Dec. 16, 2024
Our past three editions
Dec. 9, 2024 Coca-Cola • Gender-affirming care • Color of the Year
Nov. 25, 2024 NYC student journalism • Standardized tests • “Wicked”
Oct. 28, 2024 Presidential endorsements • Fentanyl awareness • Romance in movies
THE LEAD
TikTok requests postponing ruling enforcement until Supreme Court takes case
Company asks for pause so as not to disrupt service
The time for TikTok may soon be running out.
Earlier this month, a U.S. appeals court upheld a law passed last April that requires Chinese-based ByteDance to sellTikTok, or face a ban in U.S. app stores. TikTok made an emergency bid to block the law, which was denied Dec. 13.
The TikTok ban law was originally passed because of concerns about the Chinese government and data. The ban would go into effect in six weeks and while it won’t prevent use by users who already have TikTok downloaded, the app would eventually become unworkable, Reuters reported.
What you can do —
This will be a hot topic among students, as many high schoolers use the short-video app. Strict news coverage of what is happening and how it would affect app users would be helpful to students’ understanding of the situation. Beyond that, it would be interesting to gather student reactions to the ban. Do they still use the app? Do they share the concerns about data management? What will they do if the ban goes through?
Noteworthy
Majority of students want financial literacy classes, despite lack of graduation requirements
A number of states are introducing legislation to change this
Only 10 states require a financial literacy class, despite 85% of high schoolers wanting to learn more about how to manage their finances, CBS reported.
The Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College estimates that in the next few years, however, this could change. In their 2023 report card, they explain that there is a flurry of legislation being passed in states across the country to require financial literacy education. The Center estimates that by 2028, 23 states will have a standalone personal finance course as a requirement for graduation.
What you can do —
Does your school have a financial literacy course? It would be interesting to profile the class, why students are taking it and what the curriculum covers. It would also be helpful to unpack your state’s requirements — what grade did the state get in the Center for Financial Literacy’s report card? If there is new legislation coming up, a piece on how that will affect schools would be fitting.
Since tax season is approaching, you could help students locate ways to receive free tax preparation help.
What’s viral
Added sugar source might matter for disease, new study suggests
Sugary drinks were worse for cardiovascular disease than other sweets
You’ve heard it again and again: avoid sugary treats to avoid negative health effects. A new study out of Sweden says what type of sugary sweet you indulge in might matter, CNN reported. Sugary drinks, like pop and fruit drinks that are not pure fruit juice, were associated with higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases than baked goods.
The study isn’t the end all be all on the sugar debate; it was an observational study, meaning that researchers found associations between consumption habits and rates of heart disease, but can’t say for sure that the sugar consumption was the cause. The study surveyed 70,000 Swedish people about their lifestyle and diet between 1997 and 2009.
Sugar consumption has also been on the mind for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services. In promotional videos he has railed against high-fructose corn syrup and has promised to take processed foods out of school lunches, the New York Times reported.
What you can do —
Take a look at students’ consumption habits — do they consume high levels of sugary drinks on a daily basis? Are these drinks sold in your school? This study could provide data to supplement a story about the possible effects. Talk to local experts about what we know about sugar and health.
If you are covering Kennedy’s take on processed foods, the ingredients of the products served in the cafeteria. What might be removed?
IT’S AN HONOR
Members-only area reminder
If you haven’t accessed our members-only area, we encourage you to do so. While we hope to expand this feature, you can find bell ringers, lesson plans and a gallery of our News Media Evaluation Gallup Award winners.
To access, please visit our new member login page. Your credentials are in an email from [email protected]. Please check your spam folder and if you still don’t see it, reach out to us at [email protected] and we will help you troubleshoot!
When you log in, please accept cookies via the popup on the bottom of the page. This will limit the number of times you have to login!
Members-only area highlight
See our lesson plan on learning from QS contest winners
In this lesson, students will examine winners from one of Quill and Scroll’s Contests. Students will select and examine exemplar pieces of award-winning student journalism, read through judge comments and set an individual goal and then plan to apply this knowledge to their own work.
We will be highlighting something from this members-only area in each Weekly Scroll. If your login information isn’t working for some reason, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Your login information was sent to you in an email a few weeks ago.
Writing, Visual, Multimedia contest open
Due date is Feb. 5
The entry form is live and we are accepting submissions. Be aware, we have added a few categories and changed a few items and descriptions. The cost is $8 for all entry types and you may submit live links. If you would rather make a PDF of the submission, you may still do this as well. Please make sure to allow anyone with the link to view. Remember, we don’t accept a Google document as an entry. We only accept published work.
Please make a note — all entries and payments will be due Feb. 5.
Make sure to include either your credit card payments or check or purchase order when you enter. The link provided on the site will take you directly to the credit card or check/purchase order page for the order. The WVM category payment option is at the bottom of the page.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Chapter Shoutout needs your help
Make sure to share what you’re doing (or have done) with us! We would love to feature your chapter here.
Please use this Google form or email us at [email protected]. Please include a small description and photo of the event.
Upcoming Weekly Scroll pause dates
We will pause the Weekly Scroll during the weeks of Dec. 23, 30 and Jan. 6. We will be spending the week before, when we amass these, with our families. We will resume Jan. 13.
Thank you for understanding.
Opportunity from the Freedom Forum
The 2025 Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference June 22-27, 2025 provides 51 students (one high school junior from each state plus the District of Columbia) with an all-expenses-paid program that includes panel conversations with journalists, newsroom visits, a chance to meet students and industry leaders who share a passion for news, and a unique Washington, D.C. experience.
Participants also receive a $1,000 college scholarship and ongoing support from a community of more than 1,500 alumni. Students build their skills, grow their network and get a head start on their future.
Apply by March 23 at FreeSpiritJournalism.org.
Just a thought
As a reminder, we don’t publish the Weekly Scrolls for the weeks after we are out of the office.
Because the Weekly Scroll includes information highlighting how you could cover national — and sometimes international — news, we want to make sure we find the best content for doing just that. We even have weeks in which we update items as they occur.
This will be the final Weekly Scroll until we resume Jan. 13 since our office is closed during New Year’s.
For those of you who would still like to have a version of the Weekly Scroll, we have a lesson plan in our members-only area that could substitute when we are away.
And for those of you celebrating, happy holidays — and Happy New Year! Have a great winter break and a wonderful 2025!
— Lori Keekley
