A Proposal of Censorship
For more than 15 years, the district has had the same policy on the books for dealing with student publications. In short, The Spoke has had an understanding with the district—both written and unspoken—that The Spoke is meant to be a student publication, with students having the right to select content they feel necessary and appropriate to share with you, the community we serve. With that charge comes great journalistic responsibility, and we shoulder the same obligations as professional journalists. At a recent Policy Committee meeting, it was announced that the school board hopes to significantly revise the policy (#5332), turning an 86-word document into seven pages of rules. This change would dramatically alter the way The Spoke currently operates and lead to censorship.
Although we still do not know with absolute certainty what this policy would mean for The Spoke—and for all student publications in the district—we do have some serious concerns stemming from the language used in the proposal. First and foremost, it is apparent that the district and school board have grown increasingly unhappy with our content over the past year, and are trying to implement a system of prior review on the newspaper. From both a legal and an educational perspective, we find this unacceptable.
If our school administration were to have the power to veto content in The Spoke—which is being proposed—we would refrain from covering topical issues that could be deemed controversial, simply out of the fear that the story would be seen as “objectionable” and pulled at the last minute. It is our belief that all of our feature articles this year—from coverage on the climate facing gay and lesbian students to a story about teenage pregnancy to reporting on statewide school hiring practices—were done in a manner reflective of the highest standards of journalistic integrity. If this policy proposal had been in place during the most recent academic year (2008-09), we can say with certainty that our editorial decisions regarding content would have differed significantly.
Secondly, an accompanying regulation proposal spells out a role expectation for the adviser to the student publication. In essence, we believe that this role expectation stipulates that the adviser is ultimately charged with the responsibility to teach students how to be good journalists—as any educator should do—while at the same time working to censor them upon instruction from the school administration. Once again, we firmly believe that The Spoke is meant to be a student publication. Our advisers, while consummate, experienced professionals, should have a job description characteristic of that of an educator; to advise, not dictate; to consult, not censor.
In our years on The Spoke, we have been able to conduct nationally award-winning journalism, learning not only how to write and report but also the moral and ethical considerations that come with the territory. If this policy passes, The Spoke will be censored, and the newspaper will cease to produce the quality journalism that you have come to expect. In all, The Spoke has taught us more than any of our academic classes could: skills such as how to work as a team and take responsibility. Students in future years simply will not have those experiences—not only to write and report, but to learn and fulfill their full potentials as journalists and individuals.
Seth Zweifler
Editor in Chief 2009-10
Henry Rome
Editor in Chief 2008-2009
Jonathan Yu
Co-Editor in Chief 2007-2008
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