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Students get 'Reality Check' to help with understanding
Publication lets teenagers talk anonymously
By Michelle Alaimo
Teenagers often say they have no place to be heard without being judged. But Los Gatos High School students have had their wish granted thanks to the school-sponsored publication called Reality Check.
The publication, written for and by LGHS students on their own time, gives teens a chance to speak out anonymously on certain topics. Each of the almost-monthly issues features several anonymous stories from LGHS teens on a particular subject. Also included in the newsletter is an information page written by a therapist who tells teens what is and is not normal behavior, plus a resource page that lists descriptions and phone numbers of places students can call for help.
Some of the topics the 12-member staff have covered include date rape, depression and homosexuality. Associated Student Body Vice President Joel Key, a junior, said that so far the most well-read issue has been one on academic pressures.
He adds that many students have asked for more academic-related topics because it gives them a chance to see that their fellow student are experiencing the same kinds of pressures they are.
Senior Mikha Elliott said she is most proud of the homosexuality issue because it included a good balance of viewpoints. However, both Elliott and Key said one of the goals of the publication is to balance everyday concerns with less-common student issues.
Elliott adds that since the publication began, she only knows of one complaint from a parent in the LGHS community, and it was quickly resolved once staff members explained what the publication was about.
Every student at Los Gatos High School receives a copy of Reality Check in the mail, with the exception of students whose parents requested that it not be mailed home.
Advisor Nancy Offer said that at the beginning of each semester, parents are sent a form by mail that lists the upcoming topics. If parents wish their child not to receive a particular issue, they simply circle the topic and send it back to Reality Check.
Key said that the two years he has spent working on Reality Check have been some of his most cherished times.
"It's one of the most worthwhile things I do," Key said. "It's a product that is helping people every month."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
