Through the Wire: A History of The Barb Wire
With the return of The Barb Wire, it is important to look back at the history of Journalism in DeKalb High School.
Parker Vanden Berg, Staff Writer
January 26, 2024
January 26, 2024
The Barb Wire, formerly known as The Barblette, has been a staple at Dekalb High School for generations. Commonly taking the form of a school newspaper, it has updated students on the news, and important events, and been home to many captivating stories.
Despite its prestige with alumni and teachers at Dekalb High School, The Barb Wire has lost its reputation with the current generation of students at DHS. However, Mr. Baumann, the current head of The Barb Wire operation, is working to reinvent the way The Barb Wire is being consumed by students. In order to understand how to reshape this pillar of DHS, we must go back and learn about what made it so special to begin with.
As Mr. Beverly, the leader of The Barb Wire for 16 years, puts it “This is journalism you have to stick with the facts”. Mr. Beverly’s style of The Barb Wire was rooted in classic journalistic fashion. He and his students worked frivolously to produce a newspaper that was delivered to every classroom a few times a month. Beverly got his degree in journalism from NIU and was focused on pursuing a career in journalism before deciding to switch to a teaching role. He instilled the basic principles of journalism into his students. He says, “My focus was for kids to learn how to find the news…deciding what's important to report about and getting it right.” Accuracy was at the forefront of his mind when it came to The Barb Wire. He wanted his students to produce relevant stories that captivated their peers, while also sticking to impartial and accurate standards.
During his tenure, he had many noteworthy accomplishments and stories but the one that stood out the most was the story his students produced on a controversy concerning a former staff member of DHS. Some believed that this person was wrongfully demoted due to strong opinions from powerful voices outside of the school. His students wrote a strong, yet accurate, editorial about the controversy that cast a shadow over the situation. Despite the negativity that was sure to come, the DHS Principal at the time didn’t stop the students from writing the story. Beverly recalls, “I will give that Principal credit, he did not actually say you cannot publish that story. He said that he thought it was unfair and that we shouldn't run it, but he wasn't going to force me not to.”
This is a prime example of the classic values of journalism. The focus on accuracy and telling the whole story allowed the student body to form their own opinions and see the controversy more clearly. Beverly’s grit to produce high-quality, accurate, and impartial stories makes it hard for people to stop him. Regardless of how the story may make someone look, it was his and his students’ goal to tell a complete story and they did just that.
After Beverly retired, Mrs. Solomon took the reins of leading the production of The Barb Wire. She too saw the value in classic journalistic morals. In our interview with her she too stressed the importance of having an unbiased and educated approach to storytelling. She says, “I've always thought it was important to teach how to interview, how to get to the bottom of a story, and dig deeper.” She was incharge of The Barbwire for 4 years. Her and her students focused heavily on printed newspapers. However, they also moved The Barb Wire into the 21st century with the online website.
The morals and fundamental ideals of journalism that have cultivated this publication are the leading cause of The Barb Wire’s success. None of this would have been established without Mr. Beverly and his work over 16 years of leading The BarbWire. It's remembering these pieces of our foundation that remain ever-critical while searching for innovation.
Despite its prestige with alumni and teachers at Dekalb High School, The Barb Wire has lost its reputation with the current generation of students at DHS. However, Mr. Baumann, the current head of The Barb Wire operation, is working to reinvent the way The Barb Wire is being consumed by students. In order to understand how to reshape this pillar of DHS, we must go back and learn about what made it so special to begin with.
As Mr. Beverly, the leader of The Barb Wire for 16 years, puts it “This is journalism you have to stick with the facts”. Mr. Beverly’s style of The Barb Wire was rooted in classic journalistic fashion. He and his students worked frivolously to produce a newspaper that was delivered to every classroom a few times a month. Beverly got his degree in journalism from NIU and was focused on pursuing a career in journalism before deciding to switch to a teaching role. He instilled the basic principles of journalism into his students. He says, “My focus was for kids to learn how to find the news…deciding what's important to report about and getting it right.” Accuracy was at the forefront of his mind when it came to The Barb Wire. He wanted his students to produce relevant stories that captivated their peers, while also sticking to impartial and accurate standards.
During his tenure, he had many noteworthy accomplishments and stories but the one that stood out the most was the story his students produced on a controversy concerning a former staff member of DHS. Some believed that this person was wrongfully demoted due to strong opinions from powerful voices outside of the school. His students wrote a strong, yet accurate, editorial about the controversy that cast a shadow over the situation. Despite the negativity that was sure to come, the DHS Principal at the time didn’t stop the students from writing the story. Beverly recalls, “I will give that Principal credit, he did not actually say you cannot publish that story. He said that he thought it was unfair and that we shouldn't run it, but he wasn't going to force me not to.”
This is a prime example of the classic values of journalism. The focus on accuracy and telling the whole story allowed the student body to form their own opinions and see the controversy more clearly. Beverly’s grit to produce high-quality, accurate, and impartial stories makes it hard for people to stop him. Regardless of how the story may make someone look, it was his and his students’ goal to tell a complete story and they did just that.
After Beverly retired, Mrs. Solomon took the reins of leading the production of The Barb Wire. She too saw the value in classic journalistic morals. In our interview with her she too stressed the importance of having an unbiased and educated approach to storytelling. She says, “I've always thought it was important to teach how to interview, how to get to the bottom of a story, and dig deeper.” She was incharge of The Barbwire for 4 years. Her and her students focused heavily on printed newspapers. However, they also moved The Barb Wire into the 21st century with the online website.
The morals and fundamental ideals of journalism that have cultivated this publication are the leading cause of The Barb Wire’s success. None of this would have been established without Mr. Beverly and his work over 16 years of leading The BarbWire. It's remembering these pieces of our foundation that remain ever-critical while searching for innovation.