PASADENA, California– Well, it’s been a while since I’ve last written but The Mayfield Crier is back in session! I’ll reintroduce myself for those who are just recently visiting the Mayfield Crier website: I’m Madison and I’m the new Editor-in-Chief for the 2022-2023 school year! Since school has started, The Crier staff has shown an impressive grasp of investigative journalism, interview skills, and opinion writing. I can’t wait to see where this school year will take us and I am so excited to read more of the wonderful pieces our staff writers produce. 

This year, The Mayfield Crier is starting a new section of our publication called Mayfield Minute. Mayfield Minute pieces are short briefs written about Mayfield Senior’s community achievements and campus events. Our hope with these briefs is to keep the Mayfield student body and their families updated about the going-ons at school. Furthermore, we want to highlight the creativity, talent, and academic achievements of Mayfield students. So far, we’ve covered Mayfield’s first mass service, Red and White spirit games, the club fair, Mayfield’s Rose Court finalists, and a plethora of athletics achievements. Make sure to check out the Mayfield Minute section on the Mayfield Crier website! 

Speaking of our website, the Mayfield Crier online has had a bit of a renovation. This summer, I worked to redesign the home page of The Mayfield Crier website. Hopefully, our site visitors will find the new design easily accessible and organized. Please take a tour of our many website sections, including columns, podcasts, and the Cubs Student News broadcast! 

On another note, I would like to address an important event that happened on October 11: International Day of the Girl. Founded in 2012 by the United Nations, International Day of the Girl recognizes the challenges that girls around the world face and highlights the stories of girls who are fighting for their rights. Ten years after the U.N. first created it, the International Day of the Girl is still incredibly important yet not as publicized or celebrated. Women’s rights around the world have been suffering, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to NPR, the pandemic heightened the prevalence of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy, and human trafficking. Despite the rapidly increasing violence and discrimination against women and girls, this year, International Day of the Girl received very little recognition within the media. Even when researching for this letter, I struggled to find recent articles written about this global day. 

I felt it was important to recognize the International Day of the Girl in this month’s Letter from the Editor because as students at an all-girls school, it is important to educate ourselves about the status of women’s rights internationally. We can do our part to celebrate this holiday by seeking out stories of girls who are fighting for justice, such as the recent protests in Iran which were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Masha Amini at the hands of the country’s morality police. Amini’s unjust death led to a flurry of Iranian women taking to social media to post videos of them burning their head scarves and cutting their hair in protest of Iran’s oppressive morality laws regarding women. By sharing these stories on social media and reading articles about the current social movement we can share our support with girls in Iran, ultimately contributing to the relevance of the International Day of the Girl. 

As this letter comes to a close, I hope you have been inspired to further research the International Day of the Girl and perhaps even take action within your community to foster discussions about the importance of women’s rights. I am looking forward to working with the Mayfield Crier staff this year to publish more articles highlighting women’s rights issues as well as celebrating the success and actions of girls within our community. This school year holds so much promise and I can’t wait for you all to read more of our writers’ pieces.

Have a great spooky season!

– Madison