Prior Review is the First Step Toward Censorship

MINNESOTA-- Mounds View High School's student newspaper The Viewer has refused to publish and distribute the most recent issue of the paper due to conflicts involving prior review. The article in question involves two students who are facing disciplinary consequences for posting a picture of their teacher on Facebook.

Julie Wikelius, Principal of Mound's View High School, confiscated the papers because she believed they violated the schools policy on student discipline privacy. Christina Xia, the editor-in-chief of The Viewer, claims she had permission to publish the information she received about the students.

Administrators claimed Xia was in violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). In order to publish and distribute the issue by the end of the day Xia obtained consent forms from the parents of the students involved.

Student Press Law Center Minnesota attorney Steve Aggregard offered his counsel to the The Viewer.

The paper is still being designed and created but until the clause of prior review is removed from the student publication no new issues will come out.

"I do not believe that prior review is the solution. I think that prior review will limit us from learning responsible journalism... If the school imposes prior review, I am very concerned that this will lead to the administration censoring what we write. I know that the administration said their goal is fact checking, but I feel this will become their excuse to control the content of our student newspaper," Xia said.

Prior review is a particularly difficult process to enact. It becomes hard to draw the line between simple edits and full out censorship. Will prior review turn into censorship? If it does where will our publications be? The filter put on publications by prior review will ultimately have a detrimental effect on journalism.
--Mike Moates--