Letter from the Editors
When we decided to change things up last year with our first special edition magazine, we didn’t know exactly what we were getting ourselves into. Even though it required an incredible amount of work to produce a 32-page magazine, the reception we received validated all of our efforts: the late nights we spent in the newsroom scrambling to finish pages before our print deadline, the sheer amount of coffee (or, as we call it, creative juice) we consumed in the process, and the countless lunches we gave up to edit articles, conduct interviews, and design pages. It’s because of your feedback and enthusiasm that we have decided to publish another magazine this year and establish it as an annual Prowler tradition.
In this issue, we address topics just as (if not more) controversial and relevant as the ones we covered in our first edition magazine. Our cover story tackles the taboo topic of teenage sex. We look at both the physical and emotional consequences, as well as the effectiveness of the current sex education curriculum.
The editorial on pages 6-7 explores the current debate surrounding police accountability. We argue that police officers are not held sufficiently responsible for their actions, which contributes to widespread, unreported, and often unpunished acts of police brutality. However, we recognize that this is not representative of law enforcement as a whole, and appreciate that police officers risk their lives every day to protect our safety and freedom. We highlight this aspect on pages 24-25 with a feature on students with parents or relatives in law enforcement.
Turning to pages 30-31, you’ll find Humans of Newbury Park (HONP): our take on the popular Humans of New York blog. HONP debuted in last year’s magazine and was such a huge hit that we dedicated two full pages for it in this year’s edition and now post “humans” on our Instagram.
The Panther Prowler has come a long way since our last magazine. We launched a completely new website at www.pantherprowler.org, and regularly post web-exclusive content. We started completely new Twitter and Instagram accounts @NPProwler and now have more than 500 followers on both platforms. For the first time, we live-tweeted football games as well as basketball games. We are proud of the progress that the Prowler has made and excited about the feedback we have received so far.
We hope you enjoy the second edition of our annual magazine!
