In today’s digital age, print media seems to be entering an era of obsoletion. To the students at CAST Tech, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. With CAST Tech seniors focusing on “legacy” for the theme of their PBL, students Yliana, Nikolas, Jacob and Juan thought to themselves, “What better way to leave a legacy than through stories?”, and so CAST Ink was born.

Newspaper organizations had been pitched to CAST Tech administrators before, but several roadblocks usually prevented things from moving forward. However, when the idea of CAST Tech, a student-run newspaper club/organization was pitched last year, administrators gave it the green light with Mr. Dayton King as the teacher-sponsor. The students were optimistic, but there was an initial sense of nervousness:

We knew that students wanted a voice, but we didn’t know if a newspaper was the answer.

Despite their initial doubts CAST Ink published their first issue in January to immediate praise from the student body. From journalistic stories to interactive games in each issue, CAST Ink was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise digital age of media. CAST Tech students were excited to see their friends and classmates in the issue, and were eager to know when the next issue would release. In the second issue, CAST Ink was able to feature 10% of the student body!

CAST Ink is important not just because it lets students connect to what’s happening at CAST Tech, but because it elevates student voice and agency. Nikolas reiterates this with a simple quote:

Without student voice, CAST Ink isn’t CAST Ink.

The students running CAST Ink hope to train sophomore and junior writers in the near future in order to continue their legacy through their PBL. CAST Ink is an organization run by the students, for the students. It only makes sense that students continue to run the club long after the founders have graduated.

To learn more about CAST Ink and CAST Tech, visit castschools.com