As School Backpedals, Colorado Students Still Fighting Newspaper Censorship

Officials at an Aurora, Colo. high school are scrambling to explain away the controversy over the principal's decision to shutter the school newspaper and yank the faculty advisor from the program.

But they just can't keep their answers straight -- and Overland High School students maintain that the principal angrily told them that the newspaper would stop printing because he was unhappy with a story they were printing about the death of a fellow student.

To reporters, however, the district is singing a different tune. Will Overland High School's The Scout stop being printed due to budget concerns, not censorship? That's what a district rep told the Denver Post on March 27. School spokeswoman Tustin Amole said that students "did not have the money to publish any more issues after the upcoming senior issue" -- an excuse students say they'd never heard before.

Or will it cease printing for a different reason entirely -- to emulate journalism programs at other colleges? That's what the Aurora Sentinel reported, quoting Amole as saying that faculty advisor Laura Sudik will continue to teach the class "through the end of the year" -- making no mention of any funding issues.

But students say that Principal Leon Lundie told them their faculty advisor would be removed because of the story, and Carrie Faust, president of the Colorado High School Press Association, confirmed with Change.org today that Sudik has not been reinstated as journalism advisor. And despite assuring reporters that there's nothing going on at the school, the district hasn't contacted the students - who are on Spring Break - with any updates about the fate of The Scout.

The Student Press Law Center continues to work with the students, Attorney Advocate Adam Goldstein confirmed today, and is pressing the school to back off of its threats and acknowledge that they erred. The Colorado Pro chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists have also weighed in with a letter of support for the students.

Colorado student journalists are protected by the 1990 Colorado Student Free Expression Law. Colorado was the fourth state to pass such a law, which was an effort to protect young journalists after a 1988 Supreme Court decision upheld a school administrator's decision to censor student stories about factors contributing to teen stress, such as teen pregnancy and other 'taboo' topics.

Although the law forbids school administrators from censoring student publications, it's hard to enforce because it must be done through the court system - meaning a protracted legal battle for all parties.

"Since then, there have been several cases of censorship, but the law has never been tested in court with tangible results," said Marta Hedde, a retired educator who successfully spearheaded the drive to adopt the law. (Hedde is also a past president of the Colorado High School Press Association and was the 1991 Colorado Journalism Teacher of the Year.)

Hedde, who has been following the Overland High School story, is doubtful that the school district is accurately explaining the issue. "It's backpedaling," she said. "The behavior of the principal right after the censorship incident does not support that."

The freedom of expression law helped Hedde teach her students how to be responsible journalists, she said. "When you sit around and listen to kids talk, sometimes they ask, 'Can we get away with that?' I'd always say, 'You live in Colorado. You don't have to worry about 'getting away with anything,' because as long as you're responsible, there's no problem. You have areas of unprotected speech, just as any journalist would, but as long as you're staying away from that, there shouldn't be any problem."

Students return from Spring Break on Monday - we'll update you with what they learn. And show your support for The Scout by signing this petition urging the administration to support the rights of student journalists.

Photo credit: boris_licina via Flickr