Happy Spring! The staff of The Fourth Estate has been busy in the past few weeks creating an issue that feels new, fresh and unique.

Every student on the staff pours hours into their pages, creating a final piece that truly represents the talent and passion that Laguna kids have.

From politics to professors, we went in-depth into the ways that one can change their perspective in order to look at the world through a new lens. It took hours of brainstorming, planning, writing and editing to create an issue that delivers the message we want to convey — we must change the way we think if we want to have open conversations and learn from the people around us.

We understand that our staff is small, a fraction of the voices on campus, but our aim is to give each and every student a place to make their opinions known within the pages of this magazine.

This issue marks the third quarter coming to a close. At this moment, just before spring break, we are over half-way through the school year. In just a few short months, our seniors will be graduating, and we will be relaxing into three stress-free months of summer.

We realize that this feels a million years away. Next quarter, students will have AP tests and finals (as much as teachers try to pretend that the finals are just cumulative tests). However, we have to change the way we look at the months ahead.

By looking at these next few months as a chance to end the year strong, each and every one of us, students and teachers alike, can embrace the opportunities we have.

If we shift our perspectives, we may end the year thinking of all of the incredible opportunities we have ahead of us.

Laguna gives us a space to be creative, excited and energetic. We learn together, and grow together, and not just in the classroom. Our community fosters passion, and for that, we should all be thankful.

Until next time,

Editors-in-Chief

Phoebe Stein & Daisy Finefrock

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Mission Statement

The Fourth Estate is an open forum created for and by journalism students of Laguna Blanca Upper School. We hope to use this space to cover events, interviews and topics of interest in greater depth. Our staff seeks to be a platform for creative expression and to report on events and ideas of importance to our readers and to focus on topics of significance and interest to inform and entertain the school community.

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Letters to the Editors

The Fourth Estate welcomes guest columns and letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and must be no longer than 400 words. Editors reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and/or taste. Anonymous letters will not be published. The Fourth Estate reserves the right to reject advertising. Opinions expressed in this publication reflect the perspectives of the staff whose goal is to inform our readers with reliable information from which to base decisions and opinions. Editorials represent the voice of the staff and are voted on by the entire staff. Columns and commentaries are labeled as such and represent the opinion of the author. The Fourth Estate publishes four issues per year with a senior insert in the last issue.

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Byline policy

When two or three people work on a story, all names will be listed. If an editor rewrites a majority of a story, the editor’s name will be listed.

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correction policy

The staff strives for accuracy. When factual errors occur, mistakes are found or brought to the attention of the staff, corrections will be printed in a corrections box in the next issue.

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Colophon

This is the fourth issue and the 26th volume (published in March) of the Laguna Blanca School, 4125 Paloma Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93110, magazine, The Fourth Estate. Contacts are available at [email protected], (805) 687-2461 x0317 or www.thefourthestate.net. Laguna Blanca School has an EK through 12th grade student population of approximately 400, with 100 in the Lower School, 110 in the Middle School and 182 in the Upper School, and a faculty of approximately 60. The Fourth Estate is an 8.5 by 11 general magazine, created on Apple computers on Adobe InDesign CC2019, using FreightNeo Pro and Big Caslon font families and printed on glossy paper free for students and $30 for an annual subscription. The magazine is distributed to all Upper School students through the school’s advisory program and sent by mail to subscribers with 300 copies printed per issue. We are associated with NSPA, CSPA and JEA.