You may have noticed that the byline and interviews for the articles “Muslim Community navigates Oct. 7 aftermath” and “Jewish students respond to protests” are anonymous. We understand that this unprecedented decision may seem concerning or even shocking. Anonymity in journalism is a rarity, reserved only for extreme situations.

This decision was made in response to concern for both the writers’ and interviewees’ emotional and social safety. We feel that the severity of the tensions at our school is unprecedented, and many of our students don’t feel safe sharing their viewpoints, voicing fears such as being canceled or facing backlash from family, peers or community members. In the context of these articles, both our writers and interviewees felt hesitant about attaching their names to such sensitive content. The palpable tension and fear require that we protect the identities of those involved.

While we could have made the decision not to publish these articles, we believe that not reporting on these events would be a disservice to our community: for those who want their voices heard and for those who need to understand the impacts seen in their local community. We felt it was necessary that we report on this climate at the high school, regardless of whether we were able to publish these articles with names.

Across the country, we have seen vandalism, doxxing, ostracism and, most alarmingly, violence for those who have chosen to share their perspectives on global concern. This is something we hope to avoid as much as we can. As an open forum, we always aim to open a dialogue about difficult topics within our community.

However, we are also a high school newspaper and we are students before journalists. This means that our primary concern is to protect the safety of our peers. We have seen that these extreme circumstances have taken a toll on our staff and on the entire school community. The effects of this global polarization are seen clearly in the blank bylines and anonymous interviews. Our community is deeply hurt.

As a central source of news in the town, we feel it is our responsibility to publish these pieces, even without names. We acknowledge any unease about the reliability and transparency of our information. However, this article was written directly by staff members we have trained, know and trust. Every source was thoroughly verified and kept confidential for the reasons listed above. As a newspaper, we stand behind the reporting of our staff members.

It is important to note that we do not intend these two articles to be pinned up against each other. These news articles were written separately to report on two different issues affecting the community. We hope that these articles shed light on the impacts seen within our community and open up respectful dialogue. In doing this, we hope to move towards a climate where our writers and interviewees feel comfortable attaching their names to these topics without fear of backlash. We should foster an environment of open and respectful dialogue, not one barred by fears.