Let’s be honest: most teenagers nowadays don’t want to read long articles anymore. We live in a world where attention spans are measured in seconds, and where half of the school gets their “news” from screenshots, memes, or whatever TikTok serves first on their “for you page”. Now, with the growing popularity of AI, you can get everything you would need to read in an article with the snap of 2 fingers. And it is easy to wonder; what’s the point of a student magazine in 2025? Surprisingly, this might be the perfect moment for one.
AI can write paragraphs, but it can’t recreate your voice. It can summarize events, but it can’t capture the chaos of our hallways, the weird traditions only our school understands, or the opinion of our own Graded students on topics around the world. And that’s exactly where The Talon comes in.
We’re building a space where students get to share their voices, not just polished academic essays designed to check off rubric criteria, but the real, messy, funny, chaotic, and opinionated stories that only we can tell. Some people might prefer to write about school events. Others tell about an interesting museum they visited over the weekend. Some want to cover world news, share their opinion on global controversies, even explain why AI might take over the universe, or at least your homework. Here, all of that belongs. The Talon isn’t meant to limit us; it’s meant to bring our different interests together in a way that actually reflects our community.
Our teacher advisor, Maggie Moraes, puts it best: if she had to describe The Talon in one word, it would be “alive”, constantly changing and adapting. And honestly, we have to be. Today’s students skim, swipe, and double-tap long before they sit down to read anything. So instead of pretending it’s still 1985, we’re evolving to meet our audience where they actually are. That means shorter pieces, richer visual storytelling, quicker takes on Graded’s TalonGram (@talongram), and creative formats built to survive the scroll. In other words, we’re shaping The Talon to feel as alive as the students who read it.
Maggie also made something very clear: behind every post, every article, there is work. “People think we just put things online,” she said, “but it takes so much editing. Revising. Debating. Rewriting. And yes, occasional panic.” She emphasized that the behind-the-scenes effort is part of what makes The Talon intentionally crafted, not just thrown together. And honestly? That’s something AI definitely can’t replicate.
The most interesting part of our conversation was when she described the moment she realized The Talon was becoming something new: “When students started writing because they genuinely wanted to say something, not because it was required.” That shift has changed everything. Suddenly we’re publishing more, publishing faster, and publishing with purpose. And according to her, the reason is simple: “Students bring the fire”.
So what’s the point of a student journal in 2025? “It gives the school a voice, and sometimes a necessary reality check” Maggie states. In a school environment where everything is fast, digital, and grade-driven, a student journal might seem old-school. But maybe that’s the point. The Talon gives us something rare; a place where our voices are the center, not just the background noise,
So yes, AI is everywhere. Attention spans are shrinking. And most people won’t read a ten-paragraph article. But they will read something honest, funny, meaningful, or surprising; something with a human voice behind it. And that’s exactly what The Talon is here to publish.
