Student Press Rights Project
Posted on July 16th, 2009 by tmchale
My Journalism 1 class completed a project in which they interviewed school personnel and other experts on press rights through video recording and Skype (Unfortunately the Skype videos were not useable). The class edited down the videos to what you see here. They also created a wiki which contains full transcripts of videos, news and opinions, and other resources on press rights and ethics.
Please leave a comment on some of the viewpoints that were expressed in the video.
Filed under: Class Projects
Thanks for helping call attention to this important issue. One of the most inspiring stories in the realm of student press rights is the work of Josh Moore and Brian Schraum. These two college students almost single-handedly got state laws overruling the effects of the Supreme Court’s terrible Hazelwood decision proposed in the Kentucky and Washington legislatures. Both bills were debated in 2009 and are expected to be taken up again in 2010. You can read about their outstanding work (and perhaps be energized to start a grassroots campaign of your own in New Jersey) here: https://www.splc.org/report_detail.asp?id=1481&edition=49
I like how the video turned out. I think it sums up the answers to some important questions that student journalists may have or may not have even thought of. It provides a lot of good information from people who know they are talking about it. To anyone who wants to be a journalist, it is a good video to see before he or she begins to write.
I liked the video. There were good questions that were asked, and the people answering them gave well and clear answers. You could learn from this video a lot, and it is a good teaching source to use to learn about this topic. They also used good adults that knew a lot about the topic itself and not just random teachers at the school.
I thought our class did a great job with this project and that it turned out a lot of important information. My favorite point of the video was a segment with Ms. Steffner where she talked about the differences between a professional journalist and a student journalist. I think it is important to realize that there are different restrictions for students and professionals. Student journalists have to play by the rules where as professionals have a much bigger area to work with.
this is a very important issue, and more people need to be aware of the topic. Schools need to create a set of rules and guidelines that they will use if a student violates the student press rights, but also the school needs to have a set of guidelines of what is and what is not printable.
The video turned out really well, I don’t have any questions, but I would have to say that my favorite point is when it says that the school has to make really clear guidelines so that students know when they are violating their student rights limits
i think that they made a pretty valid argunments on what should/ should not be in a school new paper. honestly i dont think that their should be any ‘real’ reason for a studnet to need to put such a hurtful article. i think it is fine if the teachers/ principles advise the news paper. i think if their aloud to search your car, they should be aloud to look at an article
I agree with the importance of letting the students know what they can and can’t say. The rules need to be followed, but it’s difficult when you don’t know what the rules are in the first place.
i enjoyed the video i agreed that the tights of a student run news paper and be very gray and unsure. It is a very touchy situation when its comes to these papers and the school has to be very careful if they think they should censor it.
The video was productive and presented an important issue that everyone is impacted by. They made it a point that the students should be educated on what their limits are. I agree because if students do not know what their limits are, then it can cause conflict and trouble. The video is successful in making students aware of an important issue.
I disagree with the standpoint the principles took on the matter. I think that by limiting what students can and can’t say by different guidelines than normal newspapers, you are stunting the students creativity and learning experience. I think we are in high school, and many of us are 18 and should be able to speak our minds publicly. Though, if the school needs to put in a few guidelines, then they should be made very clear for students. I think they rules should be few and detailed so there is no confusion.
I agreed with the part in the video where they said that if outside material is offending someone or affecting someone else, then it is the right of the school to get involved.
I also agreed that “disruption” is very subjective. If what a student does disrupts the school day, then it is the right of the school to get involved, but what qualifies as disruption?
My favorite part was when they said that the administration needs to educate the students on their rights and limits, because if they don’t know that they’re breaking the rules, it is not fair to punish them.
I agree with Alyssa C that Ms. Steffner had a good point about the differences between a professional journalist and a student journalist. Not only are there different restrictions, but professionals surround themselves with news and current events and students in school aren’t that involved with it. Professionals spend all day studying news and they can go even farther than we can (talk to leaders of groups, travel, etc.) and since we can’t do that, we have to stay much more school based. And since we talk about the school alot, teachers get involved and that could cause conflict. And then in the end, administrators could pull stories from the publication.
It is the responsibility of the school to teach the students who are producing the articles, what their rights are. This means, the would be tought about what would be acceptable to write about and what would not be acceptable. If the students know what their rights are when they are starting a story, then there would be no need for punnishment once the story is published. If students end up writing something unacceptable even after they know what their rights are, then, I believe, that a punnishment would be within the schools rights to give.
This video was helpful because it showed what a lot of the school staff thought of the right of journalism. I liked that Ms. Steffner talked about the differences between a professional journalism and student journalist. I also like how Dr. Brady said she was “very hands-off” because that shows she has faith in the writers that they will make good, appropriate choices for their articles. I agree with how they said students should become more informed about the rules and rights they have so they know their limits.
I agree with what has been said by the principals. I agree that the school should be responsible for teaching students what there rights are and aren’t. This is is a good thing to say however its seems very idealistic from the principals. They say they try to say out of student business however practically when an article opposes a schools view point i feel that the principals wont be so strong on the stance for Student rights.
This video was well organized and put together. They chose good people to interview and got a couple of different answers. I have no questions about this video. The questions asked were well chosen and got good answers in the interviewing process. Students should not feel restricted in what they right, and they should be taught about free expression within certain boundaries. As long as what they are writing about is not harmful to the school or learning enviroment it should not be a problem. One answer explained that if its a school owned paper then the school can allow whatever they want in, but this does not promote freedom of expression and could be harming a students learning experience in a long run. I do not agree with schools having that power over what could be published or realeased, it does not create a comfurtable learning enviroment.
This is a very insightful video. Schools could really benefit from having a set of rules that govern student press. I am also in agreement with Ms. Steffner on how High school journalists differ from real world journalists.
I agreed with them when they said that students should be taught their rights.
I don’t think they should care about what we do outside of school because our parents are also responsible for us.
I agree with the part where we are allowed to say what we want as long as it doesn’t disrupt the school.
The video was very well done. It shows the main difference between school journalists and regular journalists. School papers are funded by the school board, so they have the right to censor what is put in the paper, as long as they have a valid reason. Also, it is a good thing that young journalists are learning what can be put into a newspaper. However, school journalists should know that they will have more freedom in their actual proffesion. While students do have 1st ammendment rights, they are limited when it comes to puting things in the school newspaper, as it should be. Students need to learn their limits. In the video, it’s obvious that the administrators of the school feel this way. Both Ms. Steffner and Dr. Brady both said that it is the school’s right to censor the paper because the school board funds the paper.
I also think that the video was really well done. I think it was interesting that Dr Brady said that ultimately the school administration and the board owns and publishes the Lamp, and has the right to control what is put into the paper. I think that this differs with what a lot of other people say. Mr McHale said that the paper wasn’t published by the school, but is actually done by an independent extracurricular club that doesn’t receive funding from the school. Meaning, that the school administration doesn’t function as an editor as Dr Brady suggests, but really only has the limited provisions from Tinker.
I agree with most of the infomation in this video. I believe that the school should teach thier students to what is the right way to use thier rights. The school should stay away from student writings to allow students express themselfs said Dr. Brady. overall I agreed with the video.
I agreed with Dr. Brady’s statement that her involvement in school press should be mostly “hands off.” I respect that the Board of Education has a right to determine what can be published by a school newspaper, but educators should understand that part of learning about journalism is giving students the opportunity to make decisions about what they want to write. If students are limited too much in what they can write, then they are not free to write creatively and learn journalism to its full extent.
Overall the video provides a very good baseline for understanding where a student journalist stands from a legal standpoint. In my opinion I feel that the restrictions and guidelines students have to abide by are much too broad and open to judgment than is acceptable. The fact that students are held to a standard that their work “cannot disrupt the school” is a very general statement that allows for varied interpretation. What one person feels is acceptable can easily be seen as a “disruption” in the eyes of another and there is very little students can do about it. Student journalism is at the mercy of the interpretation from the “higher ups” in their respective district and can deeply affect the freedom these students have in their news writing.
You guys did a nice job making this video because you had very accurate information from people who really new a lot about the topic. This is a good video for students who are writing for their school newspaper and for students who dont really no much about freedom of speech in school. I never really knew that you could get in trouble by the school while outside the school. I always thought it was strictly the local authority’s job to protect that.
I think that this video was pretty helpful and outlined the student press laws very well. I found the part about professional vs. student writing the most interesting and helpful. Since most students get their news from professinally published sources and artciles, like cnn.com or msnbc.com, it’s easy to make an example out of professional writing. However, while the news can cover almost any subject matter, no matter how controversial or disturbing, students can only publish things that do not disrupt the school day. This narrows subject matters down very much for student, but also creates a sort of double-standard. The video points out that “disrupts school” is a pretty vague statement, and is up to administrator’s discretion (which may turn out to be biased).
I think its good they discussed educating people and letting them know what the laws and rules say, but I think it shouldn’t be just the students who are educated. I think that parents and teachers/ administrators need to know the standards too and need to know what they and students can and cannot do. Also from this it seems to me that the students think that outside of school we could probably say whatever we want, but the adults seem to think they have more power outside of school than we think they do.
I liked the video and it was intersting about student rights. I agree that students need to know their rights because if they get in trouble for something they will need to know what they did wrong.
I also agree with Mrs. Steffner when she says that if a student acts a certain way out of school they will tend to act that way in school.
Interesting. So you don’t believe that students should be making the decisions about what goes into a student newspaper? It’s fine if adults determine the content of the paper?
When should they be able to censor it? There are some conflicting opinions offered here.
What did it make you aware of? There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value. Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
Based on what you learned about your rights, what “rules” should a school be allowed to institute?
Great points! What do you believe the Supreme Court meant by “substantial and material disruption’?
I understand your point about professional journalists knowing more about the news, but does that mean they should have more rights? Doesn’t an ingnorant citizen in a democracy have the same rights as an educated one?
You don’t have to remain more school based, but since you readers are other students, it makes sense that you are. I don’t understand your last two sentences. Could you explain this further?
OK. What is unacceptable to write about? Is it the school who determines this?
There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value. Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
Great point! Do you agree that the adviser or principal is the editor of the paper and that the BOE has the final say in what goes in the paper?
There are some very different opinions offered here. Watch it again and then tell me who you think should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
How do you define “harmful to the school”? If a student criticizes the school or a school official couldn’t that be seen as harmful?
There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value. Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
Beyond your first amendment rights, what rules are needed?
How do you (and the Supreme Court) define “disrupts the school”?
You’re right. Dr. Brady and Mrs. Steffner believe that since the BOE funds the computers and software that the paper used (and pays me to be the adviser) that they have the right to censor the paper. That’s very different than what the Supreme Court has said.
There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value. Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t.
Very good. The Board does pay for some things: the computers and room we use, and my salary.
So under Tinker what kinds of things shouldn’t students be able to publish?
There are some very different opinions offered here. You’ve told me about some of what you agree with. Watch it again and then tell me what you don’t agree with. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
Very good. What can students learn by having this freedom?
Good points. But there have been many court cases that have helped to define “material and substantial disruption”. That doesn’t mean that schools won’t continute to define it in whatever way they please and that occasionally a judge will agree with them. That’s why we have an appeal system. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help the students who are involved at the time.
There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value.
Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
What can students can in trouble for (as far as writing and speech goes)? Demonstrate what you learned about student press rights through this unit.
There are some very different opinions offered here, but from your response it seems that everyone on the video was agreeing and should be taken at face value. Watch it again and then tell me what you agree with and what you don’t. Who should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
It depends on how you interpret “disrupts the school day.” How does the Supreme Court define it and how would that limit what students can write? There are court cases that help define this. It’s not totally up to school officials. List to again what Andi Mulshine says in the video.
Good points. There are some important differences of opinion here. Who do you think should determine what goes in the school newspaper and what you should be able to publish online?
i think that students are aloud to put whatever they want in the paper. but in my opinion i dont think that the school should even be forced to look at the articles becasue it should be clean anyway. it is a school news paper it should be stuff about sports and accidemics. there should be no reasoning for an offensive article because students should understand what is appropriate and what is not.
I think that the what the Supreme Court meant by “substantial and material disruption” is something that is going to affect the curriculum, school day, and ‘impact the learning process.’ The disruption would keep the days from going regularly and prevent students and teachers from meeting their goals and staying focused.
You can basically write about anything that is within the student’s rights, unless, there is something that the student writes that will actually disrupt the school day. The school would determine this if this article or story disrupts the school day in a negative way and effects the way students can learn. But, the school would need to reflect on the student’s press rights and analyze whether or not this article or story is acceptable to write about.
I agree with Andi Mulshine. She states that teachers are teaching their students what the freedom of speech is about, yet taking their freedom of speech away from them. She believes that as journalists, the students should be able to state how they feel. I do not agree with Lisa Brady when she states that teachers and superiors should be able to take away those first amendment rights. I, personally, do not know who should be able to determine what goes in the school newspaper. When it comes to certain topics where the students’ perspectives are needed, I believe that the students should determine it. But when it comes to adult-like concerns, vise versa.
They should be able to censor it in my opinion under certain circumstances.
If the news is purely wrong, poorly written, mean spirited, spiteful or biased the school should be able to say know.
But if the paper is offensive its a very fine line. News is bound to offend someone but it depends on why the paper is offending this person is what counts. For example finding out that the teachers are deliberately and un thoroughly grading papers that is something that should be reported even if its offensive to the teachers. All it really comes down to is the truth being told.
While the school district does have some authority to control what you are writing, they can only do so if it disrupts the schooling process. I agree that, in some ways, what students are able to write should be limited. But the school can not go too far in what they limit, or else they are taking the education out of the journalism process. Controversy is part of what news is all abo0ut. The school should not be able to take that out of a newspaper, school sponsored or not.
In the video Andi Mulshine states that “speech is unprotected if it materially disrupts the day.” For example if the speech leads to the break out of a fight or riot, it is not protected. The court cases of Tinker and Hazelwood helped define this.
When students have the freedom to write what they want, then they have to face the moral challenge of what they should wrtie themselves. In a way, giving students more freedom helps them to develope their ethics. It’s also important to encourage free speach, because many students are afraid or unacustomed to challenging convention. As American citizens, it is important for them to understand what their first amendment right encompasses.
On the other hand, some of them thought that the school should have more control in what is published, for example, Mr Comegno. One reason is because it might be disruptive to the school environment. I personally think this is a judgment call for the most part because “disruptive” can be interpreted differently.
I think the students should be able to use common knowledge and best judgment to decide what goes in the paper, but have a supervisor there to make sure they are making appropriate decisions.
I think that the teachers and students need to callaborate and compromise when it comes to what is published in the school paper. Neither party should be stubborn or bossy but should rather be willing to listen to the other side and work it out to come to an agreement. When it comes to what the student does at home, it is the parent’s job to monitor and punish the kids, not the school’s.
I don’t agree that the school should censor things that students do outside of school on their own time. Students should be able to publish anything online when not on campus grounds. I agree that the board has the right to say what goes in the school newspaper.
Personally I agree with the idea that students can say whatever they want in their articles as long as It doesn’t cause a substantial disruption or impede on anyone else’s rights. However, I don’t like the concept of a school having full control of what their students publish. By hindering students freedom of expression your keeping them from their full learning potential. In the long run these types of school papers are actually preventing students from becoming the journalists they could be. Beyond the first amendment rights students should not be allowed to cause disruptions in the school, and this is all that should govern student publications.
I agree with schools monitoring newspapers because if it causes disruption, then it shouldn’t be in a school environment. Sometimes certain ideas can cause conflict which could be avoided by not publishing it, things like teen pregnancy, drugs and alcohol, etc. For things online but not on the school website, I feel that the school should not step in because its outside of school. If it is very bad, then local authorities should take action
I guess so, the board does pay for some things. But the paper does have a disclaimer that it is an open student forum, so your salary isn’t that big of a factor. The room and computers are also paid for by the board, but its not like the paper couldn’t be published without them.
I think the students have a lot of freedom when it comes to what they should be able to publish. The school doesn’t have a right to act as an editor, they can’t just delete what they chose. The administration would have to prove that the article legitimately and significantly disrupts the school, I would argue to the point when learning cannot take place. Dean v Utica also establishes that the administration cannot just censor articles because they disagree with it.
While my initial post stated that the standard of substantial disruption is very vague, the fact of the matter is that there has in fact been some definition from the courts that substantiates this standard. There is still plenty of room for schools to make it mean what is convenient for them at the time but as an increasing amount of cases occur involving student rights, the term slowly becomes more solidified and a standard is developing that provides students with a slightly increased level of protection for their rights.
First I would like to say that I never knew that students can still get in trouble outside of school. I always thought that it was always the local authority’s job.
Also I agree with the idea that students have the freedom to say what they want in their articles but as long as its appropriate.
I would define it as, disrupting the normal school day. If students are not learning or classes are not operating correctly then i would consider that harmful to the school. Also unless everything published is 100% true, saying things that would harm someones reputation or even the schools reputation could be harmful to the school.
I found this video to be very interesting and helpful in understanding what rights a student press group has. I personally believe that the school should only intervene if the action committed outside the school directly relates to school or causes a disruption in the school. I also agree that student newspapers and news groups should have some limitations in what they print. However, this censorship should only be used in extreme cases. In the end, the phrase “it depends” is the only way to describe answers to these questions.
I agreed with many of the thing that was said in this video. I feel that Mrs. Steffner’s points about having certain things that happen off school should be dealt in school as well. I feel that certain things such as bullying happens on and off school grounds and as shown in many cases the past couple years it can lead to horrible things and the school could have potentially helped the situation. She also stated that certain things that should not be published are if the article offends someone. I think in certain situations that may be an ethical issue. John Comegno believes that the students should know what should and should not be written and I think that is true. As John Bowen also said, students should be taught about what a professional journalist would do and know. Frank LoMonte said that students need to know when they are protected under the first amendment and as long as they know what they can and cannot write about the rest is up to them and I agree.
I did not like when Lisa Brady said that the Board of Education owned the school newspaper, and that in the end they have the final say in what goes in the paper and what doesn’t. It felt to me the way she said it, was like she was going on a power trip. Almost felt to me like a gestapo, that only news they like will go in the paper, and everyone should know that if it isn’t news they approve of, there is no way it will go in the paper. It sort of gives everyone in the Lamp staff a false hopes, that the rights they think they have, they really don’t because Brady, and the Board are ready to step in at any time and stop whatever they want, whenever.
I don’t agree with Dr. Lisa Brady’s statement that the Board owns the paper. I don’t think it should be up to the Board of Ed. to make the final decision on what is published in the newspaper. Since it’s the student’s who put together the newspaper and write the stories they should be the ones who have the final say, not the BOE.
I thought that Dr. Brady’s comment which stated that, ‘The School Board owns the paper so therefore they have overall say in what goes into it’, made it seem as though the School Board has control over the students freedom of expression, which of course it cannot. I had always thought that Dr. Brady was reasonable and fair towards students and their rights but after viewing this video it made me see her in a slightly different light.
I disagree with Lisa Brady when she decided to say that the Board of Education owns the paper and they have the Final say in what goes in the school paper and what doesn’t. Just because she does not like something does not mean she can just decide to get rid of it from the paper. She is looking at the question she was asked from a point of high power over the school and not from a position of the law and what is says her and her board can and can’t do.
I feel that many of the points made in this video were very well put in the means of “keeping peace” with what gets published at school and who has the final say. I was disappointed when Dr. Brady said that she doesn’t like to get involved with the school publications because i honestly feel like the teachers should have the final say, not the students. Students will focus in on themselves more than the whole issue, meaning teachers would understand more what is “right and wrong” for publication. On that note, i enjoyed hearing Mrs. Steffner say that teacher advisers and the school principals have a final say as to what is published. It’s a relief to know that because if something inappropriate or unnecessary is in the writing, it will be removed, regardless of what the student editor may have said.
I thought the video was very informative. I really liked how they had different types of people in the school answer the questions, not all counselors or superintendents. I really appreciated how Dr. Brady said that she tries to be hands off on the student newspaper because she believes it is our right. I highly respect that and her consideration for the students and their potential passion for writing like a professional journalist.
I was really surprised when Dr. Brady talked about the school board owning the school paper. I do not agree with this at all. The school board may feel that they own the paper because it is a part of their school, but I think that the paper is really owned by the students who produce it and the students and teachers who contribute to it. Rarely do I see the school administration playing a huge role in our paper; the students do the majority of the work. I think that it should be established that the students own the paper, and they have the right to publish whatever they choose to publish.
I disagreed with our school principal when she spoke about how she believes that she is the newspaper’s “editor” and what she says goes. I believe that since the student journalists are being taught like professional journalists, they shouldn’t be told what to do, or write, or say. I believe that unless language is directly explicit in nature, what we choose to go in the school newspaper shouldn’t be censored by her or any other school official.
I agree with a lot of points that were made in this video. I agree with Mrs. Steffner when she said that things outside of school, should be censored sometimes. I agree with this statement because there are many incidents where great harm has come from outside of school bullying. And I feel that the school should be allowed to interfere in a severe case, and stop whatever the incident is. But I did not like the fact that Dr. Brady said that the Board has the final decision in all publications run by the student newspaper. If the school newspaper is an extra curricular activity, the students involved should be treated like professional journalists and not like students that need supervision.
I agree with Doctor Brady in the sense that if nothing noticeable is caused within the school then the students should be able to express themselves without the school interfering. Frank Lomonte also defends this fact that a student should be able to express themselves as long as he is within school conduct. Andi Mulshine i especially agree with. It is unreasonable to have a newspaper and teach student to be journalists and then tell them they cannot publish how they feel. The education should be unable to punish a student unless it directly affects the education of the school
There were many strong points made in this video that I agree with. I liked how John Comegno spoke in a non-biased tone and didn’t express his opinion too much. He simply stated the laws that applied to each question and added just a little bit of his own view. I also agreed with Frank LoMonte when he said that students need to know their press rights. It is really important for students to be aware of what they can and cannot say as to avoid any controversy. If they know what is off-limits, it helps to create a better student publication.
It surprised me how Dr. Brady approached school newspapers. She said that she likes to stay “hands off” when it comes to student writing because it is our own publication and we should be able to write what we want.
i was very surprised that Dr. Brady said that because the school owned the paper that they had the final say in what goes into it. It seems like this goes against everything we were taught about the standards that determine if a story can be published in a student newspaper. Brady dismisses this saying that her word is what determines what is published. I would like to see what would happen if a story was written that Dr. Brady did not like, but did not have the potential to be substantially disruptive.
I agreed with a lot of points that were made in this video. It was nice to here John Comegno talk about how the students should know and understand what they are allowed to write and not write about. Student journalists need to understand that they are allowed to cover certain stories because if they just wrote about everything type of issue, there could potentially be a lot of problems for both the school and the writer themselves if the article offended someone or was incorrect.
I also liked when Mrs. Steffner said that students who act out outside of school tend to act out inside school as well. I do feel that the school does have the authority if something is happening outside of school that is potentially harming a student, the school has the right to step in and take notice. There are so many cases now about students being harassed in and out of school by peers and the school just stood by because it was not happening specifically on school grounds. The school does not realize that they could have helped a lot of people until it is too late and something such as what happened to Phoebe King occurs; schools need to take action when it comes to what is being said about their students if it is harming them whether it is newspaper rights or people’s rights.
I thought this video was very clear in stating how Hunterdon Central thinks about how much freedom they give their students in terms of student press rights. I agree with Frank LaMonte, director of the student press law center, who stated that students have the right to express their individual opinion on political positions or other controversial issues, even if teachers or administrators are upset by the students’ expression. According to the Tinker case and Frank LaMonte, students have the freedom to express themselves however they want as long as they do not create a material or substantial disruption in the school. This statement allows students to say or do anything they want to the extent that it does not cause harm or a disruption to a normal school day.
I enjoyed this short video and think it is a very good insight on the opinions of our schools staff on what gets put into the newspapers. I also think the subject itself is very touchy there are a lot of “Grey Zones” in it, but in general i lean toward students choosing what they put in the paper and the school having as little control as possible on there censorship.
I think this is a neat little video. I found it particularly informative on the subject of what should be considered censored or not.
I do think that central really made it clear what they think the fine line is about the freedom students have. I really disagree with Lisa Brady when she said that the Board of Education owns the paper and they have the say in what goes in the school paper and what doesn’t. Just because she does not like something does not mean she can just decide to get rid of it from the paper
I thought this movie was a very valuable source if one wishes to be exposed to the wonderful world of the few rights we have as students when we wish to write publications.
I do think that central really made it clear what they think the fine line is about the freedom students have. I really disagree with Lisa Brady when she said that the Board of Education owns the paper and they have the right to take out what they want and change things around with how they want it to look like. I don’t think it’s right that one person is the deciding factor to have the say in what does and does not go in the paper.
I was taken off guard by their mixed responses. Honestly, I was expecting all of them to share a view similar to Ms. Steffner’s. I agree with Dr. Brady and her belief that students should be able to voice their opinions without being censored. I was surprised by this and now have a newfound respect for her. I also agree with John Bowen’s statement; I think educating journalism students about their rights and what is “ok” and “not ok.” This way issues and problems can be resolved or fixed before they even happen. This kind of action could have prevented the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier and Tinker v. Des Moines. I share John Comengo and Frank LoMonte’s opinion as well; that if it is not directly interrupting the education process than it should not have to be censored. Just because the administrators don’t agree or don’t like what students writing, doesn’t mean it has to be deleted or edited.
I like Dr Brady’s approach that it should be hands off. Also what Mrs. Steffner said that as long as it isn’t offensive. I think that the school wants it to be fair and follow the court cases like Tinker and Hazelwood.
When I saw this video, I was surprised to hear that Dr. Brady wants to let the students do their own thing on the papers because she believes it is a student paper. I was glad to hear this because students are the ones that run the paper. However, I was disappointed to hear that the school board has the ability to regulate the paper, because the members of the school board don’t attend HCRHS. They have no idea what it is like in school, but merely hear about what happens. Therefore, they don’t understand the viewpoints of students as well as students do. Even Dr. Brady would understand the views of the students better than the school board because she works at Central frequently. The school board “owns” the Lamp, which reminds me of how England owned the US, even though the US representative lived in England, and so decisions about the US that really affected them were either made by the true members of the US, or someone who had no idea what the situation in the US was.
I agree the school needs to set up clear guide lines with no gray areas so students know when they are or are not protected by the first amendment. This way students will know what they can or cannot say or do. I believe that when it comes to expressing yourself through the first amendment you should be allowed to do or say almost anything unless it is completely inappropriate, disrupts the school or offends someone else. Why should students have to surrender their first amendment rights when the walk into school?
I do agree with Dr. Brady when she says she tries to be “hands off” when it comes to things like this. However, I do not agree when she says at the end of the day they do have a right and can get involved. I think the students should be able to voice their opinion to a certain extent. I’m pretty sure most people would know their boundaries. We are all old enough to decide what is a bright decision to make and what isn’t. I believe that students should be able to express their opinions freely. I think the school should have as little control as possible about what the students want to publish.
i agree that clear guidelines must be placed. Despite what the rules are the students and administrators need to be on the same page regarding them. When Mrs. Steffner talks about people being offended i disagree with this. Everything has potential to offend people, the truth isn’t always pretty. If a student has a voice, and you are teaching them to use it, they should be able to express their take on things. It’s a difficult subject because, as we’ve been discussing in class, there is a fine line and lots of gray areas. When does Tinker apply? When does Hazlewood override tinker? Overall i found this video informative and interesting. It was cool to hear our advisors opinions in the matter.
the school, never really does tell us what our rights are or how we actually can use them. It’s almost as if it should be just engraved in our heads, but how are we supposed to know that. I do like the fact that Dr. Brady says that she is hands off about what we (the students) may do off of campus. Particularly i think that this video was good at answering some of the questions and also raising more questions about the whole case of our rights as the students and even the teachers too.
I highly enjoyed the video and agreed on many points of the video and those within it.
AI agreed with the hands off policy, however, the board of ed still controls it, which I disagree with.
The Lamp, precious as it is, should be free from the grips of censorship, even it it has to be open to achieve this.
As for the appropriateness, that seems to fall into the realm of ethics more.
Otherwise, I liked the video.
I thought this video was very good. Parts of the video highlighted how easily the rules put in place by the Tinker and Hazlewood could be used to censor our school newspaper. Even though Dr. Brady takes a hands off position on the newspaper, any article could easily be censored if it would have a severely disruptive effect or the school could provide an educational reason for it to not be published.
I agree that the school should be able to censor what it wants, as long as it has a legitimate reason to do so. Because the school owns the paper and publishes it, they should have the most control what goes in it and what it covers.
What the school should not do is censor everything it disagrees with or doesn’t like. It is important for kids to learn and be able to exercise their freedom of speech, but they can’t do so if the school does not allow them.
I agree with Lisa Brady when she says that she doesnt get that involved with student’s press rights unless it is necessary. I think this video makes it very clear when they explain how much freedom they give Central students. They basically say that students have a riht to express their own opinions unless it harms the other students. also, i agree with John comegno when he says that students should already be aware of their boundries and what is and isnt appropriate to share with students and teachers. But i think that teachers and administrators have the right to monitor students in the learning environment but outside of school is their own business.
Above everyone elses’ opinions, I agree with Lisa Brady’s response to her “hands off publications” attitude unless of course it is absolutely necessary to step in. She supports the Tinker and Hazelwood laws being that if something gets out of hand and is low quality of research or work or it’s a disruption she will censor it. However, it is important to her to let the students be creative and not put such strict limitations on everything. It is a solid compromise between press laws and creativity.
I disagree with what D. Brady had to say about the school bored having complete control over what goes into the school news paper. When she said this, i felt like my rights as a student journalist were being taken away and it gave me the feeling that the school is going to stop any articles written by students that don’t strike her as amazing and news worthy. I think that as long as the news does not disrupt the school and ruin the education system then any student writer who wishes to publish an article in the school news paper should have it published, it’s only fair and it gives students options and opportunities.
I feel that this video was very good in the sense that it have multiple views including people like the principal, superintendent, lawyers, and other people. These interviews mean a lot to the video because it has multiple stand points on the issue. That is important to have because press rights has quite a few gray areas so when it comes to defining those areas its nice to have a few different view points on the topic. n Also after watching this it is nice to see what Mrs. Steffner and Dr. Brady think of press rights. Personally I feel that if something happens out of school the school has no right getting involved.
This video was very informative to what should be censored or not, agreeing with ROSS C. What the difference matters in publication is that a professional journalist editor makes the final call in what gets published, says Steffner. Is it offensive, is it appropriate? The school has control to what you are writing is the problem says John Comegno, but Dr. Brady feels that she should stay away from it because she thinks that students should understand and know what should be published. If students are being taught to be professional journalists, John Bowen expresses that we should know the responsibilities and understanding the rights. If we are unaware, we’re not being taught well enough. Andi Munshine commented that our speech is unprotected, and the things that are published can in fact harm education. Hunterdon Central expresses what is censored or not.
I agree with what Frank LeMonte from the SPLC said. He stated that a school should have clear guidelines on what is right to say and what is wrong to say in the school newpaper. This will allow let students know what is right to say in the newspaper before they to start writing about it. This would prevent controversy once the school the article is posted because the students won’t start writing about something if school guidelines state that it is inappropriate. if a students finds a potential story to write about and they don’t have anything say saying “That is not okay for the school newspaper” then that student is most likely to go ahead and start writing about it and potentially post it in the newspaper. School should makes specific rules of things that they don’t want the student Newspaper to write and if the newspaper wants to write about something that is on the list, then they can go to the principal and ask for an exception of the rules because it hasn’t been posted yet so there hasn’t been any controversy yet.
Dr. Brady and Ms. Steffner’s points made in the video are all reasonable and seem to support free speech of students. Dr. Brady states that she tries to be ‘hands off’ in student publications. Both administrators show they feel it is important for students in our school to have the right to demonstrate free speech. I, however, do not agree, or necessarily believe what they are saying in this video. I think a student’s free speech would be endangered in a heart beat if a HCRHS school official believed it would harm the reputation or pristine image of our school. Honestly, I believe our school may have a higher priority keeping up our status than actually letting students express themselves. This may not be entirely true, and I will admit I do not have extensive examples to back up this opinion, but I cannot imagine any school official allowing our “star school” image to be tainted by an attempt to speak out against something controversial, especially something controversial involving our school.
This short video was very helpful and brought up valid points. I agree with Frank LaMonte, director of the student press law center, who stated that students have the right to express their individual opinion on political positions or other controversial issues, even if teachers or administrators are upset by the students expression. There are too many gray areas of what crossing the line is on what is or what isn’t allowed in student publications. I disagree with the fact that the BOE owns the paper. Since the students make the paper and come up with the story ideas and write it, they should be the ones deciding if it makes the paper or not. Form a group and say what stays and what goes, and not the board!
The President of GSSPA had a lot to say about students rights.
Her whole focus was that she understood that student and professional journalists rights differ. When it comes to student journalism they have the possibility of being censored when an adviser deems it as promoting ‘substantial disruption’. She then posed the question, ‘what is actually classified as disruption?’ Sit-ins, protests, matching armbands(Tinker), an article on teen pregnancy(Hazzlewood) are all examples; but what about the little things? What if you want to do an opinion piece on the schools grading scale, or maybe just test taking in general: would that be disruptive? I personally find it in-just to have one opinion (principal/ adviser/head) decide your fate on such a broad issue as ‘substantial disruption’.
This was a very interesting and informative video. Specifically two quotes stuck with me: Dr Brady’s and the president of GSSPA’s. Dr Brady’s believes it is the students own right when it comes to publications. I was almost shocked to hear that the principal of our school though aware of the “material and substantial disruption” chooses to be as ‘hands off’ as possible. I think it’s awesome that even though she’s authority she still understands student’s rights on a personal level. I additionally liked the president of GSSPA’s statement in which she called it hypocritical to teach students about expressing yourself as a journalists then telling them what they can and cannot write about. Her belief is similar to mine. I don’t understand how you can teach true journalism when given such restrictions. I’m glad not only students but people in charge understand how contradicting student’s rights are.
I agree with Dr. Brady and Mrs. Steffner how they believe that when students write in school publications they have the right to write about whatever they want. But they bring up a good point stating that in the end they do own the publication, and that in any publication, it is always that the editor looks over the publication before it is officially published. I thought it was interesting that Dr. Brady said she tries to stay hands off when it comes to student publication.
I feel that this video was very informative about the topic of student press rights. the fact that the video included viewpoints of multiple people, almost all of whom work for a school district, made the video very accurate and easy to understand. It is interesting to hear what Dr. Brady and Mrs. Steffner have to say on the topic. I disagree with Dr. Brady when she said that the board of education has a say in what goes into the school newspaper, and they have the right to alter or remove content as they wish; I feel the students should be allowed to, unless the material is offensive to a certain audience, put into the paper whatever they wish, as long as it relates to the school in one way or another. Also, I personally feel that students who decide to do something outside of school, whether it has to do with school or not, should not be punishable by school authority.
I thought that this video was helpful and it brought up some valid points. First off, I disagree with Dr. Brady saying that the board owns the paper. I don’t think they should be in control because they don’t write the paper or really contribute at all. The paper should be its own organization and it should be run by itself. I do agree with what Frank LaMonte said by saying that the newspaper for the most part knows what is right and wrong to put in the newspaper. They’re obviously not going to try to put something in the newspaper that could get them in trouble. I think a group should be made, and that group decides what goes into the newspaper, instead of the board deciding.
After watching this video, I agree mostly with Superintendent Lisa Brady, where she says she tries to be as hands off as possible when it comes to what students say outside of school. Although, if it is substantially disruptive to the school , actions must be taken. This is a very controversial topic because everyone has their own opinion on what is disruptive and what isn’t. I disagree with the fact that the school newspapers writers cannot write as many things as they would be able to in a normal newspaper, and they are able to look over each article written. I think this takes away from what people really want to say in the papers, and what readers really want to read about. If a school does not want certain kinds of topics written about, they should either have set guidelines to begin with and not edit the papers after, or not even have newspapers at all.
One point I agree with is the fact that if schools want to teach students free expression and good journalism they can not take that power away from them. Although it is the schools newspaper, I do not agree with the idea that the school officials have the final say in what goes in. I believe that unless the reason for stopping the story is justified by law, such as those created from the Tinker or Hazlewood cases, students should have the right to publish it.
I feel that this video was very thorough and precise about student press rights. I agree very much with what Mr. Frank LoMonte stated about his view about the First Amendment. He said, “Schools should consist of clear guidelines when or when not protected by the First Amendment. They are allowed to speak out on controversial issues without disrupting the learning environment.” This whole generalization correlates with the case,”Tinker vs. Des Moines.” Another key reason why this video was informative was not only did these particular students get professional advice, but they sought about important advisers within our school here at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Dr. Brady and Mrs. Steffner’s opinions on these questions asked by the students. I also feel strongly that each student as their own interpretation of the First Amendment and are able to express them by any means necessary.
I agree with Frank LaMont and Andi Mulshine because they are both protecting the students rights of freedom of speech. They both believe that students should freely be able express themselves. They both talk about that the only reason why a students speech should really be limited or censored is if it disrupts school. They furthermore explain that a lot of people have different ideas on what school disruption is. I again agree with them when they say that school disruption is actually something that is going to disturb the learn process, such as a school walk out. I also agree with Andi Mulshine when she says that limiting a students freedom of speech is harming there education. She explains that if you are limiting a students freedom of speech, you are limiting there education.
Two people in the video that I truly agree with are Dr. Brady and Andi Mulshine. I feel that schools should be hands off with school publication and that their ability to censor what is in the paper should be used but must also be limited. I do also agree with the idea that student journalists should also be able to have full freedoms of speech so that they can understand the first amendment and not be regulated with the watered-down rights that student journalists are presented with now. Excessive censorship of these student operated publications not only harm the students rights and education but also force others to depict school districts as stifling of students expression.
I think that the video was a very good depiction of both sides when it comes to student press rights. It showed both sides of the issue pretty well and had a lot of good sources talking about their point of view on the issue. I thought it was particularly interesting that our superintendent said that she tries to be as hands off as possible and lets the paper do their own thing. I also think that that is the correct and best way to handle a student newspaper because it allows the students to fully do their job and fully understand what it is like to be a true journalist. It teaches them to choose what they think is appropriate to publish on their own and at the same time are able to get the complete view of the job.
I thought this short informational video on student press rights was very helpful. I agree with Dr. Lisa Brady in the matter of prior review. I feel that if there is an advisor/teacher then the supervisor or the principal can be “hands off”. The superintendent does not need to keep a close eye on the paper. However I disagree on what they are really saying. If there was a story that would somewhat harm the name of Central for that week Both Dr. Brady and Ms. Steffner would disallow the story in a matter of seconds. I also believe that if the Board of Education owns the paper in the long run it would defeat the whole purpose of student press rights. If high school is suppose to train us for the real world then we should be getting use to publishing what should be published. Obviously if the paper wants to become popular and gain attention you would need controversial topics from time to time. You see controversial news in the New York Times everyday of the week
I agreed with Dr. Brady when she said that since students are writing the school newspaper they should be able to choose what goes into it. If the students are doing all of the work, and writting all of the articles what gives the school administration the right to jump in and tell us what we have to write, or what we can or cannot publish. We have the right to publish what we want to publish, as long as it is legal. Kids should be able to express themselves without getting squashed by administration. If they can’t write a simple newspaper article expressing their opinions, or write about something that really matters to them, they aren’t going to want to write again! We have a right to write about what we want.
I also agree with Ms. Steffner when she said that behavior outside of the school can be a problem inside of teh school, and can even lead to punishment. A good example of this is three years ago in Readington Middle School. A person started a mass chain text telling everyone to bring in pennies for their lunch money. Even though it started outside of the school, it started a disruption in the school (Tinker vs. Des Moines case) and so the school had a right to punush the students. How bad the punishment should be is not quite clear, and varies from case to case.
Students have a right to express themselves within boundaries, and I am happy to belong to a school that supports their students rights, and allows freedom of speech.
I have learned that what students write can lead to legal issues. First Amendment rights help protect the writing and confidence of writing in students when they are in school. I agree with Dr. Brady when she says that she tries to give students as much free expression as she can. This is why I agree with the Hazelwood case that administrators can only censor content in student media if they show a valid educational purpose for doing so. This gives the student more freedom of speech because their administrators can’t sensor their material based on their own opinion and their beliefs on the message. Allow principals are allowed to review the student’s work, they cannot order the student to stop writing about a certain topic and prohibit them from writing about it in the future.
I agree with the points that director of the student press law center, Frank Lemonte, made. He talked about the issue of punishing students for something he or she said outside of school. He believed that students have the write to protect their first amendment as long it does not disrupt the school, but if they do then the school is allowed to step in to discipline. Just like in the Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeler, the students sued the school claiming they violated their first amendment. Students should be allowed to state their opinions on issues even if school officials do not agree, but there is a point where students go too far.
I do not agree with some of the officials that it depends on the material being said. Students have the right to speak about controversial issues as long as they do not disrupt the school procession. Students should have the write to say what they want in media such as a school newspaper as long as the material is accurate and not vulgar speech, and if it does not disrupt the school procession- like a walk out or boycotting a class. I agree with Mrs. Steffner that the school has the right to “act appropriately” when it comes to students acting out against the school outside of school. If what the students is doing outside of school makes the school look bad and is against the law, the school has the right to talk to the student and possibly discipline them because that student represents the school and should behave maturely. It is embarrassing if a student writes something involving the school on the internet, and if that material harms the school or another student or official, the school has the right to take action accordingly. School officials, however, do not have the right to act and discipline a student if that student did not do something illegal on or off school grounds. The First Amendment protects students’ free speech and allows them to write their opinions about something in school no matter who it might offend. The school can only take action if the content is promoting illegal action, offensive, or inaccurate.
From this video I found that I really disagreed with the fact that after all the students go through the school, or principal, has the right to take it out and the bored can control what is published. This statement goes against the Tinker case. This case states that the administration can read what you right and as long as it is not disturbing the learning of the other students. If a student journalist is writing about the legalization of Marijuana and they are supporting it, the school board does not have the right to take that out. One of the people interviewed in the video said, “you have a right…. to wright about it.” When i look at this quote i think that if you feel passionate about what you are writing about, the facts are correct, and it is well written you can publish it, it is what you think and your opinion. If they take away a journalist opinion then they are going against their first amendment right. I feel that the administration can not censor a persons writing, and they should let the student publish it as long as it is supported and not disturbing to the school.
I agree with the president of GSSPA when she said that if the students don’t choose their message, it is harming their education. People should not tell students what they should write about because it is their choice and opinion. When being taught about journalism, they are learning how to write about different news topics and to express their opinion. When they are not allowed to write about something, then they are not expressing themselves since they were not allowed to write what they wanted to. I learned that students should be allowed to write about whatever they want, as long as it is not harmful or disrupts others. That means that I also agree with what Ms. Steffner said about students can write about different things, as long as it does not offend other people and is appropriate. Students have the right to write about topics that are true and newsworthy. Students also have the right to express themselves, and that is what journalism is about.
This video was very interesting because I have never heard our own school administration talking directly about how they feel about laws regarding student expression. The quote that I found the most powerful was by the president of the GSSPA when she said that you cannot teach true journalism while holding the sort of restrictions that a school district does over a school publication. I found this bit of hypocrisy very interesting because I had never thought about it before. Our school attempts to teach us how to express ourselves and even educates us on how the first amendment protects us. This puts them in an awkward position when they attempt to censor or silence a student because they are basically saying “These are your rights, no matter where you go or who you are speaking about, this amendment protects you……. except here.”
Although I was happy to see that our school’s administration seems to have a very lenient position on expression in student publications, I am still worried that they will drop this attitude the second they are in a situation where a student is trying to publish something that could be offensive. Dr. Brady and the board lawyer talked about how the district “funds and therefore makes the final decision on” the articles in school newspapers. I understand that there are things that need to be censored, but there is no concrete line drawn as to what those things are. For example, lies, racism, threats and articles that put other students in poor view have no business in a school publication, but the district does not define what they are and are not going to censor. I have a feeling that if an article were to be published about a school official or policy that made the school look like the enemy would be censored, no matter how factual or pertinent it may be.
I understand that everyone has their own opinion in this video. And although I respect each one, I completely disagree with Mrs. Stefner finding it necessary to intervene with a student who has done something negative, or is having some sort of issue outside of the school. Quite frankly, if the issue isn’t happening in school, it’s no one’s business. At the same time, if an issue taking place outside of school causes substantial disruption in the school, then I feel that the school may intervene to put an end do the disruption, however; without punishing the student. Another point made throughout the video is how teachers teach us about freedom of speech, press, etc. But when a student says something “inappropriate” or something that the teacher wouldn’t want to hear, the student is punished for it. It is hypocritical on the part of teachers, and authority to do such a thing.
I think that students do have a right to write about what they want and what they find will interest other students as well. I agree with Dr. Brady when she said that students have a write to write about what they want. Just like in the Tinker case, students have a lot of freedom in their writing, except when the school has educational concerns regarding it. Students come up with ideas one their own because they put others likes into consideration, just like what Mrs. Steffner said. If a student writes something that brings a lot of controversy and disruption that effects the common school day, I feel that the school should step in, just like in the Hazelwood case. There are many opinions on this subject; however, I do agree with the video.