Zachary Kaplan, a New York high school senior, founded the United States Organization of Student Editors in 2021. The USOSE is an “expansion of the NYC Organization of Student Editors”, and it aims to give writers an outlet to talk about their school’s newspaper and how it is run. Glendale High School is one of over 55 high schools across the country that has been chosen to participate in this organization.
Starting on February 15th, 2022, the USOSE has hosted monthly meetings on Zoom. During these sessions, student journalists introduce themselves to one another in regional breakout rooms, and they then discuss what journalism means to them. Participants have also talked about how censorship in the media is handled at their school.
Although this organization is relatively new, Zach believes that students will benefit from joining the USOSE, because it enables them to improve their own school newspapers. Through hearing insightful and constructive criticism from other student editors, high school journalists can be inspired by how other schools are operating their journalism classes.
Zach hopes that the USOSE will live on after he graduates from high school, but it will only be limited to high school student editors. Right now, he wants to be able to create more fun activities during these monthly Zoom sessions, and they may possibly have an in-person journalism conference in June.
Ultimately, Zach wishes that the USOSE will “empower people to be more investigative journalists”, and to continue to improve their own newspapers. If you want to know more about USOSE, you can check out their Instagram: @us.ose!
