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The Lancer •

McEnroe leaves TO after questions arise

It was a quiet Monday morning before school on Feb. 10, deep in the football offseason. It was unusual, then, when Thousand Oaks High School head coach Ben McEnroe summoned his players for a mandatory meeting.
The team gathered in silence, expecting an announcement about the 2025 team schedule or maybe a guest speaker. Instead, they found themselves at the center of a shift no one had anticipated.
Despite the graduation of his son, Cory McEnroe—who is committed to playing football at the Univers...
The Lancer •

Trump Administration Cuts Reach CVUSD

The Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) was informed Tuesday, April 29, that a federal grant worth $11.3 million will be canceled, according to student board member Aidan Light.
The grant, which was approved in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, came after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 elementary schoolers and two teachers. Despite gun control being a widely divisive topic, lawmakers from both parties agreed to allocate $1 billion n...
The Lancer •

Local High School Publications Grill School Board Candidates

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – On Monday, Sept. 9, The Lancer Newspaper joined the Panther Prowler and the Westlake Wire at Newbury Park High School in a panel to question Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) board candidates for the upcoming 2024 election.
With the desire to share student voices and understand how candidates plan to address key issues within the school community, the Panther Prowler staff provided nearby cohesive high school journalism programs with an opportunity to question...
The Lancer •

Phones Should Remain On Campus, At Least For Now

Last school year, Thousand Oaks High School facility decided to step up the no phones policy. This comes after mass discussions nationwide about the usage of phones and its impact on student’s learning and well-being.
The removal of phones is not the correct step forward to move schools and students forward. Technology is the epiphany of the future. If we censor students of the right to technology, how can we effectively prepare the future civilians of the world?
In an interview with the America...
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About Me

I’m Alan Ko, a first-generation American and rising first-year journalism major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I immigrated from Taiwan at the age of seven and first found my voice as a child actor, where I learned how a story impact lives. At Thousand Oaks High School, I built on that foundation by running my own sports photography business, becoming the editor-in-chief of the yearbook and reporting for the student newspaper.

I have rarely come across a student with the talent, drive, sensibility and passion of Mr. Ko. Over the past year, he’s delivered some of the strongest writing and reporting I’ve ever seen from a high-schooler, all while leading our website redesign and digital efforts. He’s displayed a professionalism and work ethic far beyond his years. I know when someone has the goods—and this kid has the goods.

Jon Gold, Writer for ESPN, Arizona Daily Star, Los Angeles Times, New York Times