A Letter from the Editor in Chief

Dear Cate Community,

As the Class of 2025 prepares to graduate in just two days, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on this past year of El Batidor and share my gratitude. Cate places a strong emphasis on leadership and learning the necessary skills to navigate problem-solving, delegation, collaboration, and communication. As the leader of El Bat this school year, I have been fortunate to develop these skills, grow alongside my co-editors and mentors, and not only execute my own vision for the paper, but build upon it through a massive collective effort. I could not be more grateful for each student who contributed to El Bat, whether it be through their writing, art, or editing. Thank you to our readership for acknowledging the incredible breadth of student talent and trusting us as one of your news sources.

This year, one of our main goals was to elevate the journalistic integrity of the paper by establishing standard practices of journalism, from unbiased reporting to interviewing a range of sources. We set the precedent early on with a comprehensive overview of journalism basics and with the help of our junior and senior editors, I am proud to say that we were able to maintain this high quality of news throughout the entirety of the year. We published four large issues: The Fall Family Weekend Issue (19 articles), The New Year Issue (21 articles), The Spring Family Weekend (21 articles) Issue, and the Commencement Issue (22 articles). Each contained a wide variety of articles including school news pieces, campus arts, Cate features, current events, as well as a newly added Arts & Media section that became very popular. We had exceptionally high levels of interest this year across all grade levels, with our leading contributors being underclassmen.

The importance of student journalism goes far beyond the scope of reliable and responsible reporting. It empowers young people to share their voices, highlight the diversity within a community, and cultivate their own critical thinking skills. Learning to articulate what matters to us effectively is invaluable and promotes change and awareness in the areas we deem important for our generation. The proliferation of artificial intelligence and the influx of multimedia sources at our fingertips present both significant opportunities and challenges. These changes mark a turning point in journalism, where the democratization of media has empowered voices like never before; yet, the volume of information demands heightened vigilance to discern fact from fiction and uphold the integrity of the truth. 

As we look ahead, the future of student journalism must also contend with mounting challenges to free expression, particularly on college campuses, where debates around censorship, dissent, and political pressure are intensifying. While AI and media saturation pose technical challenges, the suppression of student voices presents a deeper threat to the practice of journalism itself. High school publications like El Bat offer students a vital opportunity to learn and practice freedom of speech in a supportive environment – an experience that can prepare us to defend and exercise that right in more contentious spaces beyond Cate.

Please congratulate Editor in Chief Jasper Shelmerdine ‘26 and Managing Editors, Elise Tsai ‘26 and Lawrence Zhang ‘26. I am confident that they will continue to maintain El Batidor’s mission and strive to improve it. Working on El Bat and with my co-editors, Lucy Guilbert-Neal ‘25 and Nate Newlove ‘25 has been the highlight of my senior year. We are also incredibly grateful for our faculty advisors, Avani Patel Shah and Tracey Calhoun for their dedication to guiding us through this process and supporting this paper. Thank you again to everyone who interacted with El Batidor this year.

Sincerely,

Mia Groeninger ‘25