Yet Another High School Newspaper Goes Online To Avoid District Censorship
from the control-is-a-funny-thing... dept
This is hardly the first time we've seen high school administrators try to censor the student newspaper because they were upset about article -- only to find the students simply moved over to the web and were able to get their message out to a much wider audience. The latest, coming to us via Romenesko, involves a student newspaper in Faribault, Minnesota. The superintendent got upset that the students wouldn't share the results of an investigative report before publishing it, and so he shut down the newspaper completely.Without skipping a beat, the students set up shop online, entirely independent from the school (they even got a site that hosts student newspapers to give them free hosting). They'll continue to publish, but without support from the school (though, the teacher who was an adviser to the paper, will continue to informally advise the team). Basically, the students are realizing what plenty of others have discovered in the past: it's tough to shut people up these days, now that there's a big internet out there. The superintendent who shut them down doesn't seem to mind much either, saying: "It's well within their right. Any group of students could put together a website like that. That's the way life is in this electronic age." Of course, if that's the case, why did he bother shutting down the paper in the first place?
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Filed Under: high school newspapers, newspapers
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It's an entire generation...
They are blind because they can't see outside a world they grew up in. The world has changed and many are simply afraid of change. It's quite sad.
Meanwhile these students will now enjoy a far greater voice than merely what existed in the walls of the school. Now their content has been set on fire by digital.
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uhhhhhh
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Impressive
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"It's well within their right. Any group of students could put together a website like that. That's the way life is in this electronic age."
It is nice that the superintendent is not trying to pull the website.
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Re: It's an entire generation...
Instead of dismissing those you may believe are out of touch, perhaps your time would be better spent contemplating what you will do to expand upon their hard work to make the system even better.
BTW, Florida is in a cash crunch, and yet the universities keep squealing for more and more $$$. Perhaps they should get back to the business of education and out of the business of what has always been known as OJT. Seriously, I never dreamed UF even offered a degree in HM. I thought that was limited just to UCF.
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Student Newspapers
I did a lot of research into free speech rights with regards to student newspapers while I was in high school. Essentially, the district has no censorship authority if the paper can be properly classified as a Public Forum. One of the criteria for this classification, however, is that the instructor cannot be involved in any way with the actual paper. He or she can only serve as an informal advisor.
Which means, of course, that it's likely the superintendent would be unable to censor the website if he wanted. But it also means that if the advisor stayed hands off, the students could legally go back to paper and not have to worry about censorship.
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Dumb?
Tobin, you made the dumbest comment. Somehow I don't think the circulation of a print high school paper in Faribault, Minnesota exceeds 500, much less equal the New York Times. The internet by comparison is exposure to billions, a number even you will have to agree is greater then 500. The real point is that the students moved their content to a venue beyond the schools influence because the school abused their power. The end result is that the students voice WILL be heard and this post will insure a circulation exponentially greater the 500. Strange how free speech always seems to float to the surface.
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Truthwithecho Faribault Minnesota News
The shutdown came about after the Echo staff had investigated if a teacher was on administrative leave.
Student editors say that the schools publication policy forbids prior review by administrators. Stepainak disagreed saying, “ There is no question that this falls within my duties as your superintendent. School Board Policy 503.3 lays this out as well as federal law. Some of your comments in our discussions led me to question if you understood this.”
Taken from the Fairbault Minnesota News "TruthwithEcho" Web site.
I don't understand how school board policy 503 "Student Attendance" falls within the duties of the Superintendent's responsibilities to sequester the Campus News because of a Teacher's Privacy Rights. I understand Federal Law, First amendment to the Constitution lays the law well. I just don't understand the Superintendent's interpretation of fore mentioned laws. Boggles my meager mental process.
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Appropriate
So it sounds like everyone acted within their rights here. I too am impressed by the superintendent's appropriate response, as so many others would be demanding that the website be taken offline.
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And Techdirt ask such a stupid question is amazing.
By the way what is a stupid question? One in which you know the answer to before you ask it.
Hay Stupid, it is the law. If the school is the official sponsor then the school is legally liable for the content. If the news paper is published outside school without official school support then the school is not liable.
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Re: Impressive
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Re: uhhhhhh
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Re:
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Student Censorship
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ohhh
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wow
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Sharing this article with a friend.
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