High School Newspaper Editors and an Ex-Adviser to be Honored for Fighting Censorship Attempts

Two high school newspaper editors and a student newspaper adviser who fought censorship attempts by school officials will be honored at the fifth annual Courage in Student Journalism Awards at the National Scholastic Press Association/Journalism Education Association National Convention in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Nov. 14.

This year's winners are Seth Zweifler and Henry Rome, editors of the student newspaper, The Spoke, at Conestoga High School in Pennsylvania; and Barb Thill, former adviser of the student newspaper at Illinois' Stevenson High School. The student winners will share a $1,000 prize and Thill will receive $1,000 to support student journalists at her school.

The Courage in Student Journalism Awards are presented each year to student journalists and school officials who have fought for student press. Rome's June 2009 story, "Obligation to Report," detailed how a janitor at the local middle school was able to remain on the school district payroll despite multiple run-ins with the law, including his arrest on bank robbery charges.

The article prompted the school administration to demand prior approval of all student newspaper content before publication. Zweifler and Rome fought the move. They sought support from Spoke alumni and publicity in the local media, and did research to counter the district's case for prior restraint. Eventually the demand for pre-publication review was dropped.

"These winners exemplify the sad fact of life that provocative, hard-hitting student journalism is often celebrated with retaliation," said Student Press Law Center Executive Director Frank LoMonte. "Exemplary journalistic work was met with a crackdown by administrators who believed that the best way to deal with unpleasant disclosures about their school systems was to stop the disclosures."

Thill is the former adviser of Illinois' Stevenson High School's student newspaper, the Statesman. Her students came under fire for a January 2009 package of articles documenting the prevalence of casual "hooking up" relations among teens, much of it alcohol-fueled.

The school's response was to impose mandatory prior review, robbing students of their autonomy to decide what would go into the paper. As a result Thill stepped down as journalism adviser.

"Thill is an example of the price some of the most talented journalism educators pay for their commitment to teaching quality reporting," said Mark Goodman, Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism, Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University's School of Journalism and Mass Communication. "All of the students who are missing her training are the ones who ultimately suffer."

The awards are presented by the Center for Scholastic Journalism, the Student Press Law Center and the National Scholastic Press Association.

Read more about how student newspaper advisers often face retaliation for controversial stories, and about a new California law that protects student newspaper advisers.

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