Production in the NC publication office, where the newspaper takes place, recently slowed due to arguments and drama. Verbal fights erupted between the staff as the new year began, prohibiting the usual fast-paced production. Various nearby classrooms believe the fighting started because of a stolen item.

Junior Emilio Medina, a reporter on The Chant, possessed a gigantic tuna sandwich, and while he endured eating in the NC cafeteria, someone stole it. As he came back to his desk, it appeared empty, filling him with confusion. Medina became overly angered, as he already experienced a rough day during school. This caused him to create additional tension inside the publication office where staff members work.

“I was obviously angry that someone took my big tuna sandwich because I had spent time this morning making it and was super excited to eat it all day. I may have lost my cool a little bit I guess but all this fighting was not my fault,” Medina said.

The disruption prohibited members from working, which led them to turn to each other with rage. Specifically, junior copy editors Jasmina Buranich and Lauren Lee used this moment to express their frustration with the ongoing debate about the next holder of Editor in Chief (EIC), the top student in charge of the newspaper. Buranich and Lee both felt they should fill Gardner’s shoes, leading them to argue with one another.

As they consulted current EIC Erinn Gardner with their persuasive statements on why each one should become the better EIC, Gardner grew tired of the constant pressure. She did not feel like either of them should take responsibility for such a large part of the NC community, so after a private conversation with advisor Rebecca Zavala, she announced her resignation. 

“I just felt like at this point they shouldn’t be fighting about this kind of stuff. Either way, they are both still a part of the family. It just didn’t feel the same to me anymore with so much going on in the office that I decided I should probably just leave to keep my reputation. Mrs. Zavala can just choose who is the next EIC because it’s too much,” Gardner said.
As this all took place, lesser disputes also served their time. Insignificant fights such as who should receive the comfortable office chairs compared to the school chairs tested the patience of several staff members. The initial sandwich incident caused Medina to accuse page editors of the theft, leading to them refusing to edit his articles. Other editors followed the same path, denying articles to edit. Since no articles could continue through the editing process, reporters lost motivation to write and the office erupted into chaos.

Fellow students and nearby teachers that can constantly hear the noise erupting in the publication office hope the issues will resolve soon and production can continue as normal. In the meantime, school officials try to step in to calm the fighting and resume the promised articles.

“I have been enjoying the break of not writing articles but I’m also tired of being yelled at for no reason. Everyone really needs to solve the problems here because it’s getting so out of hand. Maybe we just need a fresh slate but I hope regular writing and editing can continue soon,” sophomore reporter Valentina Gonzalez said.

April Fools, you fool!

XOXO, 

The Chant