BY PATRICK O’NEILL

The Derryfield School had no student newspaper to speak of a few years ago. The one they had was published infrequently, and no one wanted to contribute to it. That is, until one Bedford girl gave it a try – and succeeded.

Charlotte Evans, a graduating senior at The Derryfield School, decided it was time for students to have their voices heard when it came to issues of classes, teachers and the world around them.

“I’ve always thought kids having free speech is very important,” said Evans. “A lot of kids (before) were discouraged to write.”

Toward the end of her sophomore year, the school’s newspaper, The Lamplighter, was published, at most, two or three times a year – until Evans stepped in.

“There was no means for the kids to express their opinions,” said Evans.

She began with a few other students for a one- to two-page “tabletop edition” of the newspaper at the end of sophomore year with updates on the school and editorials by the writers. They worked on the full newspaper regularly during junior year and started to see their hard work pay off.

By senior year, The Lamplighter increased in size format from 8.5 inches by 11 inches to 11 inches by 17 inches, marking the success Evans and the other writers had made.

“The biggest accomplishment,” said Evans, “was when a school jock came up and wanted to write a sports article.” Thought the Lamplighter has no regular writers, the staff who puts lays out the newspaper has no titles such as copy editor or editor in chief, and any student can contribute to the newspaper.

“We had 60 to 70 people (teachers and students) write for the newspaper this year,” said Evans.

One of the more popular features of The Lamplighter this year has been Best Week Ever: Derryfield Style in the entertainment section, a play on the popular VH1 show. In addition to news, sports and opinions, the paper did special features on the presidential primaries, including when John McCain and Curt Schilling visited the school earlier this year.

Evans has also been involved in other clubs at the school. She has been active in the Key Club since ninth grade and cares deeply about doing volunteer work and helping the community.

“Little things make a difference,” said Evans. “Continued local efforts make a difference.”

Later this year, Evans will live in Madrid, Spain, teaching English to students there from September 2008 to February 2009. And, she will live in Ghana next summer to work on a local newspaper. She has been accepted to New York University and will attend in fall 2009.

Evans is unsure about her career goals but is definitely considering a career in journalism. “Whatever I do, it will be product oriented,” said Evans. “What I really love to do is the newspaper. That’s what I get excited about.”