Arriving on campus on Saturday, January 25, Aerie Yearbook Editors-in-Chief expected a typical sports media day. Instead, seniors Saira Naqvi, Alexanna Smith, and Erica Wilson discovered a break-in of the Student Services Building, 20 feet away from their classroom.

“I got here first around 9 a.m. to set up for Winter Media Day, and I was sitting outside when I looked over at the building and I noticed a ton of glass, and realized the window was broken,” Alexanna said. “Ms. Hwang wasn’t even here yet, and I felt we should wait for an adult before making a permanent decision.”

Once Yearbook Adviser Jodi Hwang arrived on campus, the group immediately took action — contacting campus safety, Principal Tracey Runeare, and other administrators. Runeare then called the police, including Officers Van Horn and David Lopez, who arrived at the crime scene shortly after.

“It’s crazy to think that if we were still in the portables, we wouldn’t have known this happened,” Hwang said. 

In the midst of all the commotion, Saira, Alexanna, and Erica still had to focus on organizing the student-athletes. 

“We were taking photos for media day so we were pretty preoccupied when the police showed up,” Saira said.

However, their journalistic instincts kept them glancing across the hall. After politely asking Horn and Lopez, the yearbook staff were given access to photograph the crime scene, a moment any journalist would jump at. 

“They invited us in, so we weren’t going to turn down that opportunity,” Saira said. “We were able to walk around and see the full extent of the damage since we thought it was just isolated to that finance office window.”

Despite lacking the correct lens, Saira’s compelling photography skills — which she had built the last several years in yearbook — showed through.  

“She couldn’t zoom in or out, so I was amazed at the photos she took,” Hwang said. “From a journalistic perspective, it was a chance for her to really put some of those skills she’s had to practice.”

Then came the rush to publish. By that time, news was spreading and the Yearbook staff wanted to set the story straight. While Saira and Alexanna continued with media day, Alex began uploading the photos and writing an Instagram caption. 

“This was my first time covering a breaking news story, and there’s this time frame of trying to be as quick as possible while still being accurate,” Erica said. 

Erica explained how Yearbook doesn’t often get the chance to report on breaking news, as most of its coverage is on events that have already happened. In fact, it had been just the day before in class while discussing which photos to submit to a competition, that the staff members had talked about it. 

“I don’t know if they remember it, but someone did say today, ‘Ms. Hwang, you said on Friday that we never have an opportunity to cover breaking news,’” Hwang said 

Despite the right place, right time magic of the moment, the circumstances of the break-in were worrying. 

“It’s so violating to have someone in your space,” Hwang said. “It’s weird to think someone targeted our community.”

For Hwang and the editors, though witnessing the crime scene was jarring, reporting on it gave them the opportunity to show just what Aerie Yearbook can do. 

This article was accurate as of Thursday, February 13. For more information on the investigation, please contact the Los Altos Police Department or Detective David Lopez.