Viking Saga censorship incident

Last updated

Front page of the June 2022 issue of the Viking Saga Viking Saga June 2022.jpg
Front page of the June 2022 issue of the Viking Saga

The Viking Saga is the student newspaper of Northwest High School in Grand Island, Nebraska, in the United States. In April 2022, the staff of the paper was told that transgender writers should not use their preferred names on bylines and instead must use the names they had been given at birth.

Contents

On May 16, the paper published an issue which discussed Pride Month and other LGBTQ-related topics. Three days later, the school board and superintendent eliminated the school's journalism program and closed down the paper. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit asserting that transgender staff member Marcus Pennell's First Amendment right to free speech had been violated. The lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that Pennell, having already graduated, lacked standing.

Background

Northwest High School in 2022 Northwest High School (cropped).jpg
Northwest High School in 2022

Northwest High School is a secondary school in Grand Island, Nebraska built in 1962. [1] The school's student newspaper, the Viking Saga, began publication in 1968, [2] running for 54 years. [3] In 2022, the last year of publication, student journalists from Northwest Public Schools district finished in third place in the Nebraska School Activities Association's state journalism championship. [4]

In April 2022, Northwest Public Schools issued a reprimand to the Viking Saga because transgender staff were using their preferred pronouns and chosen names in article bylines. [5] [6] Margaret Renkl, in a New York Times guest essay, observed that the Viking Saga had "at least three transgender staff members". [7] The administration instructed the staff that they should be using birth names, a practice known as deadnaming. [8] According to Marcus Pennell, a transgender columnist for the Viking Saga who graduated in 2022, the students were coerced into obeying by being told that their faculty advisor would suffer the consequences if they did not comply. Pennell described the administration as bullying LGBT students. [8]

Shutdown

The June 2022 issue, printed on May 16, included a number of student editorials on LGBTQ-related topics, as well as a news article about Pride Month, which occurs annually in June. [3] On May 19, the Viking Saga's staff was informed that the journalism program was to be shut down. A letter was sent to the newspaper's printer on May 22 canceling the use of their printing services. Jeanette Ramsey, the director of teaching and learning of Northwest Public Schools, stated that the decision to shut down the newspaper was made by the school principal P. J. Smith and the school board's superintendent of schools Jeff Edwards. [4]

Dan Leiser, the president of the Northwest Public Schools Board of Education, remarked in reference to the controversial stories that "most people were upset they were written". [4] Zach Mader, the vice president of the board, stated: "I do think there have been talks of doing away with our newspaper if we were not going to be able to control content that we saw (as) inappropriate." [9] An unnamed employee of the Northwest School District stated that "the (journalism and newspaper) program was cut because the school board and superintendent are unhappy with the last issue's editorial content". [4]

Response

On August 31, Edwards said that news reports on the incident by the media were "both correct and incorrect", adding that publication of the Viking Saga was only paused and that other student journalism activities such as the yearbook were continuing. He stated that it was "misleading" to characterize the reason for the actions against the newspaper as being based on a small number of published articles. [10]

Mike Hiestand, a senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), said that schools were increasingly shutting down student newspapers as a form of censorship, observing that "you can't censor a student newspaper you no longer have". He observed that the most common censorship trigger was a story that criticized the school or one that the administration perceived as making them look bad. [4] According to a lawyer from the SPLC, who was a former student of the school and was present at the time of the incident, the administration considered it "controversial" that the student journalists were using their preferred names instead of the names they were assigned at birth. [6] SPLC executive director Hadar Harris said that this was not the only case of censorship of a school newspaper in the state, writing that "Nebraska has become a center for a number of egregious censorship cases in recent years, but the Saga's case also indicates a nationwide trend of administrators increasingly censoring LGBTQIA+ related content, including chosen names and pronouns". [11]

The Nebraska branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that the move was viewpoint discrimination that violated the Constitution of the United States. [3] In a letter to Edwards, the ACLU chapter said that shutting down the Viking Saga violated the students' rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as Title IX protections against sexual discrimination, noting that "the district cannot censor student journalism because district leadership disagrees with LGBTQ rights and wishes to keep students from encountering viewpoints that do not align with that perceived viewpoint". [12]

In November 2022, New York City schools chancellor David Banks was asked about the incident during a roundtable discussion with student journalists from local schools. He stated: [13]

I stand for freedom of expression for student journalists here and all across the country ... Education should always be about hearing varying points of views whether you agree with [them] or disagree with [them]. You may not be supportive of the LGBTQ community in your own personal space ... but to say we can't even have a series where we're talking about those issues is completely wrong.

Commenting on the statement by chancellor Banks, Hillary Davis of the SPLC said: [13]

It is important to note that there is nothing in New York City or in New York State that prevents an issue like what happened with the Viking Saga from happening at any school in New York. And so while the chancellor is giving a full throated support and that's amazing, there is currently no law, there is no policy

In October 2022, Ava Tse, news editor of the Latin School of Chicago's Forum argued that the Viking Saga's shutdown "probably does not violate the students' First Amendment rights". [14] She did however note a trend towards increasing censorship of student newspapers, with The Forum and the University of Chicago Laboratory High School's Midway being unusual among independent high school papers in central Chicago in that neither is subject to administration censorship. Tse pointed to the Francis W. Parker School's Parker Weekly as having "been subjected to an administrative approval process since the spring of 2019". [14] Tse also said that as these three were all independent schools, their papers may enjoy fewer constitutional protections than papers at public schools. [14]

In November 2022, The Grand Island Independent reported that according to Northwest teacher Kirsten Gilliland the school administration had agreed to let the paper continue publication, in an on-line format and under the supervision of a different faculty member. Gilliland was the paper's previous adviser. [15] In February 2023, The Independent reported that English teacher Alex Hull had taken over teaching the journalism class and was the new adviser to the paper, but the Viking Saga had not yet resumed publication. [16]

Lawsuit

On March 31, 2023, the Nebraska ACLU filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Northwest Public School District and superintendent Edwards on behalf of the Nebraska High School Press Association and Marcus Pennell, citing violations of the First Amendment. ACLU policy counsel Jane Seu stated that "the filing is symbolic of a greater national push against LGBTQ youth". [17] [18]

The suit was dismissed on October 16, 2023 in an order by federal senior judge John M. Gerrard. Gerrard determined that Pennell could not prove injury because having already graduated, the shutting down of the paper no longer impacted him. Nebraska ACLU's Rose Godinez disagreed with Gerrard's finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing; she emphasized that the ruling was narrowly focused on standing and "we welcome its general warning to school administrators on restricting speech in student newspapers". [19] A statement by the SPLC said that the ruling "cautioned schools that viewpoint discrimination in student media is unconstitutional", and quoted Judge Gerrard: [20]

school administrators would be wise to remember that policies and decisions to restrict speech in student newspapers ... may run afoul of the First Amendment if they 'reflect an effort to suppress expression merely because the public officials oppose a speaker's view'.

SPLC executive director Gary Green added that "the ruling was a clear signal to schools not to overstep the First Amendment" and that "officials should heed the judge's warning to avoid censoring student media for speech they simply disagree with". [20]

Scott Shackford of Reason magazine took exception to the school administration's closure of the Viking Saga, observing that the decision was based not on the quality of the writing but rather on the opinions expressed by the publication. They said that practicing writing and debating skills was an important part of the educational experience and cited two relevant United States Supreme Court decisions. Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) asserted that "students do not lose their First Amendment freedoms on school grounds" but Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) gave school boards "wide authority to censor school newspapers". [21]

In her essay, Margaret Renkl said that the censorship allowed by Hazelwood could be applied to student newspapers which were "part of a school curriculum" and had to be for "educational reasons". [7] Renkl quoted an analysis of Hazelwood by the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School: [7] [22]

Educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.

In October 2022, Mike Hiestand of the SPLC told Rachel Martin of WNYC that based on Tinker, "as long as the speech didn't result in a serious disruption of normal school activity, so as long as it was lawful, as long as it was peaceful, that was pretty much where the bar was". [23] According to Hiestand, that changed in 1988 when the Supreme Court ruled "that school officials could censor school-sponsored student newspapers where they had a reasonable educational justification". [23]

Max Kautsch, an attorney for the Nebraska Press Association who specializes in media law, said that "the decision by the administration to eliminate the student newspaper violates students' right to free speech, unless the school can show a legitimate educational reason for removing the option to participate in a class ... that publishes award-winning material", adding that "it is hard to imagine what the legitimate reason could be". [4] The Grand Island Independent reported that print media has a constitutional right to determine its editorial content, citing the 1974 case Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tattler</i> (student newspaper)

The Tattler is the student newspaper of Ithaca High School in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1892, it is one of the oldest student newspapers in the United States. It is published twelve times a year and has a circulation of about 3,000, with distribution in both the school and in the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression</span> American free speech organization

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the mission of protecting freedom of speech on college campuses in the United States. FIRE changed its name in June 2022, when it broadened its focus from colleges to freedom of speech throughout American society.

The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award is an award created in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Awards were established by Christie Hefner in 1979 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions in the vital effort to protect and enhance First Amendment rights for Americans. Since the inception of the awards, more than 100 individuals including high school students, lawyers, librarians, journalists and educators have been honored.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student publication</span> Media outet run by students

A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related news, but they may also report on national or international news as well. Most student publications are either part of a curricular class or run as an extracurricular activity.

<i>Dean v. Utica Community Schools</i> 2004 United States legal case

Dean v. Utica Community Schools, 345 F. Supp. 2d 799, is a landmark legal case in United States constitutional law, namely on how the First Amendment applies to censorship in a public school environment. The case expanded on the ruling definitions of the Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, in which a high school journalism-oriented trial on censorship limited the First Amendment right to freedom of expression in curricular student newspapers. The case consisted of Utica High School Principal Richard Machesky ordering the deletion of an article in the Arrow, the high school's newspaper, a decision later deemed "unreasonable" and "unconstitutional" by District Judge Arthur Tarnow.

<i>The Gryphon</i> Student newspaper for the University of Leeds

The Gryphon is the student newspaper of the University of Leeds. It is published monthly during term time and its editor, the newspaper's only paid position, is elected annually by Leeds University Union members. The articles are written by students and are largely about local and university issues.

The Collegian, which published its first issue on March 16, 1931, is the on-campus newspaper for La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is published weekly throughout the school year. The newspaper is written, edited and produced by students of La Salle University, underneath a faculty adviser.

<i>The Hilltop</i> (newspaper) Student newspaper of Howard University

The Hilltop is the student newspaper of Howard University, a historically black college located in Washington, D.C. Co-founded in 1924 by Harlem Renaissance writer Zora Neale Hurston and Louis Eugene King, The Hilltop is the first and only daily newspaper at a historically black college or university (HBCU) in the United States.

In the United States, censorship involves the suppression of speech or public communication and raises issues of freedom of speech, which is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Interpretation of this fundamental freedom has varied since its enshrinement. Traditionally, the First Amendment was regarded as applying only to the Federal government, leaving the states and local communities free to censor or not. As the applicability of states rights in lawmaking vis-a-vis citizens' national rights began to wane in the wake of the Civil War, censorship by any level of government eventually came under scrutiny, but not without resistance. For example, in recent decades, censorial restraints increased during the 1950s period of widespread anti-communist sentiment, as exemplified by the hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. In Miller v. California (1973), the U.S. Supreme Court found that the First Amendment's freedom of speech does not apply to obscenity, which can, therefore, be censored. While certain forms of hate speech are legal so long as they do not turn to action or incite others to commit illegal acts, more severe forms have led to people or groups being denied marching permits or the Westboro Baptist Church being sued, although the initial adverse ruling against the latter was later overturned on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps.

<i>Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Education</i> New Jersey Supreme Court decision

Desilets v. Clearview Regional Board of Education, 137 N.J. 585 (1994), was a New Jersey Supreme Court decision that held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as forums for student expression are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established as forums for student expression.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student Press Law Center</span> American non-profit organization promoting student press freedom

The Student Press Law Center (SPLC) is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, support and defend press freedom rights for student journalists at high schools and colleges in the United States. It is dedicated to student free-press rights and provides information, advice and legal assistance at no charge for students and educators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Education Code 48907</span>

California Education Code 48907 (1977), also known as the California Student Free Expression Law, acts as a counter to the Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier (1988) Supreme Court ruling, which limited the freedom of speech granted to public high school newspapers. The Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision held that public school curricular student newspapers that have not been established as "forums for student expression" are subject to a lower level of First Amendment protection than independent student expression or newspapers established as forums for student expression. Ed Code 48907 affirms the right of high school newspapers to publish whatever they choose, so long as the content isn't explicitly obscene, libelous, or slanderous, and doesn’t incite students to violate any laws or school regulations. The newspaper content must also pass the minimal disruption test set forth in the Supreme Court ruling on Tinker v. Des Moines (1969). In contrast with Hazelwood, which limited First Amendment protection to only those high school newspapers that had, through practice or policy, been established as forums for student expression, Ed Code 48907 affirms the right of all newspapers to the freedom of expression.

The issue of school speech or curricular speech as it relates to the First Amendment to the United States Constitution has been the center of controversy and litigation since the mid-20th century. The First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech applies to students in the public schools. In the landmark decision Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court formally recognized that students do not "shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate".

<i>The Spectator</i> (Stuyvesant High School)

The Spectator is a biweekly high school newspaper published by students of New York City's Stuyvesant High School. The paper, founded in 1915, is one of Stuyvesant's oldest publications. It has a long-standing connection with its older namesake, Columbia University's Columbia Daily Spectator, and it has been recognized by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism's Columbia Scholastic Press Association on several occasions. The Spectator's original reporting has been cited by The New York Times and the Associated Press.

Newspaper theft is a crime where significant portion of a newspaper print or other publication is stolen or destroyed in order to prevent others from reading its content, including those publications that are available for free. It is most commonly undertaken by individuals, organization, or governments and is considered a form of censorship.

The censorship of student media in the United States is the suppression of student-run news operations' free speech by school administrative bodies, typically state schools. This consists of schools using their authority to control the funding and distribution of publications, taking down articles, and preventing distribution. Some forms of student media censorship extend to expression not funded by or under the official auspices of the school system or college.

Hazelwood School District et al. v. Kuhlmeier et al., 484 U.S. 260 (1988), was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which held, in a 5–3 decision, that student speech in a school-sponsored student newspaper at a public high school could be censored by school officials without a violation of First Amendment rights if the school's actions were "reasonably related" to a legitimate pedagogical concern.

Northwest High School is a secondary school in Grand Island, Nebraska, United States, and is part of the Northwest Public Schools district. It was founded in 1963. It is accredited by AdvancED. The school serves students in grades nine through twelve. Enrollment at the high school was 719 as of December 2016.

Censorship of LGBT issues is practised by some countries around the world. It may take a variety of forms, including anti-LGBT curriculum laws in some states of the United States, the Russian gay propaganda law prohibiting the "promotion of non-traditional sexual relationships", the Hungarian anti-LGBT law banning "content portraying or promoting sex reassignment or homosexuality", and laws in Muslim-majority states such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Malaysia prohibiting advocacy that offends Islamic morality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Censorship of school curricula in the United States</span> Suppression or prohibition of various topics in US schools

Throughout the history of the United States, various topics have been censored and banned in education, including teaching about evolution, racism, sexism, sex education, and LGBTQ+ topics. Due to the federal system of the country being highly decentralized, states are delegated with much of the responsibility for administering public education, and it is often governments of the red states that have enacted such policies.

References

  1. "New School Name Is Northwest Hi". The York Daily News-Times. September 24, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  2. Northwest High School (Grand Island, Nebraska) (1968). Viking Saga - Volume 1, Issue 1 (1968).
  3. 1 2 3 Mittlieder, Matthew (August 25, 2022). "Grand Island school newspaper shut down after LGBT-focused issue". KLKN-TV. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Votipka, Jessica (August 24, 2022). "'Nurseries of democracy': Northwest student journalism elimination a 'Saga'". The Grand Island Independent . Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Nebraska school officials close newspaper after LGBTQ issue". AP. August 25, 2022. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  6. 1 2 Medina, Eduardo (August 29, 2022). "Nebraska School Shuts Down Student Newspaper After L.G.B.T.Q. Publication". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Renkl, Margaret (September 5, 2022). "Opinion: Student Journalists Reveal a Changing World. Let Them". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Ng, Karen (September 2, 2022). "What Happens When a School Tries to Silence Queer Voices?". The Nation . ISSN   0027-8378. Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  9. Votipka, Jessica (August 24, 2022). "Grand Island journalism program eliminated after school paper published LGBTQ stories". Omaha World-Herald . Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  10. Votipka, Jessica (August 31, 2022). "Grand Island Northwest breaks silence on Saga". The Grand Island Independent . Archived from the original on September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  11. Student Press Law Center (August 26, 2022). "Censorship Alert: Student paper shut down for LGBTQIA+ coverage". Student Press Law Center . Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  12. Ashford, Molly (August 29, 2022). "ACLU talks of legal action after Nebraska high school axes journalism program". Omaha World-Herald . Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  13. 1 2 Estevez, Kate. "At student press event, NYC Schools Chancellor voices support for student journalists amidst nationwide clashes over book banning, censorship, and curricula". The Classic. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 Tse, Ava (October 18, 2022). "Student Papers Under Siege: Nationwide Threats to Student Journalism". The Forum.
  15. "District to revive student newspaper axed after LGBTQ issue". The Grand Island Independent . November 14, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2024 via Associated Press.
  16. Votipka, Jessica (February 25, 2023). "Student newspaper not yet revived online by Northwest Public Schools, despite promises". The Grand Island Independent .
  17. Wendling, Zach (March 31, 2023). "Lawsuit alleges Nebraska high school shuttered school paper for covering LGBTQ issues". Nebraska Examiner .
  18. Nebraska High School Press Association, Inc; Pennell, Marcus (March 31, 2023). "Complaint and Jury Demand" (PDF). Case 4:23-cv-03043.
  19. Bonderson, Aaron (October 16, 2023). "Lawsuit claiming Nebraska high school violated First Amendment dismissed". Nebraska Public Media. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  20. 1 2 Goodrich, Ellen (October 19, 2023). "Court cautions against illegal censorship in NE lawsuit dismissal". Student Press Law Center. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  21. Shackford, Scott (August 26, 2022). "Nebraska high school shuts down 54-year-old school newspaper after students publish LGBT pieces". Reason.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  22. "Hazelwood School District et al., Petitioners v. Cathy Kuhlmeier et al". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Martin, Rachel (October 28, 2022). "A high school newspaper in Nebraska was shut down after it published LGBTQ stories". National Public Radio .