Raking Muck in the Third Millennium: The First Amendment and High School Students

Every few years some high school administrator decides freedom of the press applies only to those who hold the money.

Sort of a variation on “freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.”

But the truth is, it is the students who produce the school newspaper. And while no one would argue they need guidance from a qualified adviser, they hold ultimate responsibility for the content.

Students also deserve protection from the same laws that protect their adult counterparts. Freedom of the press does not halt at the schoolhouse gate.

Too often, students don’t understand their rights and their advisers are too intimidated by the administration to help them. This isn’t an indictment of advisers. Often they are young teachers without tenure. Sometimes they didn’t volunteer to advise the school paper, but were just in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. In the past few years, three high school advisers were removed or forced out in New Jersey.

Nobody ever got rich on an adviser’s stipend, but it doesn’t look good for a teacher to lose a gig like that. And these were dedicated people.

Two of the student press freedom problems were the subject of the keynote panels at the Garden State Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference at the Rutgers Busch Campus in Piscataway on Monday, Oct. 27.

In Pemberton, the ancient problem of smoking in the girls’ room was the subject of a story censored by the administration. The school principal insisted the story was not appropriate. Seriously. What is more appropriate? Kids have been violating smoking bans since there have been smoking bans. Other kids, have objected to second hand smoke for just as long. If the student paper can’t tackle that, what’s the point of having a paper?

After some changes were made, and, not coincidentally, after Phil Gianficaro took the school to task in his column in the Glochester County Times, the story was published.

The other issue involved Northern Highlands High School in Allendale. An editor used an anonymous source in a story about an administrator accused of harassment. The GSSPA took the attitude she had the same rights as a professional to use an anonymous source. Not surprisingly, the school held a different opinion.

In the third case, not directly addressed by the Fall Conference, the Hunterdon Central High School adviser was replaced by the school public relations professional. Sure. There’s no difference at all between someone who is paid to make the school look good and a teacher interested in instructing budding journalists.

The two student editors spoke about their fights for freedom to a packed room of students and advisors as well as some of the professionals who participated in Student Press Day. Both Kylie Sposato of Pemberton and Adelina Colaku of Northern Highlands spoke eloquently about their conflicts. Gianficaro was also on the panel, as was Frank LoMonte of the Student Press Law Center.

LoMonte worked with GSSPA in the past assisting the group with attempts to codify student press rights in the state statutes. Previous bills, one of which based on a Student Press Law Center model, failed to become law and were not supported by either the NJ Education Association or the NJ Press Association.

What kind of lesson are we teaching our young people?

Freedom of the press doesn’t apply to them? So, what about the other freedoms mentioned in the 45 words of the First Amendment? The only thing these teens can discern is that they don’t apply either.

Kids will screw up. They will make mistakes. That’s why an adviser who understands journalism and understands teenagers is so essential. An adviser who really wants the job and who isn’t given a reason to be scared of the administration.

While working for legislation, the GSSPA is forming an S-GSSPA for students under the direction of long-time GSSPA official John Tagliarimi of Bergenfield. Bringing the students into the mix should help them understand the rights they do have,

Professionals from around the state assist GSSPA at their fall conference which is partially sponsored by The Record. For years the now-defunct New Jersey Press Women provided assistance to the GSSPA and high school journalism advisers, including a program called “Adopt-an-Adviser” which assigned professionals to high school advisers. In an effort to take up the slack, the New Jersey Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists now has a representative on the GSSPA board.

Pros having students’ backs. As it should be.