The Scandal that Rocked Journalism

Context: In January 2025, Journalism held an election for a newly created award, “The Journalism Rising Phoenix of Academic and Personal Splendor of the Month”, in a friday meeting in Mr. Long’s room. Though it was supposedly awarded based on audience applause, many suspect that Journalism board members had rigged the election and pre-selected the winner. The Journalism Club has recently been faced with what will perhaps go down in history as this club's ugliest moment. The board members of this organization have committed a heinous crime against the integrity and honor that make us all so proud to be Phoenixes. Because of their irresponsibility, strife has been given a chance to sink her claws into our formerly pristine student body. This travesty must not go unaccounted for. It was the seventeenth of January, 2025. Students gathered eagerly inside Mr. Long’s room for what they thought would be naught but a regular club meeting. The Journalism board members, however, had a plot for the assembly far more sinister than any innocent ASTI student could have imagined. They were going to hold an “election” to decide who would become the first ever “Journalism Rising Phoenix of Academic and Personal Splendor of the Month”, a title supposedly bestowed upon only the most accomplished and respected Journalism club members. The nominees for the award were Maxwell Steele, Marcus Wong, Cathy Tran, Travis Duong, Aiden Chan, Newton Luu, and Helen Lu. It was unclear how these candidates were chosen, which was made especially mysterious by the fact that some of them have never even shown up to a Journalism meeting. Rather than using a quantifiable method of vote-taking, it was announced at the beginning of the meeting that the candidate who got the “loudest cheers” would win. This was the first warning sign of the foul corruption to come. As the slides progressed and the meeting attendees “cast their votes”, the organizers didn’t seem to be paying any attention to the relative volumes. Instead, they made condescending comments such as “lots of cheers for that one!” and “my eardrums are going to feel that one tonight!”, never once pausing for deliberation. Still, peace held. It wasn’t until the winner was announced that members fully realized how they had been swindled. “Congratulations to Cathy Tran!” announced the evil Journalism Board Members, after flipping to a pre-made slide with Cathy’s name and face on it. An award with the name “Cathy Tran” and her likeness was already fully printed in ink, and was handed to a surprised but giddy Cathy as the other candidates cleared the room in disgust. ASTIans, we must not allow this behavior to reign unchecked in our school. Although I’m sure this news has shocked and appalled all of you, do not allow such turmoil to stall you in finding justice. Countless students have been robbed of a chance at an award that appeared to be decided by merit and democracy. But perhaps this ceremony was meant to anger us- after all, is the Presidential “election” that is meant to reflect the will of our nation’s people any less outrageous? Two candidates are presented to us, both chosen and raised by the rich, funded by shadowy corporations, and incentivized by donors to continue to create a rich-man’s utopia rather than an equal and balanced society. The outrage expressed by ASTI students over the Journalism “election” should be mirrored by the American public during our local and national “elections”: not at one candidate or party in particular, but towards the rich and powerful who continue to present us with the illusion of free will, all the while playing us commoners like puppets.