School Paper Shut Down for Being Too Honest
Kids were writing stories about teen pregnancy, shoplifting and honor students who drink and do drugs. So did the school call an intervention? No, they shut down the student newspaper.
The Stevenson High School paper has long been regarded as one of the most hard hitting in terms of high school journalism. Earlier this year, an issue on “hooking up” disappeared. All three thousand four hundred copies.
The school then called for the communication arts program director to review all articles before they were printed, setting off a barrage of complaints against the district for violating kids’ right to free speech.
Now there will be no speech at all.
According to the Chicago Tribune, members of the paper’s staff were told by administrators that they would have to reveal their sources in a piece on students in the National Honor Society and freshmen mentors program who admitted to drinking and smoking. The district wanted the names in order to punish the kids. The reporters refused, opting to run a blank front page instead, explaining to readers why the story wasn’t there.
Rather than applaud the students’ journalistic integrity, the district “spiked” an issue, citing problems with the blank page plus a story on a set of teens in the district who are expecting a child which they deemed “unbalanced” and another story on kids who shoplift.
Frank LoMante, executive director of the Virginia-based Student Press Law Center, told the Tribune he’s read the stories - and they have positive messages for kids such as “don’t shoplift” and “get counseling if you’re pregnant.”
The point of any newspaper is to reflect the stories of its coverage area. For a school, that means addressing the stories of teenage life. Santizing a school paper does not make the problems disappear. If anything, it amplifies why kids are experimenting with danger - because no one is listening to them.
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Tags: education, free speech, Jeanne Sager, school newspaper, schools, Stevenson High School
11 Comments
Nathan commented on Nov 22 09 at 2:03 amI don’t understand why people still believe there is freedom of speech on school property. Even on college campuses its increasingly restricted. Those kids should have known better then to write about things interesting to them. They are probably all 16+ they should know to kiss ass 24/7 by that age. Welcome to the real world.
poon commented on Nov 22 09 at 3:18 pmHear no evil see no evil
that guy commented on Nov 22 09 at 4:06 pmthats great nathan, just keep spreading that defeatist attitude. these kids were awesome; and even if their school won’t applaud them, i will.
Chris commented on Nov 22 09 at 4:07 pmActually Nathan, in Tinker v. De Moines, the Supreme Court ruled that schools cannot restrict a student’s freedom of speech unless it can proved that the student’s statement causes a material and substantial distraction.
Many school districts push their luck on this matter, and I am one hundred percent certain that a legal challenge in this instance would not go in the district’s favor.
Derek commented on Nov 23 09 at 2:04 amHowever Chris, remember that just a few years back the Supreme Court ruled against one Joseph Frederick, citing that his 14-foot-long banner proclaiming “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” promoted drug use and even though he was off school grounds because it had let out early for the day, the court ruled to uphold the school district’s decision to suspend him. = /
Chuck commented on Nov 23 09 at 11:28 amMy senior year in HS, I was a journalism student and the HS newspaper cartoonist. I did an honest critique of our school’s response to bomb threats. I got kicked off the staff and lost a journalism scholarship. This was in 1972.
I have long been an advocate of free speech and continue to do so.
Speak your mind! Speak the truth!
jenny tries too hard commented on Nov 23 09 at 11:33 amDerek, in bong hits 4 Jesus, the boy was off school property but was still being counted as “in class” because the students were on a chaperoned trip to a parade. School had not let out early for the day, and the boy was subject to school rules.
Bluster commented on Nov 23 09 at 12:07 pmSchool administrators can only restrict student activity if the school board allows it. School boards can only allow restricting student activity if the voters allow it. Voters are the students parents. Where are the parents voices in this situation?
Matt commented on Nov 24 09 at 2:01 am“members of the paper’s staff were told by administrators that they would have to reveal their sources in a piece on students in the National Honor Society and freshmen mentors program who admitted to drinking and smoking.” Journalistic integrity?? Sounds more like Sensationalist Shit! Stories like these will get these kids jobs with Rupert Murdoch one day, the evil prick…
Phoenix56317 commented on Nov 24 09 at 6:45 pmWell, I see this is a different light then most people. Basically, it’s called Censorship of the truth. Our Nation as a whole had never had these many problems in the past, research whatever time line there is and you will find that our society never had so many problems as it did back in those days. With schools having so many young children of different Ethic backgrounds in there system and the problems of kids bringing weapons to school and committing acts of murder, something had to be done. In this situation, I think the school system is CYA ! Instead of pissing in everyone’s Wheaties for some remarks that may lead to a kid of a certain Ethic group and start a riot, they decide to implement Mass Punishment ! In the military during Boot Camp, if 1 member of a 30 man platoon messes up, everyone gets punished! If you want to take this further then you have to look at the situation regarding the Ft. Hood murders. The individual who committed this act of Middle eastern background and the way the case is going, He’s going to become very popular in the eyes of his people. The US Army is going about this in the wrong way, watch what happens to this case and You will see what I mean.
Ryan commented on Nov 25 09 at 2:01 pmI’m 30 years old now but I began to see this kind of thing happening in public school systems when I was still in school. The school administrators don’t look at those kids as citizens with rights granted by law but instead as cattle that have to be kept under control at all costs. That’s what the system demands of the administration and they’ll trample all over the kids’ liberties to achieve it. That might sound a bit extreme but it really is happening and it will get worse unless we reform the way our public schools do business. Children may need to be kept in order in school but that certainly doesn’t have to mean pissing all over their constitutional rights and those of the parents to bring about that order. Unfortunately, people are becoming increasingly desensitized to this kind of thing and the parents usually don’t want to make more waves by fighting it legally and the kids usually think there’s not much they can do. So… nothing gets done at all and things like this continue to happen on a large scale and to a higher degree.
It’s a perfect example of the current political climate in our country. Freedom of speech and freedom of press should be very high on our list of priorities, yet this is happening in our schools. Schools that OUR government manages and OUR tax moneys pay for. Yet it’s “Do as you’re told, because it’s for the good of everyone”. It’s a sickening fact that we live in one of the most free nations in the world, yet at the first sign of trouble we hand over that freedom to the very power structure that’s supposed to be protecting the document that gave us that freedom in the first place. After all, it’s for the children and for the good of the people. I guess it’s more trendy these days to worry about someone having more money that someone else than to actually worry about our liberties and freedom granted to us by the US Constitution. Disgusting.
