Staff Editorial: Down, but definitely not out

Friday, February 1 will go down in infamy for the staff of The Forge. When most of the staff was informed of the incident during third period that day, you could hear a pin drop while you saw the wide open mouths of some reporters. The first thoughts running through their minds when they heard five of our computers and a camera and a scanner and a printer were stolen was, “Is my work OK?”

While that question may sound self-centered in a time of crisis, it’s not at all without reason. It may come as a shock to some people at Santa Barbara High School, but The Forge does not have the ability to turn out a 12-page issue at the drop of the hat. It takes weeks of planning and hours of painstaking labor in front of a computer screen.

The Forge may have been robbed of roughly $12,000 of property but there is no monetary value for the hours of work lost and some of the artifacts on those computers that can never be duplicated. That is absolutely heartbreaking for the students most of all. The roughly 25 staff members, and the 25 students in the beginning Photography class, are the real victims in this case.

Nevertheless, every dark cloud has a silver lining. The issue in front of you today was the result of the incredible devotion our staff has to this paper. We spent our nights and weekends putting together the pieces of what we had left, to produce our planned issue. In the nearly century of Forges, there has never been an issue postponed. Staff members have been caught on the wrong end of landslides and have their houses ruined by floods, but the paper always comes out.

Here’s the basic truth: it’s students who put The Forge together. Our teacher advisor is there mostly to proofread some pages and lock the door when we leave. Those in charge of ASB and the TV bulletin understand that there is so much more work that goes into the product than most people realize.

We thank the Santa Barbara Daily Sound and the Independent for publicizing our story last Saturday, and Noozhawk.com for the story and offering to collect donations to help us pay for new equipment. Dr. Capritto is also commended for his pledge of $6,500 towards new equipment as well. And to Ms. Light and the yearbook staff for offering the use of their equipment even after their own break-in the same week and the loss of some of their own computers.

It’s absolutely pointless for the staff to keep dwelling on this issue. We resist making ourselves the front page story because we aren’t the news, we simply cover the news, and then move on.