Letter from the editors
Since 1968, the Panther Prowler has worked to inform the community of local events and developments–a goal that the 2024-2025 staff continues to follow. This year, we strived to extend our abilities by attending several conventions and competitions where many of our staff members received recognition in various journalistic categories, further fueling our ambitions as a group. Having dreamed of being chiefs since our sophomore year, it was truly a monumental experience seeing our visions come to life, and we are so grateful to our staff who spent hour after hour making it possible.
2025 has been a dividing year. Emerging from a historic election, many policy changes have been made on both local and national levels. It is vital that community members remain informed about what is occurring around them, so they can take whatever actions they deem necessary. Please see page 5 for current events and news, such as stores that will soon open, the Conejo Valley Parade and much more.
With graduation quickly approaching, we want to take some time to recognize the accomplishments of NPHS’ Class of 2025. Please look to pages 11-13 to discover where each student will begin their next journey, whether that be a four-year university, community college, trade school, the military, in the workforce or whichever path they may choose.
While it is easy to become absorbed in one’s everyday activities and adventures, it is important to acknowledge and learn about the struggles many students and adults in our community are facing. One such challenge can be read on pages 8-9, regarding how many members of our student body plan to pursue higher education as they navigate questions of affording college and student debt. Pages 20-21 report on recent political attitude changes surrounding mental health, the subsequent cut in federal funding towards programs aimed to help those struggling and how it affects schools like NP. Finally, pages 26-27 discuss how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is increasing their measures in deporting immigrants and how the effects are felt by those in the Conejo Valley.
Several, including ourselves, have made the claim that in general, as young people living in the CVUSD, we exist in a bubble. We admit that we are very lucky to reside in such a safe and almost blissfully mundane area, however, it has also allowed us as high school students to become naive. We have grown to rely on the expectation that those in positions of power, whether that be our parents or trusted adults on campus, will keep us safe. However, there is a very fine line between trusting the knowledge of your elders and willingly placing a blindfold over your eyes.
The negative effects of such ignorance and even compliance have been demonstrated in these past couple of months. Within our own school district, at Westlake High School, we watch our peers struggle to gain recognition and reaction for sexual assault and harassment allegations on their campus. We have seen that when students speak up, adults who should be looking out for them instead have the loudest voice in keeping them silent. Please take the time to read our staff editorial discussing this issue on page 4, and our cover story reporting the recent incidents on pages 14-18.
The 2025 Panther Prowler end-of-the-year magazine is the school’s fifteenth annual edition. With knowledge of the cardinal topics that have been discussed by issues of the past and the changes they inspired, we hope to insight a similar reaction and to prove the time our staff took to remain ethical and accurate journalists. The two of us are so proud of all that this staff has accomplished, and can undoubtedly say that being a part of the Panther Prowler has been the highlight of our high school careers. We are incredibly sad to say goodbye, but we could not be more confident in the newspaper’s future.
