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Filed under: In The News
Schools have the legal right to censor content. Courtesy of The Viewer
Students at Mounds View High School in Minnesota are refusing to put out a school paper if Principal Julie Wikelius insists on approving each issue before it goes to press.
The Student Press Law Center reports student journalists published a story about two classmates who were disciplined after posting a "joke" picture of a teacher on Facebook.
Wikelius confiscated copies of The Viewer, the school newspaper, and insisted on reviewing future issues before they go to press.
Such prior restraint is a violation of the First Amendment in the adult world; the 1931 U.S. Supreme Court case of Near vs. Minnesota specifically addressed the issue.
Students in public schools once enjoyed the same First Amendment rights as everyone else. But in the 1988 Supreme Court case of Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier, justices ruled that public school districts -- as the publishers of their school newspapers -- have a right to censor content.
So walking off the job in protest may be the only recourse available to students at Mounds View.
Christina Xia, the editor of The Viewer, tells the Student Press Law Center that Principal Wikelius was interviewed several times for the controversial story. However, Wikelius did not read the story before it was printed.
According to the center's Web site, Wikelius asked that the story be pulled to protect student confidentiality. By that time, however, Xia reports, the paper had already been sent to press.
Wikelius reportedly said she was concerned about releasing private disciplinary information without parental consent, but Xia counters that the reporter had gotten permission from the students' parents to publish their names.
Paul Ratwick, an attorney representing Mounds View High School District, tells the Student Press Law Center the law is the law. Kids can like it or lump it.
"In the past, the role of the administration has been a bit more distant, that they had left perhaps a greater deal of responsibility to the adviser than they are now contemplating. But in terms of the fact of the control of the district, it's been there all along. It's a question of how they exercise it," he says.
Students are getting legal advice from the Student Press Law Center and attorney Steve Aggregaard.
Ironically, this drama is playing out in Minnesota -- the same battleground that spurred the landmark Supreme Court case on prior restraint almost 80 years ago. Mounds View High School is a suburban school just seven miles north of Minneapolis.
"I do not believe that prior review is the solution," Xia says on the center's Web site. "I think that prior review will limit us from learning responsible journalism."
Related: High School Student's Privacy Invaded By Vice Principal?
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 3)
3-17-2010 @ 2:17AM
jay said...T-Dogg - you don't stunt growth by having rules that are to be followed you simply prepare them for what real life is all about. You are of the opinion that they learn responsibility by not being held acountable and to the standards of the head administrator as they should just be allowed to learn from their mistakes. They may learn this way but many will not and furthermore, the school district does run the paper and is responsible for the content and as all newspapers, the final decision rests with the person in charge.
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3-17-2010 @ 3:18AM
william said...Ok. So, this time its a dispilnary issue between the school and students. What happens when a football player is found to be gay? Or, a fight between 2 students is put in the paper and fueling the fight rather than putting the fire out? There are some things kids in school do that isnt savory to say the least. I dont think the school needs lawsuits to show these kids responsible reporting. What if a reporter has a problem with another student and thinks "free speech" means they can print false statements or even hurtful but true statements? No. Sorry kids. wait til you are out of school before you start trying to use free speech as a defense in regards to a shool owned paper. Wait til you are a reporter on Foc news before you go spilling the beans on other peoples priveate and intimate lives. School is emotionally charged enough without rantings from fellow students being printed for all to see. Or, you can have all the free speech and print whatever you want if you buy the paper, prining press, faxes and copiers. And get insuranse for any lawsuits from the students you plan on harrassing in your paper. or the slander that always comes with the press. Free speech doesnt REALLY mean you can say or print anything you want in a school held paper. The ones who end up reponsible for your free speech in a school owned paper are the ones who govern the school. (principals, teachers) not you. And every paper should be proofread byt those responsible people. For it's thier asses on the line not yours.
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3-17-2010 @ 4:22AM
Uncla Al said...Face it. We need Liberals. We also need Conservatives. And the other fringies too. A one-party system is a dictatorship. If you don't have a better idea, don't destroy this one.
Reply
3-17-2010 @ 4:30AM
wolfdog said...Ca`nt comment about mexicans either must be a truck load of them in the news room.
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3-17-2010 @ 4:35AM
wolfdog said...William, go back to school dude, I see a few misprints in your comments.
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3-17-2010 @ 4:55AM
Herbert W. Trendell said...If the principal, or other responsible adult, didn't review the final copy, the shool district would be derelict in their duty. There have been hundreds of situations where students libeled their peers in so-called "student" publications. One school in New York State, over 20 years ago had an informal picture of a female student in the yearbook with a one word caption, "Slut". Those parents won "millions of dollars" in court. The final copy before press did not have an adult review. The courts cited the school for "Neglect" by "failing to supervise properly". It's not a constitutional issue. Sorry kids, that's the real world... get back to work and salvage what's left of your school year.
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3-17-2010 @ 5:31AM
AgentXXX said...I have a 'radical' idea for the kids, print their paper without the school, as a community-based and funded endeavor, parents of writers and the students themselves could contribute financially and artistically. Then when the paper is finished, distribute the paper beyond the reach of the school, something like 103 feet from the school grounds around the beginning and end of school each day( or whenever a new issue is released). Legally, the school couldn't stop them.
This whole issue was actually adressed in an episode of 'Malcolm in the Middle' where the protagonist did exactly as I'm proposing over similar matters.
Reply