KENNEBUNK — Online or in hand? Determining which is better, or whether to embrace both, is a question facing all publications today ”“ and student newspapers are no exception.

At area high schools, a variety of approaches are being tried as the digital age takes hold ”“ and at Kennebunk High School, that means the end of the print edition.

The Rampage, aptly named after the Ram mascot, has been both a resource and an outlet for students for decades. The paper “informs them on things they’re not sure about,” said Jedd Dill, staff writer ”“ from where the school garden’s vegetables are used to the debate over parking passes for the school lot.

Published monthly each school year, staffers say the paper is widely read, but they’re not so sure it will be come next year, when it’s going all digital.

“It’s just awful,” said Sophie Gaulkin, editor in chief of the Rampage. “It goes with the trend of everything going digital, but I think the newspaper is a tradition and it should stay.”

Most of the staff members, who are all seniors, said they don’t like to read on screens ”“ and they don’t think other students will either. Students read the paper at school because it’s available, said staff writer J.J. Allen, but when they’re online they’re “probably doing something else” and are unlikely to go to the paper’s site.

“If you don’t just chance upon it, you’re probably going to miss out on reading it,” agreed staff writer Josh Behrens.

Gaulkin said an online paper is “less legitimate,” and she’s concerned it will devolve into little more than a blog of student opinion.

Despite the seniors’ reservations, however, English teacher Jackie Proulx, who will be the journalism teacher next year, said she has several sophomores who are enthusiastic about moving the paper online.

“I think online is not as bad as the kids make it sound,” she said. “It will be dynamic.”

The new Rampage will be updated weekly, and Proulx said she envisions the use of multimedia in addition to stories. They’ll market it via tweets and social media, she said, and the school will save the expense of printing costs.

“In some peoples’ opinion, it’s the wave of the future,” said Andy Young, who has been the KHS journalism teacher for three years.

While print editions still have their place, there’s no denying the digital direction of today’s media marketplace. According to a Pew Research Center 2013 State of the News Media study, digital platforms are growing as a source for news, while other platforms are losing popularity.

Back in 1991, 56 percent of respondents said they got their news from newspapers; that figure had dropped to 29 percent as of 2012, according to the report. Meanwhile, those who get news from online sources has grown from 24 percent in 2004 to 39 percent.

KHS Principal Susan Cressey said she believes “digital is the route to go for school papers in the 21st century,” and going online fits with the district’s goal of trying to integrate more technology into the curriculum.

The newspaper has long filled that roll, as it was one of the first venues for students to learn about computer design in its early years, according to Helen Campbell of Kennebunk, who was the newspaper club advisor in 1965.

“I would tend to look on the bright side rather than the downside,” said Campbell of the switch to digital. “Students will be able to access (the paper) anytime, anywhere, which will be a plus, and they’ll certainly get the paper out more quickly.”

With their move to digital-only, KHS will be the exception among area high schools, which are largely sticking with print.

At nearby Wells High School, where the Wells Street Journal is print-only, student co-editor Zoe Onion said that while she personally prefers to read news online, she thinks a print paper is best for high school.

“I believe students are more likely to read our paper if it is physically in front of them,” she wrote in an email.

Biddeford High School journalism teacher Dawn Pendergrass agrees, saying the print product is also key to their success. When The Roar comes out each month, hundreds of students can be seen reading it.

“For our population, print newspaper is the way to get the news out,” she said, noting that many students do not have Internet access at home.

None of the BHS students’ work appears online, for now, though previous classes have dabbled with social media and podcasts, said Amber Perkins, editor in chief of The Roar.

“Personally, I like a paper newspaper,” said Perkins, and as a writer, she said it’s important to her to see her peers reading it. Learning page design skills and software is also part of the BHS class ”“ a part that is lost in favor of web design at schools that abandon a print edition.

Pendergrass said a printed paper also has value as a memento that students keep for years afterward, and has lasting historical value, documenting the time and culture of the school.

York County schools that have tried the online approach have met with some of the obstacles that have The Rampage staff concerned.

“Last year, we tried to have an online paper, but we never got a following, and kids who signed up got very busy with other parts of their lives,” said Nancy Kane, former newspaper club advisor at Sanford High School. Now the newspaper club puts together a newsletter twice a year, she said.

Thornton Academy in Saco also tried an online format in 2011, but “kids weren’t going to the website to read,” said journalism teacher Hope Hall. The TA site even tried offering contests with prizes, she said, but had little luck getting students to check it out ”“ and that affected the quality, she said.

“If you think it’s just something posted on a website that nobody is going to read, you don’t have that level of investment to ”˜be the best writer I can be,’” she said. “That’s fueled by the act of publishing.”

The TA publication, Carpe Diem, is now a biannual magazine ”“ which everyone seems to read more and hold onto, she said.

Whatever the format, all would agree that having an outlet for student voices is important.

Just this past February, Wells journalism advisor Dawn Witham said she invited her former classmate Ryan Michael Peters, now better known as rap artist Spose, to speak with her English class. She can still remember listening to a presentation from him during high school, when he was editor in chief of the paper, she said.

“He inspired me to write,” she said.

In his February visit, Witham said Peters spoke about what the student paper meant to him, and how it helped develop his voice.

“I’m so glad he mentioned the paper,” she said, even though it was not planned to be the focus of his talk. “I don’t want it to disappear.”

— Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or [email protected].