As Westview’s official student newspaper, The Nexus aims to bring light to intriguing stories about our students and campus.

Publishing every three weeks, the press cycle begins with the staff coming up with ideas, which can range from something interesting that a student may be participating in or an upcoming event. Nexans make sure to be attentive towards their surroundings, keeping on the lookout for diverse and interesting articles.

“During an idea circle we all sit around in chairs and go section by section, bringing up different stories that we have,” managing editor Abby Siu (11) said. “After the person is done explaining their idea, we let anyone else in the circle add onto it, accumulating ideas surrounding that one topic to improve on the angle that the writer takes on the story.”

Every single idea is fleshed out completely, making sure it is appropriate, timely and purposeful in its publishing. The Nexus makes sure that each story in its pages not only accurately portrays the students it features, but also contributes to meaningful conversations on campus.

Particular discussions, like those about final focus articles, can take hours and consistent collaboration continues for the weeks of the press cycle.

“Since the final focus is the longest kind of article and the most intensive, we will spend extra time discussing the intricacies of a final focus idea’s feasibility and the angle with which the writer approaches the topic,” final focus editor Zeina Nicolas (12) said. “We also take sensitive topics very seriously and debate whether or not a topic should be covered. If we believe it can be, we discuss how to approach it with care.”

Making sure the subjects and groups are accurately represented is one of The Nexus’ main goals. To ensure this, if the story is about an individual, The Nexus seeks other opinions from their friends, coaches and teachers. Interviewees are selected carefully, such as choosing the most accomplished musician, most outstanding sports player, the presidents of clubs, or just the most interesting students. In doing so, The Nexus avoids repeating interviewees when possible, finding a variety of students to accurately represent Westview’s campus.

Extra diligence is undertaken during interviews, including recording the audio to ensure all information is quoted exactly.

Ella Jiang (11) said transitioning the writing process can sometimes be stressful. Making sure someone’s story is written in a way that is engaging and true to the student can be a challenging feat.

“After transcribing [the interview], I find main quotes I really want to include; that I think will make the story more compelling, or help make the experiences of the person I’m interviewing resonate better with the reader when translated on to text,” Jiang said. “It can be a lot of pressure having essentially someone else’s reputation in your hands. Even if the article is lighthearted, I want to make sure when the student reads what I wrote, they can be happy with how they are represented.”

Once the writer completes a first draft, each article undergoes a thorough editing and revising process. Articles are edited, commented on, and fact-checked on by section editors, the two editors-in-chief, and the staff advisers.

“We want to make sure every article has multiple sets of eyes on it because we miss things sometimes or have different perspectives,” editor-in-chief Jillian Sinder (12) said “The Nexus is not one person’s newspaper; it is a collaboration between everyone, so the more people who can read it before it is published and provide their input, the better.”

At this point, when the articles themselves are finalized, the next step in the process is taking the physical text and formatting it into pages. The Nexus doesn’t just focus on interesting writing, but interesting visuals as well.

Though it’s an extremely tedious process, staff writer Robbie Gray (11) said that everything becomes worth it when they get to hand the newspaper to the students, specifically those who were featured. Gray recalled an endearing encouter.

“I once did a story about my neighbor Mika Brahmbhatt and her experience with epilepsy,” Gray said. “And a few days after it came out her mom ran into my step-dad and wanted him to [thank] me for telling her story, which for me was very touching.”

Web editor Kadence Ly (11) said that these connections she gains with the students is her favorite part of The Nexus.

“There hasn’t been a time when I’ve interviewed someone and left feeling like I got nothing out of it,” Ly said. “Everyone I’ve interviewed for an article has always had an interesting story and voice. To be an outlet for other students to share their anecdotes is what I think is the most important about The Nexus.”

The mantra that The Nexus always strives to abide by is “printing with a purpose.”

Every single word the Nexans write, picture they take, and page they make, are all for the sake of providing a meaningful publication for Westview’s community.

“We are tasked with sharing Westview’s most authentic stories,” Sinder said. “And it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly.”