Freedom

November 25

Illinois—Students of Lincolnshire’s Stevenson High School were restricted from printing their November 20^th issue. Stevenson’s administration prevented distribution of the issue due to three articles they deemed not “fit to print.” Three articles, one on drug use, one on teen pregnancy, and one on shoplifting were forbidden from being included in the November issue of The Statesman.

“This is nothing but a power game of administrators trying to ‘show the kids whose boss’,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.

Pamela Selman, editor-in-chief of The Statesman, said that if she were to allow a prior review of the paper to the administration, they would require her name who her anonymous sources were. Selman granted anonymity to sources in the article about drug abuse to encourage students to speak up about what was going on around them.

Stevenson High School’s administration is jeopardizing student’s first amendment rights. By preventing the publication of an issue, the administration is stripping students of their right to free speech. This is clearly a breach of our nation’s most important rights.

“It’s truly sad that Stevenson High School is run by people who operate under the principle of ‘what’s the worst thing we can do to our students and get away with it under the law,’ rather than what’s best for the student’s education,” said LoMonte.

The school claims to have not denied the publication of the issue on the grounds of damaging their reputation. If not for this reason, then why would the school be so intent on cancelling the issue? It is clear that Stevenson High School’s administration was intent on barring distribution of The Statesman due to concerns over how the public would receive the articles within.

The right to free speech is always in effect. It is a right that is unconditional. It is a crime that Stevenson’s administration is attempting to thwart the rights of students to freely speak their mind.

--Michael Moates