Dear Readers,

In every story we write, the Midway should give a voice to the experiences of people at U-High. We will report on the people, activities and thoughts that make our school unique, striving to include the voices we haven’t heard yet. To broaden our coverage of the community, we are adding two sections: city life, and health and wellness. As issues involving our city and entire nation become more and more pressing through protests and civil unrest, a section devoted to the neighborhoods of Chicago and life outside U-High seems only appropriate. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging throughout America, health and wellness — both physical and mental — remains an important part of everyone’s life. Moreover, three wellness surveys have proven U-High to have many flaws. 

We recognize that many issues cannot be fully explored with a single story. Since we are continuing our journalism online, we will maintain the Midway’s practice of every month publishing an in-depth exploration of a topic important to the U-High community. Without the limitations of two printed pages, we will be able to interrogate these topics more comprehensively, utilizing multimedia elements in our coverage. A time of serious cultural reckonings provides numerous topics to delve into through multiple stories. In covering these issues, we won’t seek to validate the status quo, but rather reveal the truth of underrepresented experiences. In doing this, we hope to create a more accurate, fair and inclusive narrative of U-High.

While in the coming year nothing appears to be certain, the Midway will remain a hub for U-High news. Although we aren’t yet able to hand out physical papers, we will utilize our website and publish stories multiple times per week to keep the community informed about the heartbeat of U-High. While our print edition is temporarily suspended, we will stay in touch with readers through Facebook, Instagram, Schoology posts and our email newsletter. 

Even if we are dispersed into our own houses for the time being, we want to hear from you. Tell us about issues you think are important, stories we should cover and opinions you want to express. Send an email telling us what we can do better, or submit a guest column to publish. We hope students, faculty, staff and others in the community will take advantage of this opportunity to share their experiences and beliefs, using the Midway as a tool to explore and publicize ideas. 

We look forward to a year of unique, unusual and (get ready for it) unprecedented times.