By Teresa Fang / May 24, 2024
‘20 alum Sellers Hill’s rise to the 151st president of The Harvard Crimson reflects a student journalist’s take on the student journalism world and an age of renewal. He started as an editor for The Stentorian.
Several thousand student journalists – whether entering accidentally or not, in high school or collegiate – continue to serve their school newspapers. An unlikely base for continued journalism can arrive from unlikely places, like a STEM school called NCSSM. Although the transition from high school journalism to a college student newspaper is “certainly different,” Sellers Hill ‘20 considers his love of writing and engagement with The Harvard Crimson to his time at NCSSM.
Journalism through The Stentorian
Sellers Hill joined NCSSM with a goal of being an electrical or mechanical engineer but learned to maximize his time and opportunities. He eventually joined RChem, loved American Studies, became a senior senator, and taught himself how to be a journalist through The Stentorian.
“When I was in Science and Math, I don’t think a lot of people saw themselves as being interested in journalism. If people actually tried it, they would find that they were a lot more into it,” Hill said in an interview with The Stentorian in February. “There’s so many extracurriculars and classes that someone dedicating themselves to just one thing is not even possible.”
As the newspaper advisor and instructor of engineering John Kirk reminisced, the 2019-2020 Stentorian editorial board Hill was a part of was the closest to staying on top of monthly publishing quotas than any other year at the present… if not for the pandemic turning the campus remote midyear. However, especially with COVID, a written record of the past remains ever important as the goal of any student newspaper.
The Stentorian is no exception. “I think an important role of student journalism is to be a check on institutions and gauge how students are doing, feeling, and creating a record of that.” Hill said. “That’s the kind of most important role The Stentorian could have at Science and Math: the institutional memory.”
… and advancing to The Harvard Crimson
After arriving at Harvard College, Hill immediately joined the newspaper, where he spent the next two years writing over 100 stories as a staff writer and a reviewer for the newspaper’s readership analytics. This experience was not too different from his current responsibilities as president.
“The job is kind of a bit of everything. You’re doing a little bit of coverage. You’re doing a little bit of editorial work. [The Crimson] is a business, and now you’re dealing with business.” Hill said.
In a tour of The Crimson’s small office building hidden behind construction, he showed The Stentorian the old printing presses, which had been in use until the pandemic, with rollers still covered in ink in the 2000s-esque basement. Then, Sellers and his staff completely renewed the paper as a business. Now, they print with the help of local printing presses and are supported by external donations and advertisements.
“Over a few months, I had to understand our revenue streams, framework for making certain business calls, certain expenses, and things like that. You just kind of get thrown into it and try to learn as quickly as you can, knowing you’re probably going to make some mistakes here and there and that’s okay.” Hill said, shrugging nonchalantly.
Spending about 60-90 hours a week at The Crimson’s small office building hidden behind construction, Hill admits it is very hard to be a student. As an organic chemistry major, Hill has learned to adapt to a “brutal” work-life balance, but not without spending every day honing his sense of judgment in handling multiple tasks. But unlike at NCSSM, “you didn’t necessarily have to switch between multiple interests like research and journalism.” Students can do both.
After nearly a year as president of The Crimson, Hill offered some pieces of advice for The Stentorian and NCSSM students. With any published article or controversial/conflicted topics, the relationship between the editorial board and its interviewees and readers is one of trust and clear communication.
“When people speak to us, they know that we’re not going to turn around and say that they said something else,” Hill said. “It’s hard to get that reputation back once you’ve lost it. You have to assure your readership through years of quality journalism to show you can be trusted with things like that.”
