Today, I learned that the Pubs Room, 701, will be shut down at the end of this year. Classes will be moved to a tech lab on the other side of the building. Our room will be used for keyboard and guitar classes beginning with the 2014-2015 school year. 

This room is bigger than me; I'm grateful I was a part of it for four years. I was able to help the paper transition into a newsmagazine as Co-Editor-in-Chief. I saw it win national awards after I had passed the torch, and I want to see it happen time and time again. I want to know years from now, people will see my name on the wall and strive to be like me as I did when I entered the newsroom. 

Centennial’s motto, “Eagle Pride. Eagle Excellence.” is deeply rooted in the traditions that have been passed on by each graduating team, as well as by each advisor. Our alums are now writers, editors, designers, and photographers of national publications, but when they were in the Pubs Room, they always knew they were a part of something bigger; they aspired to be a part of a tradition and legacy that started when the school was founder in 1977. This is what Eagle Pride and Eagle Excellence is all about. 

Simply put: The Pubs Room is part of Centennial’s soul. It's part of my soul.

It's one of the only places I felt safe in high school. No judgement, no prejudices, just the news. The place I could truly be myself.

Don't let this zen zone be white washed. Don't let a bureacracy ruin the pillars of Centennial High School. Don't stand by now when you know you could help to stop it.

This is about Tradition. This is about History. This is about Legacy.