charge.”
[Pak and Nicole working]
[Student Spotlight pages on a screen]
Pak (interview): “I think just seeing those protests and seeing so many young people not being heard really left a long-lasting impact in how I think and how I act.”
[Pak and Nicole working]
Pak (interview): “The Northern Territory fosters a lot of great young people and a lot of times they have to work under less resources, but they’re very resilient and they’re also very good at finding different opportunities, so there must be a way to showcase that.”
Nicole (interview): “Even if I’m one person, one person still makes a massive difference.”
[Pak and Nicole working]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.