As staff of a student-run publication, as students who sit at the same desks as you, and as citizens who must endure the testing feeds and headlines of our nation, we can all collectively presume that words are of utmost power.

You, as the reader, may be familiar with this pretense just as well: even if you may not recognize it, you exercise your strengths of words every day. Whether you’re a senior in a government class, reaffirming your arguments in a class seminar, or a social media user reposting posts of costly environmental crises, you’re constantly engaging in the landscape of your society and the discourse that shapes the platform.

Over the course of the past year, however — the question to speak, to read, to write without restraint — has been ultimately challenged. The current federal administration has dismantled interference with freedom of speech in federal, state and even academic environments.

Crier has exercised the right of freedom of speech without oppression under the privilege of Munster High School. Without the censorship of our administration outlets, Crier has been granted the right to cover these very pressing topics, from referendums to caffeine addictions to book bans.

“Redacted” was born for this very reason: not simply as a critique of corruption, but rather a testament to the trials that journalists, students and citizens have overcome in the past year alone. Words are of utmost power. Those in power fear freedom of speech, as it is the very beating heart that pumps the core of our discourse.

So, the Crier staff urges you to not only keep reading bravely, but to engage in such a platform to speak your own mind — for the most powerful stories are the ones we aren’t meant to hear.