During our application process, we also created a question to understand the backgrounds of prospective staff and what they may bring to the publication. We asked the question:

Zephyrus consists of students from a variety of unique backgrounds, activities, perspectives, and personalities. Considering this, how do you see yourself both fitting into and inspiring Zephyrus to grow?  

We learned a lot about the ideas and perspectives staff could bring to the publication based on their distinct interests while also making sure these applicants were moving forward with an understanding of Zephyrus's commitment to diversity.

After a 30-minute interview with our principal was reduced to a brief column, I pushed for a full editorial examining what inclusive school culture truly requires. In this piece, we contextualized Edina’s rapidly shifting demographics — students of color in Edina Public Schools increased from 17.0% to 35.3% in the past decade — and connected that data to national trends showing only 55% of U.S. high schoolers feel connected at school. 

Rather than treating diversity as a slogan, we expanded the definition to include socioeconomic status, gender identity, ability, and lived experience. As the only student newspaper exclusively serving our district, we argued that Zephyrus has a responsibility to amplify marginalized voices and ensure students see themselves represented in both our coverage and our newsroom. This editorial reflects my belief that journalism must actively foster belonging.

This editorial examined Diwali celebrations hosted by the Edina Asian American Alliance and asked why cross-cultural participation remains limited in a city that is over 82% white. While celebrating the vibrancy of the event, we also addressed documented incidents of racism in our community, including a 2022 video of students mocking Asian accents and another incident targeting Hindu parishioners outside a local temple. 

We argue that events like Diwali, Juneteenth, Pride, and Eid should not function as siloed gatherings but as opportunities for shared learning. The piece explicitly challenges the idea that cultural holidays are “exclusive” to one group and calls on majority-community members to show up. Through this editorial, we used student media to confront xenophobia directly and advocate for intentional multicultural engagement.

In this column, I used a personal experience — motion-sensor soap dispensers failing to recognize darker skin — to explore racial bias embedded in public health technology. Drawing on research involving the Fitzpatrick skin scale, workforce data from major tech companies, and studies showing racial bias in healthcare algorithms, I connected everyday inconvenience to systemic inequities in STEM leadership and data design. By citing statistics demonstrating the underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous professionals in tech executive roles, I showed how lack of diversity shapes the products communities rely on. 

I also tied these national patterns back to our local context, urging schools to support underrepresented students pursuing STEM so future technologies are designed more equitably. This piece reflects my commitment to elevating how structural inequities affect marginalized communities — even in spaces where bias is often dismissed as just technology.