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St. Rita High School's Satirical Online Newspaper Keeps Students Snickering

By Howard Ludwig | January 7, 2015 5:46am
 "The Natir," a satirical online newspaper at St. Rita High School, pokes fun at student life, faculty and living in Chicago. The tongue-in-cheek publication is patterned after "The Onion" and began as an assignment in Tim Baffoe's English class.
St. Rita 'Natir'
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ASHBURN — The headlines in St. Rita High School's satirical online newspaper, "The Natir," are usually enough to draw a smile if not an audible chuckle.

The latest issue, posted last month, had a couple of real doozies, including:

"AP student quietly frustrated with grammatical errors in bathroom graffiti"

"Stock Club being investigated by Securities and Exchange Commission"

"Jesus shadows at St. Rita for a day"

"The Natir" has been bringing such headlines and tongue-in-cheek stories to the South Side school's campus at 7740 S. Western Ave. since spring 2010.

The quarterly publication began as an assignment in Tim Baffoe's senior-level English class. His students were studying satire and opted to create a humor-filled newspaper to illustrate the concept.

 This headline and photograph appears on Page 1 of "The Natir," a satirical online newspaper for St. Rita High School in Ashburn. About 10 students work on the quarterly publication that's patterned after "The Onion."
This headline and photograph appears on Page 1 of "The Natir," a satirical online newspaper for St. Rita High School in Ashburn. About 10 students work on the quarterly publication that's patterned after "The Onion."
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"It was so much better than I thought it would be," said Baffoe, a Mount Greenwood resident and chairman of St. Rita's English department.

Howard Ludwig says the interviews are actually pretty funny:

"The Natir" soon evolved into an after-school club with a publication patterned after the weekly satirical newspaper "The Onion." The name is borrowed from the backward spelling from St. Rita's legit student newspaper, "The Ritan."

Strangely enough, "The Ritan" ceased publication two years ago. Despite being well-regarded among students and faculty, the newspaper was placed on hiatus when volunteers dried up, Baffoe said.

"Student interest waned in the same way interest in newspapers overall has waned," Baffoe said.

And yet enthusiasm for "The Natir" remains strong. About 10 students from the all-boys, Catholic high school contribute to each of the four issues throughout the year. All content is driven and created by the students, with a typical issue being about three pages.

"It's everything from poking fun at a teacher's height to freshmen thinking they are all that," said Neil Daley, 17, of Beverly.

Baffoe must approve all stories before they're written. If a story takes jabs at a student or teacher, written permission is required from the individual being lampooned. And lastly, the principal has final veto power.

"I always let them know right away that we aren't trying to be mean," Baffoe said.

Only two stories approved by Baffoe have ever been rejected. One of the rejections was a story under the headline, "Student Gets Lucky at Mother-Son Dance."

"The whole premise was that the student won a raffle," Baffoe explained.

The students working on "The Natir" agreed that they are learning journalism and creative writing while having fun. The stories also tend to serve as an icebreaker between students and administration. 

One example is a recent story about social studies teacher Kieran Kellam, a 1998 graduate of St. Rita. Within the hallways of the high school in Ashburn, Kellam is known for his non-traditional attire.

Thus, Liam Connolly, 15, of Beverly had a bit of fun with his teacher by writing a story in "The Natir" suggesting that Kellam was behind an effort to change the school's dress code to mandate bow ties and sweaters.

"I think faculty secretly do like being written about," said Baffoe, who also contributes to a pair of sports-themed blogs, including one for WSCR-AM 670 ("The Score") and CBSChicago.com.

A more than a few of Baffoe's students admitted to spending eight weeks procrastinating before writing any stories for "The Natir." Still, they all seemed to value the opportunity to poke fun at faculty and peers.

"It's probably the most creative club we have at the school," Baffoe said.

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