The Arlingtonian that rests in your hands is the product of four-weeks worth of consistent reporting, writing and editing by our student staff. What many of you may not know is that the monetary value of each issue printed is upwards of $2,000. We sustain the financial viability of the newsmagazine through ad sales to local businesses; however, that often proves futile if we wish to print an issue large enough to include an array of news stories, features and columns within its pages.
In years past, Arlingtonian has financed each issue by supplementing our regular ad sales with subscription fees and bake sales. Yet, the state’s recent elimination of bake sales and the staff’s decision to provide free issues to all students has left the publication struggling to finance each issue. However, I am happy to share with you that Arlingtonian recently received a generous grant from the Upper Arlington Education Foundation, equating to $2000 worth of funding. While their grant helped the fund this 32-page issue you are now reading, they played no role in the editorial selection of its content, and do not endorse any of the positions taken by the Arlingtonian staff.
In response to this generous grant, I would like to educate our readers about the significance of such organizations in the community. The UAEF is an endowment supported by community sponsors, donors and beneficiaries. Each year on the Sunday evening of Labor Day weekend, they host the Golden Bear Bash, which allows interested benefactors to fund raise for the current school year. In 2010 alone, the foundation accumulated nearly $70,000 to support various school programs and equipment, and it awarded over $20,000 in scholarships to seniors during May’s honors assembly. In the past, the UAEF has partnered with other high school booster groups and helped financed the lighting in the auditorium, provided T-shirts for Club Sudan and, most recently, purchased TI-Nspire calculators for the math department to test, helping the teachers decide whether or not they wanted to incorporate them into the department’s curriculum.
According to UAEF director Joanie Igel Dugger, the foundation’s role in the school community has expanded due to the downfall in the economy. In order for the foundation to sustain its development, it is vital that all readers comprehend how important the UAEF is to the high school. Their work touches all students, funding programs and equipment that enrich both scholastic and extracurricular opportunities at the high school.
The staff of Arlingtonian would like to sincerely thank the UAEF for its extremely generous support for not only our publication, but the many other student-run co-curricular organizations which it has funded as well. If you are interested in learning more about the foundation, or you wish to apply for a grant, please visit www.uaeducationfoundation.com or e-mail director Joanie Igel Dugger at bearalums@aol.com.
Happy reading!
Victoria Slater