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Stevenson High School Paper Spiked By Administrators

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 20, 2009 5:00PM

2009_04_01_steve.jpg There's more trouble brewing over the student newspaper over at Stevenson High. Already having been through one controversy last winter over a gossip edition - an incident which led to the resignation of the paper's adviser - this week's edition of the paper has been spiked by school administrators over more controversial stories that were to run. The trouble began with plans for a front-page story about the National Honor Society and freshmen mentors program which included references to students admitting they drank and smoked, behavior that's a no-no for members of those programs. Administrators threatened the paper's staff that they would seek the names of those students and discipline them accordingly. So rather than give up the sources, the staff decided to run a blank front page with a simple note explaining why the story had been pulled. But it didn't end there. The Trib explains:

On Wednesday, the paper's advisers told staff the administrative review board had problems with the blank front page -- plus the pregnancy and shoplifting stories -- and would spike the issue. Administrators said the teen pregnancy story lacked balance, [the paper's editor Pam] Selman said.

The story by Selman quoted a boy and girl at the school who are expecting a child together, she said. The school has seen an increase in student pregnancies this year, Selman said.

Frank LoMante, executive director of the Virginia-based Student Press Law Center, is advising the paper's staff on their legal options and had no issue with the stories that caused the trouble, telling the Trib, "They are balanced, responsible and mild...They carry positive messages: Don't shoplift, and get counseling if you get pregnant."