City news, school clubs, sports updates, student opinions, and so much more are featured in articles found in school newspapers across the nation. Despite this, many students are oblivious to the existence of their school’s most intimate news source, and Chamblee High School is no exception. Although some students may be aware of The Blue & Gold — introduced by the annual physical copies handed out at lunch — others are unfamiliar with the organization’s website, which offers daily articles written by current students, as well as archives of former articles dating back to 1995.

“I read it when I know I’m going to be in it, when it’s the physical copy during lunch, and when I know there’s an article I care about,” said Noelle LaMarca (‘26).

While some students might only read articles if they have their own stakes in them, or if it’s convenient, a small percentage of Chamblee students are loyal Blue & Gold readers, habitually reading articles at least once a week.

“I usually visit [the website] during bulldog time when I have free time, and I read all the articles then,” said Delphi Li Arthur (‘27).

Several students, avid readers or not, have topics that they would like to read in the future, ranging from more satire to community-inspired features.

“[I’d like to see articles] about active events like teachers leaving, new teachers, or just drama around the school,” said Lamarca.

Along with more interactive article topics, many students agree that The Blue & Gold would attract more popularity if it were widely advertised throughout the school.

“I just don’t think a lot of people know about it, and because not a lot of people know about it, it doesn’t cater towards the larger audience,” said Katherine Thomas (‘27).

Although readers have their collective opinions on how The Blue & Gold can improve, the writers from the paper and the class have their own sentiments. Some students from the journalism class believe that the demographics for articles and interviews should expand to reach more students.

“We, as the journalists for The Blue & Gold, need to interview a wide range of people to encourage them to see what their interview is all about and how it is framed,” said Jackson Lee (‘26).

Similarly, the teacher and advisor for The Blue & Gold, Mr. Fred Avett, believes that the paper can expand by interacting with a demographic of students that the paper often overlooks.

“I think the staff and, therefore, a lot of our articles are kind of magnet program heavy, so we tend to talk about and write about issues that are pertinent to the magnet students. This is fine, but there’s a large segment of our student population that we don’t really think about or capture their stories,” said Mr. Avett. “I try every year to encourage students outside the magnet program to apply for the class. I’m happy to accept them because they bring different perspectives to the classroom and can capture stories and voices that other students can’t.”

There are almost 2000 students at Chamblee, and with that are many opinions on many topics they would like to share. The Blue & Gold writers’ main purpose is to collect those opinions and write articles that can connect students.

“The Blue & Gold can help reflect Chamblee’s current interests and concerns of the students,” said Juliet Gonzalez (‘27), a former staff writer for the paper. “I would interview a bunch of students for my articles, and could get a good gauge of what the school is like.”

Readers mainly found​​ The Blue & Gold from the physical editions given out in previous years; however, their commitment towards the newspaper was temporary, considering printed copies are only seldom distributed. On the other hand, some of the more devoted readers were exposed to The Blue & Gold because of their friends who are writers for The Blue & Gold.

“I have quite a few friends who are in the journalism class, and they kept talking about it, so I thought I should check on it once, and then I got hooked,” said Li Arthur.

While some students may be unaware of the existence of The Blue and Gold, many students — readers and writers alike — believe that The Blue and Gold acts as a reflection of Chamblee High School’s community.

“I think that there’s a level of dedication in this classroom, and I think that represents a lot of the people in this school, even if they don’t know that we do stuff,” said Staff Writer Eli Lineberry (‘28). “We have similar work ethics to [most] the people associated with this school.”