Today: December 1, 2023
About
STUDENT WRITTEN,
MANAGED,
DESIGNED,
VOICES
Mission Statement
Legal Information
Submissions Policy
Editorial Policy
Comment Policy
Corrections Policy
Awards
Mission Statement
The M-A Chronicle is a student-managed public forum, dedicated to objective and comprehensive reporting. As the online newspaper of Menlo-Atherton High School, we seek to celebrate the successes of our high-performing school as well as highlight the voices of those living on the margins. Written, produced, and edited entirely by students, we present a variety of stories about our diverse school community in a factual and unbiased manner.
Merged in 2018, The Mark is the print accompaniment to the Chronicle, thoughtfully designed and compiled by a joint staff. In The Mark, we seek to amplify the voices expressed in the Chronicle and expand to new audiences by distributing to over 1200 school and community members. The Mark also serves as a platform for students to share their artistic pursuits in the form of art, poetry, literature, and photography submissions.
Material published in the M-A Chronicle and The Mark reflects the judgement of the editorial board, made up of the editors of both publications. Opinions expressed in individual articles are not necessarily representative of the opinions of the M-A Chronicle’s editorial staff, unless indicated. All opinions published—whether in bylined stories or in editorials—are not reflective of the opinions of the Menlo-Atherton High School and Sequoia Union High School District administrations.
Committed to expanding our coverage to a wide variety of groups, The Mark is distributed free of charge and the Chronicle is accessible anywhere. To ensure maximal objectivity, neither publication accepts advertisements.
Please explore the other tabs to discover our legal, submissions, editorial, comments, and corrections policies.
Legal Information
The M-A Chronicle and The Mark are public forums for student expression. The editorial staff welcomes submissions of opinions in the form of letters to the editors and guest stories, as outlined in our submission policy.
The publication falls under California Education Code 48907. Predating the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier case, the law authorizes expanded student exercise of free expression, prohibiting prior restraint except in cases of “libelous, obscene, or slanderous” expressions and advocacy for “unlawful acts.”
This means that—apart from the aforementioned exceptions—the publication can freely publish as its editors see fit, regardless of the opinions of Menlo-Atherton High School and Sequoia Union High School administrators. Such a policy allows Menlo-Atherton students to express their views freely without fear of reprimand.
The editors-in-chief have the ultimate say in whether a piece is published. However, as outlined in the editorial policy, opinion pieces with a byline are indicative only of the author’s views; staff editorials will be indicated as such, and represent the views of a majority of the publication’s editorial board.
The M-A Chronicle adviser manages logistical production and aids the staff in delivering objective material, without interfering in the editorial decision-making process.
If you believe a story contains reporting that is unfactual or misleading, please contact us below through the tab on the “About | Contact” page. Please follow the same procedure if you would like to respond to a story in the form of a letter to the editor.
Submissions Policy
The M-A Chronicle and The Mark welcome submissions, with the mission of highlighting the many diverse views of Menlo-Atherton students and community members.
If you would like to respond to a story in the form of a letter to the editors, please fill out the contact form below on the “About | Contact” page. We welcome anonymous tips and story pitches, also via the contact form.
In the case of letters to the editors, the editorial board reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy, and obscenity. Regarding tips, we require your name and contact information for purposes of pursuing leads; your name will not be published if you request anonymity.
The Mark encourages submissions as well, especially in the form of student artwork, literature, poetry, and photography. To ensure proper delivery of files, please email any potential submissions to the following email: mark@machronicle.com. Like in the Chronicle, the staff reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy, and obscenity.
In all cases, we cannot guarantee that a submission will ultimately be published. Such a decision rests in the hands of the editorial board.
If you believe a story is factually incorrect, please also fill out the aforementioned form and select “corrections”; if you would like to express your opinions in a more informal and rapid fashion, you are welcome to fill out the comment box on a story (with publication contingent upon compliance with the comment policy).
Editorial Policy
As stated in our mission statement, material published in the M-A Chronicle and The Mark reflects the judgement of the editorial staff.
Opinion pieces with a byline are indicative of the views of only the other. Staff editorials will not have a byline.
The opinions stated in staff editorials are representative of the views of a majority of the publication’s editorial board, with the advice of staff reporters also considered.
Authors of news stories will be indicated in bylines, regardless of the amount of oversight editors had in the writing process.
Except for in cases of explicitly requested anonymity, submissions—letters to the editors, artwork, poetry, etc.—will include the name of the author.
When stories contain photos from a non-M-A Chronicle source, credit will be noted either on individual images or at the top of the article.
All opinions published—whether in bylined stories or in editorials—are not reflective of the opinions of the Menlo-Atherton High School and Sequoia Union High School District administrations.
Comment Policy
We encourage readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regards to both the readers and writers of the publication. Comments will be pre-screened, and may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article they are about. Brevity is encouraged.
A comment will be not be published if:
1) The comment attacks a named or identified person or group unreasonably;
2) The comment makes readers unreasonably uncomfortable on the basis of one’s race, gender, religion, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation or otherwise;
3) The comment attacks personally any school employee or student;
4) The comment contains excessive obscenities or sexual explicitness;
5) It is determined that the comment is made under a false name or uses another person’s name or email address;
6) The comment threatens or encourages violence;
7) The comment encourages illegal behavior;
8) The comment violates copyright or privacy protections.
Corrections Policy
We strive to be factual and objective in our reporting. If you believe a piece contains incorrect facts or potentially obscene information, please fill out the contact form on the “About | Contact” page.
If we deem the proposed correction to be applicable, we will edit the story and place an editor’s note at the top of the page. The story will also be designated with a special corrections tag such that it will appear on a corrections category page and come up if a search is made for corrections.
Awards
National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker
The National Scholastic Press Association promotes the standards and ethics of good journalism as accepted and practiced by print, broadcast and digital media in the United States. The prestigious Pacemaker recognizes overall excellence and distinguishes the top student media produced during a school year. NSPA’s Best of Show competition is presented as part of each national convention, both fall and spring.
- 2021 Online Pacemaker Champion (M-A Chronicle)
- Editors-in-Chief: Violet Taylor, Sathvik Nori, Cole Trigg, Brynn Baker, & Izzy Leake
- 2019 Online Pacemaker Finalist (M-A Chronicle)
- Editors-in-Chief: Sarah Lehman & Isabela Villa
- 2019 Best in Show, 3rd Place (M-A Chronicle)
- Editors-in-Chief: Sarah Lehman & Isabela Villa
- 2016 Online Pacemaker Winner (M-A Chronicle)
- 2016 Best in Show, 4th Place (M-A Chronicle)
- 2015 Magazine Pacemaker Winner (The Mark)
National Scholastic Press Association Individual Awards
2022-2023 School Year
- Finalist, Writer of the Year—Arden Margulis.
- Finalist, Best Use of Social Media Reporting—Sonia Freedman, Celine Chien, and Jolene Chu.
- Finalist, Best Use of Social Media Promotion—Sonia Freedman, Celine Chien, and Jolene Chu.
- Finalist, News Story of the Year—“Breaking News: Student Pinned Down by Police Officers, Community Confused and Angry” by Katie Doran and Celine Chien.
- Finalist, Digital Blog Story of the Year—“Bear Bites: La Biscotteria” by Celeste Zucker
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Crown Awards
Crown Awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA to a student print or digital medium for overall excellence. Publications are selected from a pool of over one thousand entries annually.
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Circle Awards
The CSPA Gold Circle Awards are Columbia University’s highest honor for individual student journalists. The awards receive upward of five thousand entries annually across all categories, with the top three being recognized and three others receiving Certificates of Merit (honorable mention).
- 1st Place, Photo Slideshow — Mia Angioletti: Seeing the Mind: A Photo Essay About Mental Health
- 1st Place, Interactive Graphic — Nate Viotti: Teacher Housing: Have We Reached a Breaking Point?
- 1st Place, News Photograph — Nate Viotti: Thousands Attend Candlelight Vigil Supporting Christine Blasey Ford
- 2nd Place, Video Documentary — Mitra Pezeshki, Aashka Popat and Toni Shindler-Ruberg: M-A By the Numbers
- 3rd Place, Personal Opinion — Toni Shindler-Ruberg: I’m a Bad Asian: Connecting with Your Identity and Culture
- Certificate of Merit, Personal Opinion — Sarah Friedman: A Personal Reflection on 9/11: Losing Someone You’ve Never Met
- Certificate of Merit, Illustration — Karina Takayama: Scared Speechless: A Snapshot of Life with Social Anxiety
- Certificate of Merit, Illustration — Karina Takayama: I’m a Bad Asian: Connecting with Your Identity and Culture
- 1st Place, Design Portfolio — Nate Viotti
- 1st Place, Feature Story — Ava Honerkamp and Nate Viotti: Affirmative Action: Background and Perspectives
- 1st Place, Design Package — Toni Shindler-Ruberg, Ellie Shepard and Nate Viotti: Redacted
- 2nd Place, Infographic — Nate Viotti: The Teacher Housing Crisis at M-A
- 3rd Place, Table of Contents Design — Toni Shindler-Ruberg: Spring Table of Contents
- Certificate of Merit, Cartoon — Karina Takayama: Summer Comic
- Certificate of Merit, Alternative Story Form — Nate Viotti: Teacher Housing Crisis A Breaking Point?
- Certificate of Merit, Cover Design — Toni Shindler-Ruberg: By the Numbers Cover
- Certificate of Merit, Feature Story — Nate Viotti: Teacher Housing Crisis A Breaking Point?
- 1st Place, Podcast — Georgia Reid: Bots and Tots, Robotics Team at SRI International
- Certificate of Merit, Computer Illustration — Georgia Reid: Satire: M-A Student Protests New Addition to Existing Ordinance
- Certificate of Merit, Video News Package — Will Hanley, Sarah Hoover and Josh Weiner: Bearly News Season 3
Santa Clara University Journalism Awards
- 2023 1st Place, News Story — Paper Tutoring: Over Half a Million on a Tutoring Service Few Use by Arden Margulis