Dear readers,

Normally, the outgoing editors-in-chief wouldn’t write a letter as they head out the door. But this year has taken us far past normal. Who would’ve thought that starting the school year with a new principal and a new academic system would be the cause of the least amount of concern?

With the new year, the U-High Midway staff set out to uphold the values that it had stood for since its creation: to inform, educate and serve the Lab community. We took seriously our role as a nexus of information for students, parents, alumni and faculty all to interface with each other through the myriad articles and interviews hosted on our site. Continuously we’ve proven ourselves as the number one source people in the Lab community can turn to for information. 

As students stood with Daniel Bobo-Jones as the arbitration decision day neared, the Midway was there to ask then-Director Charlie Abelmann his views on the case. When a December racial incident rocked the school, the Midway reported on it. Two months later when another racial incident occurred, we reported on it. 

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Then the coronavirus pandemic changed everything.

And as we’ve been confined to our homes during this new normal, the Midway has broadened the scope — reporting on anything newsworthy, interesting or exciting to help us stay connected to one-another in this trying time and 60 stories connected in some way to COVID-19. And the readers have responded with overwhelming support. With 5,000 monthly active readers and typically more than 500 page views a day, we have been privileged enough to connect members of the Lab community exactly the way that we set out to do in our letter a month ago. 

Now, the school year is drawing to a close and our term leading the team is done. We are confident that the group of journalists selected to lead the U-High Midway will continue to carry on the values that we set for ourselves as a school and as journalists. We ask that you continue to trust them like you trusted us. 

Lastly, we wanted to say thank you for tuning in to the Midway not only for these past few months but for the past year. We’re glad that our readers reacted well to what we wrote and we hope you stay tuned for the next month and for the next fall, no matter where that be. 

Thanks,

Nikhil Patel and Abigail Slimmon