As Blake and the world around us have continued to evolve, so have its newspapers. These changes in our community include coeducation, sports, technology, and the latest trends. 

Through “The Torch,” it is evident to see that the newspapers have captured the evolution that our school has endured. Though a short article summarizing the girls’ soccer team, like the article found in the October 2022 issue, may not seem new, you wouldn’t have been able to find any stories like it in the all-boys “The Torch” newspaper. 

Furthermore, many ideas we now commonly view as obvious are, in fact, new. Archivist Neva Fuller cites an example of these being the now infamous Blake v. Break rivalry. The Defend the Den event led by Forum last May, featured in the June 2022 publication, promoted this rivalry. However, as Fuller explained, “Last spring, Forum was looking for evidence of a rivalry between Blake and Break, and I was having a hard time finding any evidence of that,” yet they were “able to find evidence of a rivalry between St. Paul Academy.”

Additionally, the introduction of technology as a part of daily life both in and outside of Blake has been reflected through its newspaper. Articles about news apps are now possible, such as in the September 2022 article about BeReal, “[The] new social media app that teens and young adults are obsessed with.” The April 2022 article about Finch, “[an] app that motivates the user to do positive things for their mental health,” further highlights this new technology. 

While outside of the Blake community, “The Spectrum” includes some of the latest fashion trends and popular new aesthetics, from the “That Girl” aesthetic featured in the February 2022 to fall street style inspiration. Not to say that those who attended the Blake School for boys didn’t want to emulate the styles of their current favorite celebrities; moreover, it’s simply very doubtful that Kendall Jenner’s loved fleece zip-ups or Hailey Bieber’s chrome nails, seen in the October 2022 issue, were their inspiration. 

The archives allow us to view our school’s progression through the contrast in various publications in Blake’s history, such as the differences between “The Torch” and “The Spectrum.” This journey, encapsulated in the archives, portrays the changes in the Blake community and the world around us.