At JDS, Quill and Scroll is more than just another honor society. It is a recognition of students who have taken journalism, writing and publication work seriously and who have shown leadership within the school’s publications.
The induction ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, June 2, included lighting candles, certificates and pins. It honored students for their commitment to truth, integrity and responsibility. For the Lion’s Tale Adviser Emerita Sue Zuckerman, who helped bring Quill and Scroll to JDS, the society represents the deeper values that student journalists should carry with them.
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.’” Zimmerman said. “Truth. That’s the main candle during the ceremony. The other candles represent initiative, learning, integrity, leadership, judgment, loyalty and friendship. We want our students to be deep critical thinkers, to pursue the truth, to have integrity, good leadership skills, sound judgment, loyalty, and we want them to work in a spirit of friendship.”
These principles are what make the ceremony meaningful past the award itself. Students are not just recognized for the work they have already done, but also reminded of the standards that they have to uphold as writers, editors and leaders.
For students inducted this year, Quill and Scroll was also a way to recognize the hard work that goes into JDS publications. Junior Lilah Sacks, who has worked on Bohr Franklin Science Journal, Melting Pot and Loa Ha’ari, said that being inducted felt like a meaningful achievement because of the effort she has put into publications outside the standard journalism curriculum.
“Quill and Scroll is just the cherry on top and a nice award, a nice achievement, for all the hard work that I put into the publications I’m involved in,” Sacks said.
For Sacks, journalism is not just about reporting news. It is also about creativity, organization, editing articles and growing publications. Through these experiences, Sacks says that she has found a way to contribute to the school community through writing and design.
Co-editor in chief of Dimensions yearbook, junior Brielle Bassin, said she did not fully understand the importance of Quill and Scroll until she began to practice for the induction. During the ceremony, each inductee helped present their publication to the audience, before taking part in the candle lighting. Bassin lit the candle of truth, which she said she felt especially important because truth is central to journalism.
“Truth is the number one principle,” Bassin said. “It just applies to anything that you do for journalism.”
Bassin said lighting the candle made her think about her responsibility as a leader. For her, Quill and Scroll made her work feel more real and showed her that being an editor means helping others hold up the values of journalism.
For Zuckerman, those values connect to the larger mission of JDS. She said Quill and Scroll’s emphasis on truth, leadership and judgment fit closely with the school’s goal of creating thoughtful students.
“Our Quill and Scroll values are very closely aligned with the values of Portrait of a JDS graduate.” Zuckerman said. “We want our kids to be deep learners, to pursue the truth, to have integrity, good leadership skills, good judgment, loyalty, and we want them to be friends with each other.”
