HHS students revive Brown & Gold newspaper: Read it in this week's Gazette

AllisonCorneau, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

Dec. 9—When Haverhill High School Hillies past and present think of the school's signature colors brown and gold, fond memories of four years socializing with friends, playing sports or attending senior activities may come to mind. Now, brown and gold has a brand-new meaning for a whole new crop of Hillies with the resurgence of the school's print newspaper of the same name.

Starting Thursday, a four-page version of the Brown & Gold hit the high school — and city streets — courtesy of senior journalism students mentored by HHS teachers Cody Kucker and Steve Ryan.

It is the first print edition of the paper since 2018. The paper was printed by The Eagle-Tribune's North of Boston press and included as an insert into The Haverhill Gazette.

The paper, the opinions of which are solely representative of the high school students, will appear as an insert in the Gazette that hits stands on the second Thursday of each month.

Approximately a dozen students take part in Kucker's journalism class to put the paper together, with a handful of others lending a hand during study periods and after school. The result: What Kucker calls a "labor of love" that has inspired several students to pursue reporting careers after graduation.

The revitalization of the "Brown & Gold" has been "exciting," Kucker explains.

"It makes things real for students. There's so many times we have to stress to students that this or that is going to become relevant, and with the journalism class and the 'Brown & Gold,' things immediately become relevant," says Kucker, a Class of 2004 HHS grad who began advising the newspaper in 2015, two years after he joined the faculty to teach a variety of English and journalism classes.

"Students have a real audience and are reporting and putting work into something that's professional," he said. "That's motivating and inspiring for me to see students get invested in their communities and ideas. I want them to see that what they report on has an impact."