Loud and Clear - Eagle Eye News - Volume 10, Number 2
Loud Clear
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Ages of Advocacy
Across the decades, students fight for First Amendment rights at school
Q&A Mary Beth Tinker
Mary Beth Tinker continues to advocate for students’ First Amendment rights, 60 years after she began
Q&A Cathy Kuhlmeier
Cathy Kuhlmeier details her experience in landmark U.S. Supreme Court case
For Which We Stand
MSD students have a history of using their First Amendment rights to advocate for change
Using Your Voice
MSD students express themselves through different classes and clubs offered at MSD
Catching Fire
Florida increasingly targets controversial subjects in schools
Terms and Conditions
Social media platforms push boundaries of censorship
The AI Apocalypse
Increased use of artificial intelligence changes human expression
Pursuing the Pulitzer
Sophomore Lincoln Miller thrives in the industry as a professional student journalist
Painting Memories
Sophomore Avantika Prabhu embraces her culture through realism
Sound Surge
MSD student Thomas Nguyen describes his musical journey and future aspirations
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Opinion
Church and State
Recent measures to introduce religion into public schools endanger Americans’ religious freedom
Loss for Words
People who disregard political nature of reading contribute to current issues
No Game
Sports franchises and brands put excessive censorship on athletes’ speech and selfexpression
Code Red: Dress Codes
Strict adherence to dress codes causes more disruption to learning than students’ clothing
TikTok on the Clock
TikTok’s temporary ban sparks panic and threatens free speech
Speak Up
U.S. states must support student journalism through New Voices legislation
Lynn-Gabrielle Soivilus
Ahana Tippanagoudar
Ava Thomas
Editor Letters
In the Works
Dear Editor,
As this school year has started, we have been bombarded with loud noises and constant fire alarms due to the construction going on during the school day. It can be challenging to learn, pay attention and do work during classes. Relocating classes to the media center due to the obnoxious and continuous noise outside can be very frustrating.
As a student, trying to learn requires constant focus on what the teacher is saying and doing. Being a junior, it is a very important year and needs a good work environment to succeed in, which the loud noise does not help with. All in all, I hope the construction is completed soon so students are able to learn without the ongoing noise.
BLAKE BILLIET, 11
The Price of Pink
Dear Editor, Pink: the favorite color of many girls. However, did you know that pink comes with a cost in the world of shopping? Have you ever realized that if you reach for a product wrapped in pink, you’re signing up to pay more? Well, welcome to the world of “pink tax,” where the cost of products is divided, not by function, but by gender.
At its heart, pink tax is the extra costs women often pay for products and services marketed specifically to them. This means that things like clothing and even necessities like tampons will have an extra price just because it’s pink and marketed towards women. Wait, but it doesn’t stop there. Services like haircuts and car ownership count too! In 2023, California estimated that women must pay about $188,000 over a woman’s lifetime because of pink tax. So far, only states like New York and California have made pink tax illegal. As a girl, I shouldn’t have to pay more for goods just because of my gender. The true cost of the pink tax is more than dollars; it’s the acceptance of inequality. In a world striving for fairness, isn’t it time we changed the price of pink?
CONNIE CHAO, 10
Below Zero
Dear Editor,
A school related issue I think is important is the temperature of the classrooms throughout the school. One classroom will be freezing where it’s hard to focus, or your next class will be super hot to a point where it’s uncomfortable. For example, my English class every day is super cold, it was once 61 degrees. Every day I have that class I make sure to dress warm because if I don’t I have a hard time focusing on my work because I’m so cold. This happens throughout my classes that aren’t just English. If I dress warm it benefits me in my freezing classes, but the second I step outside I’m overheated due to the Florida heat. It’s an issue that students aren’t comfortable in class.
KATELYN SCHAFFER, 10
Editor to the
Ignorantly Inclined
Dear Editor,
I have noticed a disturbing trend where the ignorant cannot differentiate between free speech and hate speech. The politically unaware spew out insightful language, empowering others to discriminate and behave violently. Their words directly correlate to halting the world’s progress towards peace, yet they still claim just to be expressing their First Amendment rights?
Well, let’s be clear. The verbally aggressive are entitled to protected speech, not hate speech. No matter how nonsensical the clueless may be in their free speech, they still have a right to it. However, as a society, we must set a definite boundary. The second someone’s speech shifts from vocally offensive to genuinely threatening, we have the right to call them out and shut them down.
MATEA COHEN, 12
Permission to Speak
Dear Editor,
Freedom of speech is one of the most fundamental rights we have, yet it often comes under attack, even in schools. Students should feel empowered to express their opinions without fear of censorship or retaliation. However, many schools impose restrictions on speech through dress codes, social media policies and the removal of controversial topics from discussions.
While it’s important to maintain a respectful and safe environment, limiting speech simply because it’s uncomfortable or challenges authority isn’t what life is about.
A school should be a place where students learn to think critically, engage in debates and
Dear Editor,
express themselves freely.
When students are silenced, whether it be for their political views, cultural identity, religion, or artistic expression, it weakens the very purpose of education.
Instead of shutting down difficult conversations, we should encourage open dialogue and teach students how to engage in meaningful discussions.
Protecting free speech in schools doesn’t mean allowing hate or harassment, but it does mean ensuring that all voices have the opportunity to be heard. The ability to express oneself is not just a privilege, it’s a right that must be defended.
LONDON ABDALA-RIVERA, 11
Online Orator
Freedom of speech is protected under the Constitution, but the government has been ignoring a lot of rights that are guaranteed to citizens. In my opinion, TikTok poses absolutely no threat to our privacy, or “exposing” us to communism.
I have not heard of it being awakened in the U.S., and I have not seen one video on the app talking about it at all. People usually
Dear Editor,
don’t go on TikTok to fulfill a political agenda. It’s a platform to share videos like instagram, Facebook and Snapchat–that have access to our “information” as well.
To me, the attempt to ban TikTok is a very clear act of censorship, and the fact that it passed makes me worry about what else can be passed in the Supreme Court to further limit our rights.
AVA BROGNA, 12
Educational Exclusions
The undeniable issue concerning freedom of speech in schools has again made its presence. It has appeared in the censorship of curriculum and, most widely disputed, the banning of books in libraries and in classrooms.
Although many AP courses are generally exempt from censorship, as the same curriculum is required nationwide to pass the exams, honors and regular courses suffer from the consequences of these strict limitations. Many books, like the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, were restricted or removed completely from Broward County school libraries.
In other districts, stricter limitations were
applied, such as the banning of curriculum–required works like Of Mice and Men, as was the case in Indian River County. Of Mice and Men is central to the 10-grade curriculum, as it is a staple in school-taught literature.
Banning classic books like this will unquestionably impact the knowledge and worldly awareness of students. Books are the heart of high school English curriculum. The books, along with the lessons taught in the classrooms, prepare students for standardized tests, college and eventually their careers. Therefore, banning books and censoring curriculum has many downsides, and these downsides quite obviously outweigh any upsides, whatever they may be.
LIA SCHWARTZ, 11
Have something to say about the school? Have something to say about a local, national or global issue? Have something to say about this issue of the Eagle Eye?
We want to hear your opinions. Email submission to: MSDEagleEyeNews@gmail.com Submissions must be between 100-200 words
Undetected
Dear Editor,
The metal detector issue in our school needs to be addressed. Most of the students here believe that the metal detectors don’t resolve issues our school truly needs.
They claim that our detectors are stopping dangerous things from our school, yet almost every bathroom someone is vaping in it. I believe that if they aren’t going to do their jobs, they aren’t necessary especially with tons of people being late to school every day because of them.
This is why we should either improve or remove these metal detectors.
BRENDEN WOOLVERTON, 10
AI Altercation
Dear Editor,
AI technology has rapidly improved and become commercialized over the last couple of years. Humans face both exciting possibilities and serious challenges that might come to education, employment and everyday life due to the increased growth of AI.
The incorporation of AI tools will improve professional and learning processes, perform tasks faster and access complex information easier. However, as students, we need to understand the opposing side of improvement in technology such as privacy issues, technology reliance, cheating and plagiarism and loss of human jobs due to automation. Balance is what we need at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Students need to take advantage of the benefits of AI in learning, but at the same time be very conservative using the technology. The more information learned about the effects of AI, the more prepared people are about making decisions and creating a future where technology enables rather than controls students’ lives.
COOPER ROTH, 11
Dear Editor,
Recently I have seen many videos targeted towards children on YouTube, that of which, in my opinion, are not suitable for children. They involve flashing colors, explicit content and a whole lot of swear words.
Such content as that may as well be harmful for the youth, as it can negatively affect or stunt brain development for them. These videos tend to gain millions of views, meaning millions of children are being or have been negatively affected by the content found in these “family friendly” videos.
My question to you addresses this issue: what should we do if a sibling or relative the age of a child stumbles upon these videos? Should we remove or restrict their access to YouTube? Should we try to stop the issue of these “family friendly” videos affecting our children as a whole?
ANDREW DAVIS, 10
Across the decades, students fight for First Amendment rights at school
Advoca cy Ages of Advocacy
1943
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
In 1943, the West Virginia State Board of Education required all students in public schools to salute the flags in the morning. Refusal to do so resulted in suspension or expulsion of the student. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses in schools refused to salute the flag and were sent home for non-compliance. The parents of the students, Marie and Gathie Barnette, sued the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in favor of the Barnettes, establishing that forcing students to stand for the pledge is unconstitutional.
1969
Tinker v. Des Moines
During the Vietnam War, Mary Beth Tinker protested by wearing a black armband to her school, Warren Harding Junior High School in the Des Moines Independent School District. Her brother and his friend Christopher Eckhardt wore black armbands to their high school in the Des Moines Independent School District as well. All three of them were suspended by their schools, which claimed that wearing the bands would disrupt learning. Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker, Eckhardt and their parents argued that the suspension violated their right to free speech. The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the students, stating that schools do not have the right to censor students if their actions cause a substantial disruption at school.
Engle v. Vitale
Herricks High School in New York forced students to say a nondenominational prayer at the beginning of the school day. Parents, and more specifically Steven Engel, complained that the policy violated the First Amendment right of freedom of religion and sued the school board president, William Vitale. The Supreme Court ruled that government-sponsored prayer in schools violated the First Amendment’s Establishment clause with a 6-1 ruling.
1962
2007
Morse v. Frederick
A1986
Bethel School District v. Fraser
At a voluntary assembly at Bethel High School in Washington, senior Matthew Fraser incorporated sexually suggestive talk into a campaign speech he gave nominating one of his peers for a student elective office, with the intention of being comedic. His punishment included a two-day suspension and a ban from speaking at further school events. Fraser sued the Bethel School District for violating his First Amendment right to free speech. The Court ruled 7-2 in favor of the school district, determining that lewd speech is not protected.
t an off-campus event for Juneau-Douglas High School students to see the Olympic torch pass by, senior Joseph Frederick held up a banner that said “Bong Hits 4 Jesus,” supporting the legalization of marijuana. After being asked to remove the banner and refusing, Frederick was suspended for 10 days by the principal, Deborah Morse. Frederick sued Morse and the school board, arguing that his First Amendment rights were violated. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Morse, stating that schools can prohibit speech if it promotes illegal drug use. However, the court said that they would have ruled in the student’s favor if the sign had simply said “legalize marijuana” instead. This did not interfere with students’ right to comment on political issues of the day. The case also affirmed a school’s right to punish students for behavior that occurs at a school sponsored event.
Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier
Principal Robert Reynolds of Hazelwood East High School removed two pages from a student publication regarding taboo topics such as pregnancy, divorce and runaways. He believed the articles were inappropriate and that the featured students may be identifiable, potentially putting them in danger; however, all of the students quoted on the pages were cited anonymously, as the newspaper was purposely attempting to protect their identities. Cathy Kuhlmeier, Leslie Smart and Leanne Tippett sued the school district, claiming the principal violated their First Amendment right to free speech. The Supreme Court ruled 5-3 in favor of the school; the ruling established a test that dictates whether a newspaper falls under the limitations of the ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District or this case. If it is subject to the Tinker ruling censorship is only allowed in the case of a substantial disruption, but if it is subject to the Hazelwood ruling censorship is allowed if the school can prove a valid educational concern.
Brandi Levy, a high school freshman in Pennsylvania, tried out for varsity cheer, but was told all freshmen needed to perform on the junior varsity team. Despite this statement, a freshman student was placed on the varsity team. In response, Levy posted explicit content on her Snapchat story complaining about the situation. Levy was suspended from cheerleading at the school due to violating the rules, which required students to have respect for students and the school. Levy filed a lawsuit against Mahanoy Area School District, where the Supreme Court ruled with a 8-1 vote in favor of Levy. The Court decided that the public school violated her First Amendment right to free speech when they disciplined her for using profane language that took place off of the school’s campus.
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
Q Q &
A A
Mary Beth Tinker
Mary Beth Tinker continues to advocate for students’ First Amendment rights, 60 years after she began
Mary Beth Tinker was a junior at a public high school in Des Moines, Iowa in December 1965 when she, and some other students, planned to wear black armbands to school in protest of the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, a preemptive ban was placed on wearing the armbands after the school discovered their plan. Still, the students wore the armbands on Dec. 16, 1965 and five of them, including Tinker and her brother, were suspended. Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the suspended students and their families sued the school board in what has become a landmark Supreme Court case: Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District. After losing the case at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit upon appeal, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in the students’ favor. This 1969 ruling has since served to afford students their First Amendment rights, remaining a commonly cited Supreme Court precedent to this day.
What was it like growing up with parents who were heavily involved in activism, and how has that impacted you throughout your own time as an activist?
I was raised in the church. My father was a Methodist minister, and my mother had also been raised with the Methodist church being very important in her life. Then, in about 1963, when I was about 10 or 11 years old, we also got involved with the Quakers. The church and the message of trying to bring peace to the world, and making Earth and human interactions more loving and kind, was a very important message from my upbringing, with that faith tradition that all of us kids were raised in.
Our parents felt very strongly about that. They were not particularly political in those early years, but they believed that you should put your faith into action. You should not just talk, talk, talk, but rather act.
When you decided to wear the black armbands to school, did you truly think you would be suspended for it? What was your reaction when the Des Moines School Board suspended you and the others who wore the armbands?
We had a feeling we would be suspended, or at least asked to take off the armbands. My dad did not think we should wear the armbands, but kids are so persuasive. We said ‘Dad, you taught us to speak up for what we believe in and for peace,’ and my brother John said ‘but dad, these are just little black cloths, and people are being killed.’ Our dad ended up supporting us in the end.
However, about two days before we were planning our action, which was going to be Dec. 16, 1965, it came out in the Des Moines Register that the principals had met and decided to pass a rule against wearing black armbands... In the end, about 10 of us wore them and five of us got suspended. My little sister, Hope, who was in fifth grade, and my brother Paul, who was in second grade, even wore black armbands to their elementary school, and they said, ‘We want peace,’ because of course kids want peace, and that is true today as well.
What made you decide to protest on Dec. 16? What was it about that time of year that made you feel the need to speak up?
We wanted to support the idea of a truce because it was Christmas time. People love to send those little Christmas cards around and whatever it is, whatever your faith holiday is at that time, there is peace and love at the heart of it. People sent those cards around that said peace on Earth, and we thought ‘yeah, why don’t the adults try it sometime? Peace on Earth.’ They are so hypocritical. They say they want peace, but yet they put all their resources into war.
Were you disheartened after the rulings of the initial case and the appeal to the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals? Where did you, and everyone else involved, find the courage to take this case all the way to
the Supreme Court?
The motivation came from, number one, sincerely being for peace and really upset about the war–war that we were seeing on the news all the time. The news had a huge part to play in it, in our emotions, because Walter Cronkite was a big newscaster, and every night, as we were fixing dinner and having dinner, we would watch the evening news, and it was just horrible.
The body bags, the body count and the effects of that horrible war are still going on today. I worked at the VA hospital for a while two years after I graduated school, and even today, Vietnam veterans are having a really rough time; 20 Vietnam veterans per day kill themselves in the United States today. Veterans are not really treated fairly in our society, and it is a huge issue.
We were just really sad, so that motivated us. Then, we had examples in our life of people who speak up about things that are important and that they care about. It was a combination of strong feelings, and then of having examples that you can do something about those strong feelings.
Plus, young people have a sense of fairness, and we just thought it was not fair. We had not hurt anyone. We just wore a little black piece of cloth on our arms to say that we were grieving for those in Vietnam and that there should be a truce there at Christmas time. There is always some adult around to say ‘Well, life is not fair. Get used to it.’ I hate when people say that because life should be fair, and you should not get used to it.
How did it feel when the Supreme Court ruled in your favor, and how does it feel now to know that you played a monumental role in a landmark case?
I was not really that happy the day that we won the case. I was a junior in high school, and the war was raging. It was one of the worst years for the war, in 1969, and so I was kind of cynical. I thought, Oh, great, now we can wear a little black cloth on our arm, but in the meantime, thousands of people are being injured and killed in Vietnam. It was a war of atrocities. We kept hearing about all the horrible things that were coming out of Vietnam.
When we looked at our case, and they told us that we could wear a cloth I thought that is not really going to do it; it is not going to stop the war; it is not going to stop the horrors.
Now, though, I am happy that we won the case, because it was an affirmation for young people that your voices are important and that you have a very important part to play in shaping our country, our communities and our world. I’m glad that the Supreme Court respected young people with this ruling, because too often young people are disrespected, and this ruling was the opposite. It is a respect for young people and for your voices, and it is an encouragement for young people to speak up and to be involved.
If you were to pick one lesson that you learned from this entire experience to share with teens today, what would it be?
Well, strangely enough, I was sent to the principal’s office from my math class after lunch, and when I got down there the vice principal asked me to take off the armband. He said it was against the rules, so I did. I took it off, and I was suspended anyway. That is kind of the
Still, I did learn a lesson that you do not have to be the strongest, bravest person in the world. You can still speak up about something that you care about, and sometimes you might even back down and can still make a difference. That was kind of a lesson that I learned that day, because then I was suspended anyway.
How has your career as a nurse practitioner intertwined with your activism?
I liked the practical skill of nursing, but now I feel like speaking with students about your rights and encouraging you to know and use your rights is kind of nursing in another way. It is promoting health in other ways.
I think that what the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School did around school shootings, and pushing back about that, and starting a movement against gun violence, that is part of health care. To me, it was nursing to encourage your students to speak up about that.
I think that we have to look at healthcare in a much broader way. We want to prevent shootings. We want to prevent trauma, prevent illness, and that happens by keeping people in safe housing, making schools and communities safe and speaking up to Congress and legislature for policies that promote children and youth. It is not fair that young people are the most likely to live in poverty, with all the consequences of that. It is not fair that young people are being shot in their schools. It is not fair that young people are breathing polluted air and sometimes drinking polluted water. Knowing your rights is a way that you can speak up about those things and make things better… That is what the First Amendment is so good for, advocating for yourself to make things better.
What are some of the most meaningful things you have accomplished through the Tinker Tour?
The most meaningful part of it is encouraging young people who too often feel discouraged and too often feel disrespected. I like to hear the kinds of things that you are speaking up about, and I like to encourage young people from elementary school on up through all grades and ages.
You should be able to express yourself, and you should be able to speak up about the things you care about… When you speak up about things, it leads to good things. It just might take a while and require the combined efforts of lots of people.
REPORTING AND DESIGN BY
Andie Korenge and Natalia Dzielnicka
Mary Beth Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt, aware of the recently enacted school board banning them, wore black armbands to school and were suspended.
Tinker’s brother wore one the next day and met the same fate.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa dismissed the case after Iowa Civil Liberties Union lawyer Dan Johnston filed a complaint on behalf of the children and their fathers.
PHOTO BY Dara Rosen
Q Q &
Kuhlmeier
Cathy Kuhlmeier, involved in the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court Landmark case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, details what the media failed to capture about her experience with school censorship
fter articles discussing teen pregnancies, divorce and runaways were removed from a pending issue of Hazelwood East High School’s student by former principal Robert Reynolds, editor Cathy Kuhlmeier and two of her peers sued the school district for infringing upon their First Amendment rights. Reynolds reasoned that schools are not required to distribute student speech that does not align with their “basic educational mission.” The case was eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where a 5-3 ruling established that if a student newspaper is not considered a public forum or consistent with a school’s educational goals, a school has the authority to limit it. However, Kuhlmeier’s attorney, Leslie Edwards, failed to mention critical details which could have resolved the case in favor
What inspired you and the former editors of The Spectrum to write stories focused on serious topics, such as one on teen pregnancy and divorce?
Our newspaper had generally done stories that we called pretty or fluffy stories, and they were never really anything that was hard hitting that really ever made a difference to anybody, and we didn’t want to be that type of staff. So, we did some research through what’s called The Morgue–which was past story editions and story ideas–and we came across some similar topics, and we decided that we wanted to update those because the problem still existed.
Why do you think it is important for student journalists to write in-depth stories that cover controversial topics?
Kids have a right to know important things, too, and you guys are smart and you have brains that enable you to think and critically think and do it well. If you don’t get the taste of journalism in junior high or high school or college, where will that actually ever develop from? How do you know if it’s something that you want to proceed and do as a career in life?
What was your reaction, after working deliberately to ensure your stories were accurate and of quality, to having them removed by your principal?
Well, we were very upset, obviously, because it didn’t get published; but, it was also kind of just hurtful that he didn’t have the courtesy to come and talk to us himself. We had to go to him and ask questions to get it and to gain an understanding of what was going on with the matter.
What motivated you to take this situation to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri?
It’s still, 40 years later, kind of hard to get your head around and know that I did something like that. Really, it was just wanting to help our student body, so I don’t feel like I’m any different, any better than anybody else. I just wanted to talk about what mattered to kids in our school and to try and make a difference.
What did you learn from this experience?
Always check before you hire an attorney to make sure they’re good.
I don’t know if it’s a learning thing, but it shaped me into who I am now, because I am that protective mama bear; I stand up for the underdogs. I want things to be handled as they should. Or maybe somebody doesn’t have a voice, or they’re afraid to stand up and say something that I’m not afraid to. I’m not afraid to challenge authority and take things… by the horns and challenge it, and it has shaped me as the mother that I am to my kids. It is also my son, when he was born, had a rare birth defect, and I took on the insurance company because they didn’t want to pay for the medical treatment that he needed. I took on the insurance company and I won.
When my daughter was a sophomore in high school, out of the blue, she developed epilepsy, and she had already gotten a full ride scholarship. But, when she got into college after that, she started, because of the epilepsy, losing her ability to listen to a lecture and remember what she heard. It would just literally go in one ear and out the other. Her scholarship was GPA based, and she was failing,
“your younger self who partook in that years long legal battle, what would it be?
Know who the attorney is, but never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. It was totally, really just trusting in the process that we would be able to help somebody, and knowing as a journalist that your stories won’t always reach and impact everybody, but if you make a difference to one person, you’ve done your job.
I’m gonna go off from that question just a little bit, just to give you some background on why I say that. Not everybody in high school is gonna be pregnant. Not everybody’s gonna have divorced parents or run away or what have you. The reason that the story on runaways meant the most to me…is [because] during that point in time I worked at Target, and I had a friend named Reggie that I was working with on a Saturday afternoon. I didn’t know Reggie was actually running away. Reggie went into the bathroom of Target and [died by] suicide, and I would like to think that maybe, just maybe, had those articles run, maybe, since there were hotline numbers in the stories, that maybe Reggie would have made a phone call and maybe he’d still be here. That’s why, as a journalist, your job matters, because you want to help somebody else.
Describe how your experience has been talking with state legislatures across the country about New Voices USA, a student-powered nonpartisan grassroots movement that seeks to protect student press freedom with state laws.
I worked at Target, and I had a friend named Reggie that I was working with on a Saturday afternoon. I didn’t know Reggie was actually running away. Reggie went into the bathroom of Target and committed suicide and I would like to think that maybe, just maybe, had those articles run, maybe, since there were hotline numbers in the stories, that maybe Reggie would have made a phone call and maybe he’d still be here. That’s why, as a journalist, your job matters, because you want to help somebody else.
We were just following the direction of what the American Civil Liberties Union, or the ACLU, was telling us, because being high school kids, we didn’t understand any of the processes or what our rights were, and that was their recommendation to escalate and let them know we were serious about publishing the articles.
What was your reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that your former principal’s actions did not violate students’ free speech rights?
Well, that was a really sore subject. My attorney, Leslie Edwards, didn’t have the courtesy to call and tell me. I found out the decision—I didn’t even know it was actually being heard. She never told me, which was a violation of my legal rights, because anytime something is presented in court and it carries your name, you’re supposed to be notified. I wasn’t notified. Leslie and Leanne both were, and they both got to go and be part of the hearings, but I didn’t get to go.
To take that one step further, Ms. Edwards never called to tell me that ‘Hey, by the way, it was heard. Hey, by the way, we lost.’ I found out on Jan. 13, 1988 from a local reporter for the St. Louis Missourian calling me, asking me for a comment, so I didn’t have any nice comment that I could say. I figured it was better to listen to that mother’s rule: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
How does it feel to play such a large role in a U.S. Supreme Court Landmark case?
Cathy Kuhlmeier
and I took on the university for her, and together, we won, and she graduated with honors.
It’s just standing up and doing the right thing. I want to be that person. I don’t want to be someone different if nobody’s looking versus when somebody is. I want to be that same person consistently. I think more people think that that’s a form of character in people, and I think people should hopefully try and adopt that because how often do you see people that are basically two faced? They’re… nice when they’re in front of you, and then turn your back and they’re like talking about you. I don’t want to be that girl.
Why do you think a school or any entity should not interfere with work being published by students?
I think at some point that they need to trust their faculty, trust that the advisor is well educating their students, that they are capable and competent of making good decisions, because it does prepare them for further down the road in life. I generally think that most people have good intentions, especially journalists, because they are great kids, but it’s building that trust and rapport, where as a journalist, you should be able to have a good open door policy and go back and talk to your administration, and if they question you on something, talk to them about it. Why do you feel this way? Why can’t we do this? What could we do differently? And then tell them your stance on where you’re at with things.
If you could give any advice to
I think it’s great because aside from me telling my story, I get to hear what’s happening to you guys. I get to hear what’s happening to advisers, and let them know that there is hope for it, that we can make a difference and people coming together and talking about their experiences is where it starts. That’s why, to me, it has become something more than of a passion.
Work for my life is to continue to encourage kids to talk about what matters to them, and it may not be something that has to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it’s something that matters to you, and if it matters to you, then it may matter to somebody else, so talk about it. Through New Voices, the more forces we can gain together, the more ground we can cover and hopefully get more states to pass the laws.
What is your advice to students seeking to implement a New Voices bill in their state?
Talk about it. Talk. Talk about it, build that momentum between other students and help them understand why the communication matters. Talk to your parents about it because typically those are the people that are of the voting age.
Then get to the people that make the decisions, talk to representatives, talk to senators, write letters, send emails …fill their inboxes, but let them know why it matters. Put your face in front of them.
Say, ‘Hey, look, we’re a group of high school students, and we care about our rights as a student journalist, and because of Hazelwood, we don’t have those rights. Would you partner with us to help make a difference for future high school students?’
Just gain that momentum, just let it be a big deal.
What have been some of your greatest achievements regarding New Voices?
Seeing the states that are passing [New Voices laws], and just getting to be a part of that. For me, it’s really
just watching kids that still care. It’s he same thing with going to the national journalism conferences: to see the excitement of the kids about journalism or getting noticed–again, not that I’m a big deal, because I don’t consider that at all–but when they’re excited about meeting somebody that’s part of history, they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re really not that old.’ That part is fun.
Is there anything you would like to add?
There’s just a whole lot more to the story than what is in the textbooks they give you. In the textbook, the 10,000 foot view level, if you will…They don’t talk about the things that really, truly happened.
For example, they just mentioned that there were stories that were rejected. They don’t mention the fact that the articles have been previously published 10 years before. Underneath a different principal, we had interviewed everybody, gotten consent, written consent, from the students that were quoted in the paper, as well as their parentals, so that the parents knew what was going on.
There were no names left in any of it [the paper], and there was a blurb that said “all of the names have been changed because we were protecting their identity.”
None of that’s mentioned [in textbooks], but if you go, and you read the dissent from Justice Byron [who wrote the court’s majority opinion], he says that the principal acted in, quote, ‘fear that the students could be identified.’
Now our attorney didn’t bring any of that up…because that was the reason they objected. The reason that they ruled how they did–so we lost–on the basis of poor representation.
The day that we went to the principal’s office, and we said, ‘can you tell us what happened? Why are the article censored?’ He goes, ‘Oh, those articles, they’re trash. They’re too mature for an immature audience.’
And I said, ‘Well, if you’re old enough to get pregnant, shouldn’t you be old enough to read about it?’ Well, he didn’t like that.
It’s not like we were giving the how to’s; we were saying to think about what you’re doing, because you’re impacting not just those students involved in that act.
learn the insides of it. It makes me question now, did he read them? Did he not read them?… You’ve changed the course of history for many generations, and did you ever actually read the paper?
Also, they really kind of paint us to be not good kids, and I was in honor society, and I was in marching band and played soccer and was a thespian. I was doing all the right things. It’s not like I was one of the troublemakers causing problem.
There was a TV show back in the 80s called the Phil Donahue show. And basically it was the Oprah of the 80s. And we [the journalism students] got asked to go to Chicago to the Phil Donahue show and be on live TV and tell our story. And when I got back to school, I was told that I, because I didn’t personally ask his [the principal’s] permission, I could either be suspended or expelled
understand were mean, some of the faculty was like, ‘Why are you causing this problem? Would you shut up?’
Mr. Reynolds, during my end of my senior year, he would follow me to make sure I wasn’t skipping classes. I never skipped classes. My chemistry teacher, Mr. Moore, would say, ‘would you leave her alone? She’s here. Leave her alone.’
I just had my 40th class reunion over the summer. I got to see some of the people that went to high school with, obviously, that didn’t get it. They came up to me and were like, I understand what you did, and I’m sorry for being a turd, but what you’re doing was really, was a big deal. It was really ultimately to help us, and now that we have kids of our own, and they’re studying the case, and they’re coming back to you saying, ‘isn’t this where you went to high school?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, I knew that girl.’ Now, they get it, and they’re like, ‘I’m sorry.’ It was kind of a full circle moment for me that to get the apologies for the people that were kind of cruel, and to say thank you for trying.
Twelve to 13 years ago, I was doing a symposium at the University of Kansas City Law School, and it’s the first time that I have come face to face with Mr. Reynolds in many, many years, and we’re in a panel discussion. They asked the question of why he really censored the paper.
And he said, ‘Oh, that was a budget problem. We didn’t have the money for it,’ and, ‘Oh, I never actually read the articles.’
Things like that, that are huge parts of the story, aren’t told until you get to talk to me or Leslie or Leanne and
not your principal. You shouldn’t have to go ask your principal.
How did it feel like to be constantly censored while trying to speak up about your experience?
It was hard because, you know, kids aren’t always the nicest people, right? Some, I mean, some of them are your best friends. Some of them are just like, just want to poke at you.
High school is hard, and so kids that didn’t really
I think it’s something that I will take to my grave with me. I have a foundation now, and a board of directors that help the cause for student journalists, and I have required my two children that are now grown and married, to be a part of that, but I want them to understand the legacy of what I have tried to do, so that one day, hopefully they will carry on this as well, but it shaped them as who they are as people as well, that they get doing the right thing.
How did you find the passion and motivation to keep advocating for free speech rights despite all these challenges?
I feel like the Supreme Court and our attorney or the ACLU just got it so wrong that it was hurtful, that I felt like I was hurting the kids, that I let you guys down, and that was never my intention. It was to make things better for students, not to make it harder. And I don’t want to be that girl. I want to be the one that they’re like, you’re still out there fighting for it, you’re still out there trying to help us. I want to be that person that you guys can hopefully look at one day and go, she did stand up. She was true to her word. Part of it is just my faith. You know, my religious faith of being there to help others.
REPORTING BY Leila Zollo and Victoria Damaso
GRAPHICS BY Victoria Damaso
Hazelwood East High School Principal Robert Reynolds removes two pages of a teen pregnancy, divorce and runaways article from the May 13, 1983, issue of The Spectrum
Student journalists Cathy Kuhlmeier, Leslie Smart and Leanne Tippet sue the Missouri school district and take their case to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
District court rules in favor of the school, claiming that Hazelwood East High School has the right to revoke material that is written on behalf of the school.
Kuhlmeier and her peers appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, asserting that the school’s paper was a public forum and the school could only censor their publications in extreme circumstances.
The Hazelwood East High School appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a 5-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the circuit court, reasoning that The Spectrum is sponsored by the school and not considered a public forum. Thus, the principal did have the authority to revoke articles and was not in violation of the First Amendment.
MSD students have a history of using their First Amendment rights to advocate for change
We Stand We Stand For Which
On February 14, 2018, a deadly shooting took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that resulted in the deaths of 17 students and faculty members and injured 17 others. In the wake of the shooting, MSD students exercised their First Amendment rights to free speech–assembling and protesting to advocate for societal change. A group of students started a nationwide movement–March For Our Lives–to advocate for common sense gun violence prevention and gun law reform. On March 24, 2018, an estimated 800,000 people attended the March For Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C. and thousands more participated in rallies across the country. Much of the student body participated in school walk-outs, gave media interviews, organized and attended protests and gave speeches to advocate for change. Many credited what they had learned in their classes and from their teachers at MSD as part of their inspiration to stand up for what they believed in.
IN SOLIDARITY. Student activists from across the nation alongside MSD students raise their arms to protest gun violence facing young people across the country during the March for Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. on March 24, 2018.
STAND UP AND WALK OUT.
on 19th
UP.
the school
PHOTO BY Suzanna Barna
MSD students gather in
courtyard
anniversary of the Columbine School shooting on April 20, 2018. The anniversary fell two months after the deadly shooting at MSD. Immediately following the gathering, some students walked out of school in protest of gun violence. PHOTO BY Kevin Trejos
SPEAKING
Adam Buchwald, an MSD junior at the time, speaks in front of the March For Our Lives attendees at the Parkland rally on March 24, 2018. Buchwald honored the victims of MSD shooting and called for change.
MSD students express themselves through different classes and clubs offered at MSD
Voice VoiceYour
Speech & Debate
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s debate class, taught by Jacob Abraham, instructs students to properly conduct research, form opinions, build arguments and engage in formal discussions and debates. The class enhances students’ public speaking skills, critical thinking and persuasive skills.
“It’s helped me learn how to form strong arguments and fight for what I believe in,” freshman Anabella Karam said.
Debate offers a structured environment for students to freely express their views while also showing them the responsibilities and limitations of free speech.
“My class promotes students being well-rounded, civically engaged and creative thinkers,” Abraham said. “They have to consume information, they have to understand and interpret the world around them and then be able to take a stance on any given topic and argue their point.”
CRAFTING ARGUMENTS. Freshman Anabella Karam works on a discussion post for in her debate class. MSD Debate teaches students how to research, build and form arguments and opinions, and properly engage in discussions. “It’s helped me learn how to form strong arguments and fight for what I believe in,”
Model UN
Model UN club is sponsored by social studies teacher Sofia Capezza. It allows for students to debate pressing global issues. Model UN students are assigned a country and positions on topics for them to research upon and present their argument at conferences hosted at various colleges.
“Our club definitely promotes free speech at Model UN conferences where
students are assigned a country or position so it’s not necessarily their expressing their own personal views but it allows them to become informed about the policies and positions of countries around the world and the most pressing issues,” Capezza said.
Researching about global issues allows students to gain a new perspective and conferences allow them to express those perspectives and opinions.
“I believe free speech is a huge part of what Model UN aims to promote. Model UN allows students to develop their own arguments thoroughly and pass resolutions together that allows students to develop cohesive working skills with others,” Model UN president Samit Nagarajan said.
Politics Club
Politics Club, sponsored by Advance Placement World History teacher Devin Schaller, was founded for students to have discussions on pressing political matters in a safe space.
“Our club was founded because we saw many people wanting a place for them to have open discourse on pressing political issues in a safe space… We allow for students to speak their minds freely on whatever issue we are discussing and make sure to push an opinion-friendly environment,” Schaller said.
Discussions at Politics Club are not censored, as students can speak freely about their political views on recent political issues with Schaller moderating them.
“We have round table discussions about current political issues… It’s kind of just like an open discussion with the president (me)
as the moderator,” Schaller said.
The club emphasizes freedom of speech by reminding students that they can speak openly on their views, free of judgment, and safely.
“Yes, it [free speech] is one of the biggest components of our club. We market our club as a place where students can be free to share their own opinions and feel safe doing so,” Politics Club President Aidan Tau said.
SHAPING POLICY. As an officer of the MSD Politics club, Sidd Ojha engages in a discussion during their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Politics Club allows students to discuss their political views and concerns, exercising their first amendment right, freedom of speech.
VOICES IN ACTION. Junior Nicholas Litenski discusses important political issues in during a Politics Club meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 28. PHOTOS BY ASHVEEN SAINI
Karam said. PHOTO BY CRYSTAL GOES
SHAPING POLICY. Sophomore Dimitri Francois presents his proposed policies to improve ecotourism at the Florida International University Model United Nations Interest meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Participants were tasked with proposing policies to improve national issues for randomly assigned countries on specific issues.
PHOTO BY LANGXIAN ZENG
DEBATE DYNAMICS. Freshman Beatriz Zuanazzi Bettega works on a discussion post during her debate class. Taught by Debate teacher Dr. Jacob Abraham, Speech and Debate is an elective course offered at MSD where students develop their public speaking skills, challenge opposing views, and have open discourse, some very fundamental aspects of free speech.
PHOTO BY CRYSTAL GOES
CRAFTING ARGUMENTS
SHAPING POLICY
SHAPING POLICY
DEBATEDYNAMICS
EDITINGCRAZE
Digital Info Technology
The Digital Video Technology course teaches students the inner workings of film and media production as well as photo and video editing. Students can choose what type of film they want to do, such as broadcast and journalism filming.
“There’s always been value to this class because first of all, it’s something that’s gonna be used well beyond just going into the television or film industry,” Digital Video Technology teacher Eric Garner said.
TV production reinforces the First Amendment in
PRODUCTION BREAKDOWN. Digital Technology teacher Eric Garner discusses upcoming competitions at a TV Club meeting. The club is dedicated to filming news, as well as allowing students to create their own stories.
EDITING CRAZE. Senior Jayden Varillas dedicates his time to editing a student made film for TV Production. Through the process of film making, students have been able to use innovative ways to tell stories and express themselves..
AP Government
The Advanced Placement Government course educates students on the U.S. political system at a college rigor-level. The teacher, Jeffrey Foster, helps students understand how the government operates, the roles of political parties and institutions and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
“We learn about the political system, why people vote, how they vote, how the Constitution works, etc.,” Foster said.
AP Government allows students to be informed about their rights by analyzing and breaking down the meaning and interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, as well as landmark Supreme Court decisions. The class strives to educate the students on the freedoms, limitations and responsibilities of speech.
“I think I let them know that within the boundaries of the United States you can say anything you want as long as it’s not openly offending anybody or as long
as it’s not singling out a group or violating someone’s rights. I encourage kids to think for themselves,” Foster said.
DECODING DEMOCRACY. Senior Connie Lamaison goes over civil liberties review during her first period AP government class. The class taught by Jeffrey Foster explores the history and evolution of US government, and focuses on the essential parts of democracy including First Amendment rights.
FOSTERING FREE EXPRESSION. Advanced Placement teacher Jeffery Foster speaks about civil liberties with his first period AP Government class on Wednesday, Feb. 12. AP Government is a class offered by MSD for seniors looking to obtain government credit, in this class the students learn the history of government in the US and how rights like freedom of speech have evolved. PHOTOS BY
numerous ways due to the different focuses within the class. One is the freedom of the press.
“First, there’s freedom of the press which is my students who are doing broadcast journalism ( we’ve been recognized nationally for our broadcast journalism) and our documentary filmmaking which kind of go together,” Garner said.
Students focused on creative filmmaking can also use film as a creative outlet while also being able to speak freely.
“On the film side, because film is considered an art, we have very open free speech ability. It’s free expression, it being an art form a lot of students do find it as an outlet just as much as someone who’s painting on a canvas or playing an instrument or something. Film is another outlet for that freedom of expression,” Garner said.
FOSTERINGFREE EXPRESSION
Creative Writing
In creative writing, students are introduced to a variety of writing styles for creative expression, career, as well as prose and poetry. Creative Writing instructors Stacey Lippel and Melissa Falkowski teach students a variety of different writing styles, then allow them to use them themselves, with assistance from them if needed.
“We do all kinds of writing,” Lippel said. “I try to touch on all genres of writing from personal narratives to poetry to longer prose pieces.”
Lippel also encourages students to write freely; they are allowed to submit any piece of writing as long as it is within the guidelines for the topic she assigned,
Literary Magazine
Literary Magazine is a club, hosted by Newspaper and Teaching instructor Melissa Falkowski, where students can submit their pieces of writing or art to be published to the school. Participants of the club then organize the submitted pieces into a coordinating magazine.
“We decide a theme, then we collect stories from people around the school, then we put those stories, and photos and artwork together to make it cohesive and make it match with the theme,” Literary Magazine
member Ahana Tippanagoudar said.
Literary Magazine promotes free speech by allowing student voices to be heard by publishing their works.
“We promote free speech because people can submit whatever they want. They can submit stories about grief, love, perseverance, and as long as it’s not too inappropriate, we are able to share their words with everyone else at the school,” Tippanagoudar said.
as well as school-appropriate.
“I don’t censor my students at all,” Lippel said. “They have to write within the parameters I give them, but I don’t censor their language, I don’t censor their content.”
Students can take Creative Writing I/II with Lippel and Creative Writing III -IV Honors with Falkowski.
CREATIVE SPARKS. Senior Tam-an Nguyen steps up to the whiteboard to work on the collaborative warm-up prompt during Melissa Falkowski’s Creative Writing III-V class. Students in this class have the freedom to write fiction, prose, poetry and personal essays throughout the year to fill up their writers’ logs, and learn how to improve their writing. PHOTO BY
BOOKS.
in the Media
advanced creative writing students read a book of their choice every quarter as part of the class and have the freedom to choose any book that interests them.
bills aimed to limit the teaching of race, sexuality and diversity to Florida students, including House Bill 1557 and HB 7, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” and “Stop WOKE Act” by critics, respectively. Now, the Florida Department of Education is taking similar measures to curtail additional curriculum taught in public schools and colleges, epitomizing the expanding scope of alleged censorship in education.
It is part of a nationwide fight by conservatives against diversity, equity and inclusion. Recently inaugurated President Donald Trump has made DEI an opponent of his administration, cutting all DEI policies and programs within the federal government. DeSantis is an open ally of Trump, likely leading to a similar alignment in their policies at the federal and state levels.
Science Textbooks
The FLDOE, which is led by a committee appointed by DeSantis, continues to intentionally target subjects that remain politically controversial in education, such as climate change and its environmental implications. In June 2024, various textbook authors were notified that in order for their science books to remain a part of Florida’s educational system, “climate change” citations were to be removed, as reported in the Orlando Sentinel.
However, according to a survey of 333 MSD students, 73% believe that the FLDOE directing science textbook authors to remove climate change references from their books is not suppressing indoctrination, but rather an act of censorship.
“It’s common knowledge that our planet’s climate is constantly shifting, and trying to suppress that fact is not right whatsoever,” senior Vincent Ciullo said. “This censoring of important information is detrimental to children in schools around Florida, as they won’t receive the proper information about the world they live in. It is extremely important that younger generations are educated about this, as they are the individuals who can help the most to preserve our planet for years to come.”
DeSantis has long been a proponent against climate advocacy. In May 2024, he signed HB 1645, which deletes the phrase “climate change” from over 50 instances of state statutes involving the issue and facilitates the expansion of natural gas.
“It is now, more than ever, the time when we need to educate students about this problem, so that we can be aware and find ways to combat it. But we can’t do that if the government prevents climate change content from being included in our schools’ textbooks,” Lamaison said.
Additionally, DeSantis worked alongside the FLDOE in 2023 to distribute climate change-refuting videos created by conservative organization Prager University Foundation to Florida school teachers.
“
State of Florida increasingly targets controversial subjects in schools
curriculum outlines the “benefits of sexual abstinence as the expected standard and the consequences of teenage pregnancy,” for grades 6-12. Florida law HB 1069 requires teachers to “teach abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage as the expected standard for school-age students while teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage.”
When implementing educational content in schools, Florida school districts must adhere to Florida Statutes Section 1003.57(1)(b)1. that requires them to submit educational plans to the state for their approval. BCPS’ sex education curriculum was sent to the state in October 2023 for their revision; Eagle Eye News covered the policy and the lack of high school sex education in the county during the 2022-2023 school year..
However, the Florida government provided no feedback to the curriculum until a year later. On Aug. 21, 2024, the state contacted Broward officials and expressed their dissatisfaction with some material incorporated in the lessons via phone call.
According to a memo of the call, “Pictures of external sexual/reproductive anatomy should not be included in any grade level… Contraceptives are not part of any health or science standard” but could be referenced as a “health resource,” and “pictures, activities or demonstrations that illustrate their use should not be included in instruction in any grade level.”
The FLDOE has not published official instructions detailing the new curriculum guidelines.
This censoring of important information is detrimental to children in schools around Florida, as they won’t receive the proper information about the world they live in.
Cell biologist and science textbook co-author Ken Miller said that he was required to cut a segment in his textbook that demands governments to stop climate change, and he was told to provide proof that “human activity” was responsible for climate change. Further, Miller’s publisher said that a 90-page section on climate change was removed from a high school chemistry textbook.
MSD teachers regard removing climate change content from school textbooks negatively.
BCPS, which traditionally provides a comprehensive sex education curriculum, will now have to remove specific references to contraception in higher grades, fetal development in middle grades and different types of sex–such as vaginal, anal and oral sex–in all grades in accordance with the state’s recent instruction.
It is unclear how the change in sex education curriculum will impact students and staff at MSD, as it has not yet been revealed or enacted. The BCPS website reads that the 2024-2025 Reproductive Health and Disease Prevention curriculum is currently “under revision and will be posted upon approval.”
Another science textbook author claimed, according to the report, that the FLDOE wanted him to remove additional information relating to climate change that was not specified in Florida’s educational standards.
“I definitely do believe that the banning of climate change-related content on textbooks in public schools is censorship,” Climate Change Club President Connie Lamaison said. “The fact that the state is choosing to not only ignore but also prevent young people from learning about this issue is really concerning. They are acting as if climate change [i]sn’t happening when it very much is.”
Following the publishing of the Orlando Sentinel report, an education department spokeswoman responded that Florida has “some of the most rigorous educational standards in the nation,” and “Florida works with publishers to ensure their product aligns with our standardsand does not include any form of ideology or indoctrination.”
“I think it is ridiculous that we are taking climate change out of textbooks and potentially out of curriculum. It’s not something that we can ignore; it’s a fact of life,” AP Environmental Science teacher Tammy Orilio said. “Even if we’re not teaching about it, it’s still happening, and I think we are harming ourselves even more by not educating students about it.”
Sex Education
Climate change is not the only subject the FLDOE is attempting to exclude from the scientific curriculum. It has been divulged by district officials and a comprehensive sexual health education advocate by the Orlando Sentinel that last year, Florida pressured school districts to reformat their sex education curriculum to focus on abstinence. This action mirrors steps some Republican-led legislatures have taken to control the information teenagers can learn about their bodies.
Specifically, the FLDOE told some districts that they could not teach teenagers about contraception, show images illustrating the anatomy of the human reproductive system or discuss topics relating to domestic violence to certain grades, prompting many school districts, including Broward County Public Schools, to reform their Reproductive Health and Disease Prevention curriculum to emphasize abstinence.
On the FLDOE website, the comprehensive health
Eagle Eye News discovered last year that despite the new curriculum, BCPS lacked planning on where to implement it within high schools, as MSD’s Personal Fitness and Lifestyle Design course was the only place in which sex education was included in the curriculum. This meant that even if the new curriculum was approved, no one would be taught it outside of select students during their freshman year.
BCPS resumed teaching students sex-ed for all high school students through their study hall last year. It remains to be seen if the curriculum will be taught this year.
Shifting sex education to focus on abstinence has fostered uncertainty among some MSD students, as research shows it does not prevent adolescents from engaging in sexually risky behaviors, but rather withholds them from medically accurate information that could reduce their chances of obtaining sexually transmitted diseases or having unwanted pregnancies.
“Making sex-education abstinence-focused is entirely hypocritical and will only harm students,” senior Melissa Azzarito said. “There are many kids whose parents do not teach about sexual activity or safety and rely on information provided by the school. The kids who want to participate in sexual activity are going to do so regardless of whether or not the schools are preaching abstinence, and doing so
Vincent Ciullo, senior
will only stop students from learning how to engage in those activities in a healthy manner.”
General Education Class
Though Florida’s attempts to censor education have primarily occurred at the K-12 level, they have also greatly affected public universities and colleges in the state.
Most notably, Florida public colleges drastically altered general education classes to comply with 2024’s Senate Bill 266 in fall 2024.
General education courses, dubbed “gen eds,” are classes that a student attending a university must take in order to graduate. Because students select a major, or specific area of study, in college, students may lack wellroundedness due to their focus on a narrow field. Gen eds seek to prevent this by requiring students to take a variety of classes.
about 700, according to Politico. Santa Fe College removed over 50 general education courses, Florida International University removed 22 and Florida Gulf Coast University removed 40, which is 25% of their general education offerings.
Some courses removed include Theories of African American Studies, What is a Good Life, the Evolution of Human Sexuality, Introduction to LGBTQ+ Studies and Anthropology of Race and Ethnicity.
Among the most targeted were sociology courses, which was likely politically motivated; Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz called sociology a field “hijacked by left-wing activists” and claimed it “no longer serves its intended purpose as a general knowledge course for students” on X, formerly known as Twitter, in December 2023.
2024 school year.
Famous literary classics and biographies, such as Slaughterhouse Five, 1984 the Graphic Novel, The Handmaid’s Tale: Graphic Novel and Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, have been removed from various Florida school counties libraries and classrooms.
Works by renowned writers Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor and Richard Wright were also removed, along with novels that feature material on gender and sexuality, such as All Boys Aren’t Blue by George Johnson and Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe.
The requirements are often school-specific, but generally include liberal arts courses like English and history, as well as basic science and math classes. However, in an attempt to ensure students are culturally educated, many universities and colleges also include a diversity or cultural education requirement.
DeSantis has been an open opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion education in both schools and the workplace. He advocated for and signed 2022’s Individual Freedom Act HB7, dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act,: that blocked workplace and educational discussions on race and gender, specifically targeting critical race theory. It was later legally challenged, and parts of the law were permanently blocked.
DeSantis’ open advocacy to end what he believes to be “woke” DEI education prompted the Florida Legislature to pass SB 266 in 2024.
SB 266 targeted many issues in higher education, but most relevant are clauses pertaining to gen eds.
The law established a faculty committee, jointly appointed by the State Board of Education and chair of the Board of Governors, that will conduct regular reviews of statewide general education course options and provide recommendations for the removal, alignment or addition of gen eds.
It is worth noting that the State Board of Education is appointed by the governor, and 14 of the 17 members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the governor. Given DeSantis’ prominent stance on what should be included in education, the board may be influenced by his approval.
The most influential portion of the law, though, is one that regulates what may be included in gen ed courses.
“General education core courses may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics, violates s. 1000.05 or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political and economic inequities,” SB 266 states.
Forty percent of MSD students “strongly believe” SB 266 to be censorship, and another 22% agree that the law is censorship.
The creation of the board and the prohibition of content led to many public universities making headlines by removing hundreds of general education offerings.
Florida State University removed over 400 general education courses, and the University of Florida removed
Such a sharp decline in course offerings could decrease the attractiveness of attending a public Florida university. Florida public universities have long been highly regarded on the national scene and are a major pull for many outof-state.
However, in recent years, Florida universities have dropped in rankings. In 2023, the University of Florida fell out of the top 5 public universities or colleges on U.S. News rankings, and the Wall Street Journal dropped UF from Number 1 to Number 34 in public universities in 2024. It is possible that recent policies affecting higher education are impacting their rankings.
“I applied mostly out-of-state for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that I was concerned about what might happen to some public schools in Florida,” senior Isabel Lopez said. “Seeing what happened with New College [of Florida] and all the classes they took away, I didn’t want to risk it.”
Along with topics focusing on DEI, Florida also instructed colleges to review all college course materials with keywords relating to the Middle East to find “antisemitic material” or “anti-Israeli bias.” This has led to concern that content related to Israel’s bombing of Gaza may be erased.
Book Bans
The removal of some higher-education courses are not the FLDOE’s sole attempts to limit information available on diversity; Florida remains the only U.S. state to have banned over 4,500 individual books, many pertaining to topics of sexuality, racism and inequality. Florida’s law, HB 1069, has made this possible.
DeSantis passed HB 1069 in 2023, which, among several other laws, requires Florida public schools to allow parents and county residents to object to any instructional material integrated by the district board’s curriculum. Further, it demands that books or any material used for instruction which “depicts sexual content,” content “not suited to student needs and their ability to comprehend the material presented” and content “inappropriate for the grade level and age group,” be prohibited and immediately withdrawn from school libraries and classrooms until the receipt of objection is resolved.
Although HB 1069 has not specified what material is deemed “inappropriate for the grade level,” according to a recent 700+ book ban list, it aligns closely to content that discusses sexuality, race and gender identity.
In November 2024, the FLDOE published a list of over 700 books discontinued from school districts as of the 2023-
“I’m not opposed to the banning of the two graphic novels [Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Novel and The Handmaid’s Tale: Graphic Novel],” AICE General Paper teacher Donna DeStefano said. “...There is an inaccuracy in the novel with Anne Frank portrays which contradicts the original book…in one of the scenes, it made Anne Frank seem sexually infatuated with another female character. I also own The Handmaid’s Tale [graphic novel] and the mature content of the sexual scenes is portrayed in picture…But literary classics like 1984 and Slaughterhouse 5, I have an issue with [banning them] because they are great valuable books that have you reflect on society and governmental control and how war impacts people. I think there are a lot of valuable connections the reader can make with those.”
The FLDOE has responded by claiming they are preventing students from accessing sexually explicit content.
“Once again, far left activists are pushing the book ban hoax on Floridians,” spokesperson Sydney Booker told The Guardian in 2024. “The better question is why do these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit materials?”
Five of the 700+ book bans derive from BCPS. Choke by Chuck Palanuik, Jack of Hearts and Other Parts by L.C. Rosen, Lucky by Alice Sebold, The Handmaid’s Tale: Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins were removed. These novels share similar themes of sex and sexual assault.
According to the survey, 62% of students believe that removing books because they contain sexually explicit material, LGBTQ+ characters or violence from schools is an act of censorship.
Some MSD students believe that schools cannot ban books containing controversial topics, as students need an open environment which allows them to further their understanding of novels and their contents.
“These [controversial] books are exposed to kids in a learning environment where they can explore different ideas and ask questions,” freshmen Sharon Ruiz said.
Conclusion
Whether the more recent measures hold in court remain to be seen. Parents of public school students sued the state of Florida over recent book ban measures, claiming a violation of the First Amendment. Their case was dismissed in January by a Trump-appointed judge.
Many MSD students disagree with the FLDOE’s actions, and whether or not the recent laws will face repercussions remain to be determined. As these measures are new, their effects on students’ education is unclear.
STORY BY Victoria Damaso and Brynn Schwartz
DESIGN & GRAPHICS BY Victoria Damaso
Results
Social media platforms push boundaries of censorship
Terms and
conditions conditions
“In times of social turmoil, our impulse is often to pull back on free expression,” Mark Zuckerberg said to Georgetown University students in 2019.
“We want the progress that comes from free expression, but not the tension. We saw this when Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter from Birmingham Jail… We saw this in the efforts to shut down campus protests against the Vietnam War. We saw this way back when America was deeply polarized about its role in World War I… In the end, all of these decisions were wrong. Pulling back on free expression wasn’t the answer and, in fact, it often ended up hurting the minority views we seek to protect.”
Free expression is a cornerstone of American democracy. As society becomes increasingly digitized, social media platforms–like Zuckerberg’s platforms of Instagram and Facebook–have had an increasingly prominent role to play in such expression. This change has brought about many questions, specifically regarding the blurred line between what is content moderation and what is censorship.
The First Amendment spells out that “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The amendment makes governmental censorship of free speech unconstitutional, protecting the right of Americans to speak on issues that concern them, even when their opinions are critical of the government.
However, while the First Amendment protects speech from government censorship, it does not protect it from censorship by private organizations, businesses and citizens. These distinctions are pertinent to conversations regarding social media platforms, which are private, international companies often regarded as forums for free speech.
“I believe that social media allows for free speech,” freshman Anika Polapally said. “Social media literally lets users express their opinions with forums, making their own videos and commenting. Millions of people who view your video or comment can see what you have to say.”
In particular, many teens attempt to use social media platforms to exercise their First Amendment rights. After all, most teens use these sites regularly. According to Pew Research Center, in 2023 the majority of 13 to 17-year-olds reported using TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. These findings ring true among Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students as well. In a survey of 333 MSD students conducted by Eagle Eye News, 73% reported using TikTok, 80% reported using Instagram, 4% reported using YouTube and 68% reported using Snapchat.
“I use social media pretty much everyday,” sophomore Maliah Smith said. “I spend a lot of time on it for
communication and entertainment purposes. I text my boyfriend and bestfriend on Snapchat, so I am constantly on that, and I use TikTok to stay updated on my friends’ lives and just to watch when I’m bored. Many influencers and celebrities are on TikTok that I have started liking and it is fun to follow along on their journey.”
Given teenagers’ social media presence, any censorship that occurs on social media platforms disproportionately affects their demographic.
Algorithmic Bias
Since social media platforms are private companies and cannot be held liable for violating the First Amendment, they are capable of censoring users. As allowed by Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, online platforms can moderate their content by their own standards, which includes practices such as removing posts that violate self-imposed community guidelines.
Content moderation is the practice of monitoring, reviewing and regulating content to ensure that it abides by community guidelines. It attempts to hinder the spread of content that is hateful, discriminatory, violent, misinformed or otherwise harmful to viewers. Moderation is a form of censorship, but it is one that social media companies are entrusted to do in good faith and for the protection of their users.
Nowadays, algorithms are typically used for content moderation, which is the case for YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and many other major social media platforms. Unfortunately, algorithms, just like people, have the capacity to be flawed.
For one, the implicit biases that persist throughout society may also have the ability to infiltrate artificial intelligence systems, namely via their developers or the training data used to teach AI how to make decisions. According to Harvard Business Review writers James Manyika, Jake Silberg and Brittany Presten in the article “What Do We Do About the Biases in AI?” algorithms may be biased if their training data contained biased human decisions, reflected historical or social inequalities or over or underrepresented groups of people.
“Social media algorithms can be biased,” freshman Zane Maraj said. “These biases often stem from the way algorithms are programmed, which is influenced by the data they are trained on and objectives set by the platform. For instance, algorithms prioritize engagement, meaning they show content that is more likely to evoke reactions, such as controversial or polarizing posts. This can inadvertently amplify certain viewpoints over others.”
Algorithms amplify biases as they moderate content, potentially flagging or removing posts that are not actually harmful, as well as shadow-banning users.
In the words of Geoffrey Fowler in the 2022 Washington Post article “Shadowbanning is real: Here’s how you end up muted by social media,” shadow-bans are “a form of online censorship where you’re still allowed to speak, but hardly anyone gets to hear you.” It is not uncommon for content
creators to allege that they are being shadow-banned, despite the fact that social media companies are known for being untransparent about the practice on their platforms.
Shadow-banning and the removal of posts by algorithms often come about as a result of the use of certain hashtags, words and images. For instance, TikTok users discovered in 2021 that the term “Black people” was flagged as inappropriate by the algorithm, while the term “white supremacy” was not.
To avoid these things many creators have taken to selfcensoring, mouthing or altering the spelling of certain words. For instance, it is not uncommon to see people replace the word “kill” with “unalive,” or the word “suicide” with “sewer slide” on social media to prevent algorithmic detection.
With that being said, it is also important to note that all of this may not be solely attributable to algorithmic bias. Algorithms are not yet able to fully recognize and interpret social context, which is necessary for them to accurately detect and remove hate speech from social media sites.
“Hate speech and talking about hate speech can look very similar,” University of Colorado, Boulder Assistant Professor Casey Fiesler, who studies technology ethics and
online communications, said in a 2021 MIT Technology Review article entitled, “Welcome to TikTok’s endless cycle of censorship and mistakes.”
Oftentimes, the same terms used in hate speech are used when creators discuss their experiences on the receiving end of it. As a result, algorithms may recognize certain words, but fail to adequately interpret the context in which they are being used. Biased or not though, the same people end up being censored.
“Algorithms may be biased against smaller creators or marginalized groups because they tend to favor content from accounts with higher engagement, often reinforcing popular narratives and sidelining less mainstream voices,” Maraj said. “Additionally, biases in moderation practices can disproportionately impact minority communities or politically sensitive topics.”
On top of censoring minority creators, it is also the general belief of Americans that social media algorithms censor political opinions. A 2021 Pew Research Center study, found that seven in 10 adults reported believing that
algorithms used to detect false information were either definitely or probably censoring political viewpoints.
“I think social media algorithms have a right leaning bias because of the amount of content leaning towards the right, such as conservative commentary/clickbait on YouTube and Elon Musk’s proliferation of alt-right content on Twitter while demeaning left-wing content,” senior Vinh Nguyen said.
Echo Chambers
The primary purpose of a social media platform’s algorithm is to maximize user engagement by recommending viewers agreeable content that keeps them gripped and coming back. The algorithm learns what users want to see by the way they interact with content, and then uses that information to inform what kind of content it will show those users in the future.
Many find that this practice undermines free speech. By only showing people content that confirms their beliefs, algorithms are effectively dividing people with clashing views into two separate echo chambers. Echo chambers are environments in which people only hear opinions, information and ideas that align with their pre-existing views.
“I’ve noticed [echo chambers] on social media a lot, and I believe it’s a bad thing,” freshman Dan Iusim Siler said. “I think people should be shown the views they’re against almost as often as the ones they support, just so they’re aware of what others think.”
Since echo chambers validate people’s existing beliefs, and simultaneously keep them from hearing the beliefs of others, they make people increasingly polarized and reluctant to accept opposing viewpoints. This polarization is then exacerbated as each chamber shifts people’s perceptions of truth and dictates what views are acceptable.
“[Having no echo chambers] is a really good thing,” freshman Scott Miller said. “Being able to hear opposing opinions lets people broaden their understanding of a topic, and not have strict personal opinions about something because they only hear one side.”
An example of the polarization of truth by algorithms was detailed by Google engineer Guillaume Chaslot in the July 10, 2019 episode of the New York Times’ “Rabbit Hole” podcast. In the aftermath of a 2011 protest in Cairo, people who originally viewed pro-protestor content on YouTube were only recommended similar videos in the future and vice versa Story continued on page 21
for pro-police content. The algorithm divided viewers into echo chambers that provided them with two different interpretations of the facts, and thus radically different ideas of the truth.
Free speech involves not just expressing oneself, but also listening to and engaging with others. Echo chambers make the latter difficult, as people cannot even agree on what is fact and fiction. As a result, productive conversations are becoming less common. This unproductivity has even seeped into the lives of many teens, who witness or engage in such fruitless conversations regularly.
“On social media I have seen many conversations between people with opposite views,” Smith said. “There are many conversations where they just share their side of the situation and at the end they agree to disagree and their conversation ends. But, on the other hand, I have seen many conversations between people on the opposing sides argue and threaten each other over something that could be so small. Those conversations are unproductive.”
Further, content creators within echo chambers often resort to clickbait as they compete for the attention of users. The hyperbolic or misinformed content that they are spreading ultimately contributes to radicalization and erroneous beliefs.
“Seeing misinformed information about certain political topics can suppress people about how they truly feel and can manipulate them to think [a certain way],” junior Drake Goldapper said.
Teens are especially susceptible to believing fake news, in part because they have trouble determining the credibility of the information they see online. In a 2016 study conducted by Stanford University of practically 8,000 students in the United States, it was found that less than 20% of high schoolers questioned fictitious claims seen on social media platforms.
Teens’ susceptibility to the radical ideas spread by echo chambers contributes to the psychological phenomenon of groupthink. Groupthink refers to situations in which groups of people are led to make poor decisions because they desire consensus. It occurs when there are no dissenting voices in a group, and when people would rather agree than make well-informed decisions.
There are many instances in which groupthink can occur. It may take place when a jury is deciding on a verdict, as well as when teens are introduced to the homogeneity of an echo chamber.
“I think only hearing one viewpoint can have negative consequences because then one would not be able to be fully informed about the situation to make an opinion,” senior Sydney Moed said. “The opinion could be seen as invalid since they would not have all the facts. These negative consequences can cause people to make poor decisions, as they will make decisions based off assumptions or conclusions that may be untrue, but they wouldn’t know since they only have one viewpoint.”
Echo chambers do not solely consist of political ideology either. They can also repeat and reinforce social ideas, which can have vast ramifications when the ideas are
refers to governments, elections or social topics that affect many people.” The inclusion of social topics in the definition of political content indicates that any social issue could qualify.
Britannica defines a social issue as “a state of affairs that negatively affects the personal or social lives of individuals or the well-being of communities or larger groups within a society about which there is usually public disagreement as to its nature, causes or solution.” Britannica accompanied that definition with examples of social issues, which included civil rights, domestic violence, climate change, hate crime, obesity, pollution, homelessness, mental illness and child abuse.
“I think the limit is a bad idea because it’s censoring our ideas and thoughts on the internet,” junior Laina Armbrister said. “Free speech is the First Amendment in the Constitution and the limit doesn’t allow us to exercise that. I think the inclusion of social topics is also bad because it doesn’t allow people to fully see the good and the bad of social media.”
The broad range of topics that may be considered political by Meta means that anything from posts about the Palisades fire–which has to do with climate change and homelessness–to the movie “It Ends With Us”–which has to do with domestic violence–could qualify to be restricted from users’ feeds.
“I think that the social content limit on Instagram is a bad thing because it could hinder the ability for users to raise awareness about crucial social issues or share personal stories that are important to communities,” freshman Bridget Kaplan said. “It could also silence or exclude voices that rely on platforms like Instagram to speak out against injustice, So, the inclusion of social topics in the limit seems overly broad and could stop valuable conversations and activism.”
Given that teens
heavily rely on social media platforms for news, if they do not know about and turn off the political content limit, it is possible that many will no longer be informed of current events. In a 2024 survey of teenagers by the New York Times, it was found that “almost all” of the survey’s 400 respondents said that they mainly get their news from social media.
When this is coupled with the fact that a minority of teens actively seek out news elsewhere, the implications of the limit are particularly palpable. Common Sense Media reported in 2019 that every day only 23% of teens get news from phone notifications or news aggregators, only 15% get news from news organizations and only 13% get news from the television.
“I do get my news from social media,” Iusim Siler said. “If I couldn’t, I’d be much less informed of what’s going on in the world because I’d prefer to get my information from apps like TikTok, [rather] than having to go out of my way to look for articles or watch the news.”
Whether or not teens keep up with current events has no effect on the fact that these events will shape their futures. For this reason, many find that staying informed is important. If social media is how teens are accomplishing this, limiting such content might be doing a disservice to the generation that makes up a bulk of social media’s users.
Government Action
As the U.S. continues to adapt to the digital age and Americans become increasingly reliant on social media, it is probable that the government will attempt to regulate and control these platforms in the future.
The first waves of this are already being seen at both the state and federal levels of government. In 2021, Florida and Texas passed laws authorizing their legislatures to regulate the content moderation practices of large social media platforms. Then, in January of this year, the Supreme Court upheld a law that bans TikTok in the country—although the law is not currently being enforced by the Trump administration, it remains in effect.
These attempts at controlling social media platforms have prompted many to question their constitutionality. The TikTok ban in particular, has raised much suspicion about the extent to which it infringes upon Americans’ First Amendment rights.
Still, the future of content moderation on social media remains to be seen, as does the government’s role in it. What is definite is teens’ continued presence on social media platforms; it is them who will reap both the rewards and repercussions of whatever is to come.
STORY BY Andie Korenge
GRAPHICS BY Natalia Dzielnicka and Andie Korenge
DESIGN BY Andie Korenge
Increased use of artificial intelligence has changed human expression
Apocalypse The AI Apocalypse
*Names indicated were changed to protect the students’ anonymity
Astudent stresses over their homework, her face scrunching up in confusion as she remains lost on how to start her assignment. She glances up at the clock as each passing minute leads to no progress. Growing more frustrated by the second, she closes her textbook with a sigh and opens ChatGPT to receive answers to the questions.
After the release of ChatGPT in 2022, the modern world has accepted artificial intelligence as a significant part of everyday life. According to a UNESCO report published in 2024, 4 in 5 young people use AI tools every day. Students, including Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, encounter AI in everything from search engines, such as Google and Bing, to academic help.
“The first time I started using AI to cheat for school would be during COVID; it was the best time to use AI because nobody expected it at that time; it was still a new concept,” junior John Williams* said.
assignments. This can include assistance in determining the titles for works, or topics for essays. Others employ AI sites, such as Gauth Math, to assist them in solving math problems by displaying the necessary steps.
Despite the positive uses of AI, many teachers at MSD feel that those who solely use AI to complete assignments miss out on the benefits that come with completing them. Teachers also express that the employment of AI, especially in written assignments, distances students from them, as teachers can no longer connect with them through their words.
“Whether their reasoning for using AI is because they put off the assignment for so long or just laziness,
assignments means that students do not have to read assigned material in order to answer corresponding questions, allowing them to avoid the task of reading altogether.
Consequently, students could struggle to learn new vocabulary, and may even fall below grade level in terms of reading skills, according to research published in the International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education in 2019.
As literacy levels in the U.S. continue to nosedive, as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, there may continue to be a decrease in people with the ability to exercise their constitutional right to free speech. Broward County Public Schools has acknowledged that this decrease in literacy and critical thinking skills is a problem. They have communicated that they do not want students to use AI independently and have blocked the use of certain AI, including ChatGPT, on all districtowned devices.
“ How can we develop as human beings if something is always doing the work for you? We’re losing the ability to communicate and express our thoughts coherently.
Debra Jacobson, English Teacher
The United States respects “the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances,” as defined in the Constitution. With the introduction of AI, the ways these freedoms are expressed and limited have changed for students.
AI in the Classroom
With the growing accessibility and generative power of AI, many students around the nation are resorting to the tool to complete their schoolwork. The implications of this rising trend show a decline in student individuality and expression in their own words.
According to a 2024 Global AI Student Survey by the Digital Education Council, 86% of the 3,839 students surveyed used artificial intelligence in their studies, with 54% of those students using AI on a weekly or semiweekly basis.
However, many of the students who use AI reported that they do so for brainstorming elements of their
it’s obvious to us as teachers and for me, as a person who loves words, that AI was being used,” English teacher Debra Jacobson said. “How can we develop as human beings if something is always doing the work for you? We’re losing the ability to communicate and express our thoughts coherently.”
Teachers are not the only ones who share this sentiment. Many MSD students also express their frustrations with the widespread use of AI, particularly when others use the resource to gain an advantage.
“I won’t pretend like I haven’t ever used AI; it’s really helpful for coming up with ideas to write about or explain something we learned in class in simple terms,” sophomore Melia Dabach said. “But I think it’s unfair for some students to, for example, use AI to generate whole poems when I wrote my own to express my own ideas. Especially if they received a better score than I did when I’m the one who put in the effort to represent myself.”
If this trend continues, there may be a regression in people’s ability to express themselves through written word and speech. For instance, cheating on English
Q&A Riley Walsh
TV student Riley Walsh shares his thoughts on AI’s future in the film industry
“Sometimes I do [use AI] in cases of emergency,” Williams* said. “For example, my history teacher produces a multitude of assignments that feel useless. He has these readings that every lesson or so he would publish an assignment analysis or packet. It just takes up too much time of my day. When he looks at it for just a participation grade, it’s easier to have the AI read the document and summarize it for you, especially when the document is 10-15 pages long.”
Yet, Florida’s usage of their AI to grade student essays in the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking exams–with no disclosure of the dataset used to train it–sets a precedent for Florida education. AI is biased in some cases, such as between English-proficient students and students who are not proficient. Thus, questions have been raised about AI’s effectiveness, especially in a state where 1 in 10 public school students were identified as “English learners” in 2019.
This year, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 1361 to increase funding for AI in education. AI training has also been recommended by the Broward County School District for teachers.
The push for AI often does not address the bias within AI models. According to a survey conducted by the Center for Democracy and Technology, more than
How do you use AI to enhance your work?
I've seen AI used in many different ways when it comes to the creative process of making art, in ways that I've used it personally. I've used it to help bounce ideas back and forth. I will not ask it for ideas, but I will communicate with an AI to talk my ideas out because it will help me go in more depth with my work. I tend to work better when I'm talking to someone and coming up with ideas that way. AI can act as another person that I can talk to and help inspire me to get some new ideas.
two-thirds of teachers report using an AI detection tool regularly. The survey showed that Black students are more than twice as likely as their white or Hispanic peers to have their writing incorrectly flagged as AI-generated.
“This assignment was from online geometry,” sophomore Isaac Lam said. “It was explaining how you got an answer in a graph; it was a while ago. I was explaining the process of using cosine, sine and tangent. It was pretty standard, so I’m assuming that many people put similar responses, and it flagged it high for AI, but that was just the way I did it.”
Thus, the platforms being used are not exempt from biases, which may disproportionately affect the grades of individual students. Turnitin, a plagiarism detection tool, had its AI detection discontinued in use in several universities after incorrectly deeming student work AI-generated.
“I feel like AI detector systems could be more sophisticated,” Lam said. “If a high institute like a college misinterprets your legitimacy, then that can have consequences on you.”
“[Using AI] depends on if the work is graded for participation or not and how long it is and how important it may be,” Williams* said. “If I’m going to write an essay for College Board, of course I’m going to do that solely by myself and only use AI to correct grammar mistakes. But, if it’s only an assignment that the teacher gives but doesn’t care about, I’ll have AI to do it.”
As the usage of AI is novel, it is unclear if the effects will be positive or negative. What is clear is that AI will continue playing a larger and larger part in schools.
“
We
cheaper and more efficient for businesses to invest in these new tools than to hire people to do easily automated jobs. This creates a larger skill inequality within the workforce, where people are unable to gain the experience needed to meet job requirements, according to a 2024 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge paper “Generative AI and the Future of Inequality.”As a result, job gaps, which show when there are not enough people to fill up the jobs at hand, will form.
still have the responsibility to create. But, it’s just wrong that AI is stealing the work.
I
feel
that
people shouldn’t even be having their art stolen especially when the AI doesn’t even credit them. We need to find a way to prevent that.
Within the education system, though, the usage of AI can also enable the growth of students, and there have been cases of teachers using AI tools to accelerate student learning. For instance, students in MSD’s journalism program employ sites such as Murrow.ai to assist in revising their stories to apply to stylistic preferences.
As AI continues to be encouraged in academic environments, the line between whether or not AI is being used as a resource or a means of cheating is becoming increasingly blurred. The Broward Schools Code of Conduct and the Discipline Matrix currently do not specifically address AI use.
However, Marjory Stoneman Douglas has created their own AI discipline policy that barred ChatGPT for assignments completely under the consequences of cheating. A teacher may choose to allow student usage of AI for brainstorming, revising or outlining. When using any AI, the tool must be disclosed or cited with a description of how it was used.
How do you think AI will change the film industry’s creative process?
Ithink that, as with any advancement in technology, AI is something that we have to learn to adapt to. I may not like how it's used in taking creativity in jobs, but it undoubtedly will be used in many different career fields, and it's a matter of learning to use and adapt to this new technology. I feel as though AI can be a negative when it comes to expressing yourself. AI could inhibit personal creativity and self expression, because it's not coming from a genuine human person. I understand using AI to help the creative process, but it should not be the creative process.
Mckayla
Barton, 11
AI in the Job Industry
Today, technology has already begun to take on roles that have been commonly held by workers for years. For instance, the implementation of the self-checkout aisle at grocery stores is beginning to replace the jobs of grocery store clerks. Technology can do this job without the hassle of human error, increasing the speed of checkout. However, this effectively removes a job that someone could have held.
The same effect can be seen with AI, where individuals are encouraged more and more by companies to pass on their own workload to AI or be entirely replaced.
AI will follow students out of school and into the workplace. As high school students graduate, they will attempt to find entry-level jobs or internships.
Due to the development of AI technologies, it is
What do you think is the biggest difference between AI and human made art?
Iwill always support a piece of art, and it's made by a human and it's made by a genuine creative process. Anything made by AI doesn't have any heart and soul behind it, and doesn't speak to what's true of art. In my opinion, I think art is about expressing oneself, and I think art is about just art is about expressing oneself and using AI to make. Art is not art because there is no self to express. I’m very conflicted about it because I know I need to use it as a tool at some point. But I also feel like it takes away from the whole meaning of being an artist.
This displacement will also be detrimental to those who currently perform these jobs. People with jobs as clerks depend on it as their source of income and may not have the means or the ability to work other jobs. According to the 2024 CNN article, “AI is replacing human tasks faster than you think,” more than half of large U.S. businesses plan to use AI this year to automate tasks done previously by workers.
This is one factor that has caused the decline in entry-level jobs; from 2021-2024, there was an 11% decrease in job postings for entry-level positions.
According to a 2023 Goldman Sachs report, as many as 300 million fulltime jobs could be lost or diminished globally from the introduction of AI in the workforce. Workers in lower-wage jobs are up to 14 times more likely to need to change occupations than those in the highestwage positions.
“AI is coming. It’s here. There’s no avoiding it in the industry, whether it’s on the script side or the video side,” television production teacher Eric Garner said, “Over time, the software has gotten better and less and less people need to be involved, it is kind of bad that we’re losing jobs because of AI, but we’ve been doing that. It’s been trending down in jobs for 25 years.”
The introduction of AI into the job industry has serious implications for those whose livelihoods depend upon fields in creative industries. Those that typically use artistic industries see AI as a cheaper alternative. Students who want to continue as artists or graphic designers may
Story continued on page 24
How have media classes been preparing students for the future of AI?
In my TV class, we had an assignment where we had to make a 90 second video using at least one shot that was fully AI. I don’t agree with the idea of making shots or scenes out of AI, because they’re never going to be the same level or stature as an actual human-operated camera or CGI. I think the idea of the assignment was in good faith and that we should be learning to use these tools. The shot that I used that was generated by AI was just a shot of basically what was supposed to be the Everglades. I could have gotten the shot much quicker with my own work rather than prompting AI. It was all very conflicting as an artist.
find that journey even less viable to earn money.
“I don’t necessarily think AI will replace artists, since we are feeding it our art,” junior McKayla Barton said. “We still have the responsibility to create, but it’s just wrong that AI is stealing the work. I feel that people shouldn’t even be having their art stolen especially when the AI doesn’t even credit them. We need to find a way to prevent that.”
While AI advertises itself as making art creation accessible to everyone, the majority of artists will soon find their way of life unsustainable.
Through using art and other copyrighted works without permission, AI companies violate copyright law. This has led to current legal action in Andersen v. Stability AI, a case in which a group of artists is suing four companies on the basis of copyright infringement for the use of their art in training data for AI.
Artists have fought back by ‘glazing’ their work—a process that makes the artwork illegible to AI— in an attempt to poison datasets, but this has had little effect overall.
lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI alleging copyright infringement and using their works to train ChatGPT. ChatGPT, when prompted, was able to recreate identical paragraphs of NYT articles and work. News organizations are not reimbursed for the work they create.
“I use [AI] to organize transcriptions, and I use it if I’m really stuck on trying to say something,” local Parkland news content director Janice Seitz said. “[AI] helps me pull out the information I need from a whole bunch of information, and it’ll help me organize it in that
“and the facilities’ back-up diesel generators affecting air quality.” Residents are also expected to help pay for the developments. Protesters have shown up to industry conferences in Virginia.
Uruguay’s citizens protested against the plan to build a Google data center that would affect water consumption during times of drought. This year, 16 data centers have been approved in Chile whilst the country is in the middle of a longtime drought. The Socio-Environmental Community Movement for Land and Water staged a series of demonstrations against the big tech companies building the waterwasting tech centers.
I use [AI] to organize transcriptions, and I use it if I’m really stuck on trying to say something. [AI] helps me pull out the information I need from a whole bunch of information, and it’ll help me organize it in that way. But very rarely do I do that, because I’m writing about a family. And so, it’s personal, AI, doesn’t have that personal touch. AI can’t write about a family the way I can after talking to them.
Janice Seitz, local Parkland Content Director
“There’s this one app that people were using where you would put in your art piece to use it to give dynamic lighting, but it would put your art into AI,” Barton said. “I think it was funny that people retaliated against it by giving it junk drawings and scribbles, so it would put out a bad final product. When people realize there’s a program out there intended to steal the art, they usually get fellow artists to essentially corrupt the system.”
AI is not only a cheaper resource of labor to create future work but also displaces the profit of current work done by humans. AI scrapes massive amounts of data, from which it is trained to recognize patterns and create predictions.
AI has also lowered the amount of money journalists
way. But very rarely do I do that, because I’m writing about a family. And so, it’s personal, AI, doesn’t have that personal touch. AI can’t write about a family the way I can after talking to them.”
In the majority of these cases, OpenAI and other companies simply cite transformative fair use. This has caused calls for AI transparency through datasets made of non-copyrighted works.
Protests and Backlash
Citizens and workers whose communities and jobs are replaced or impacted by AI have been fighting back through protests. Another cause for protests has been the ravaging of the environment and communities by the
AI searches require massive amounts of power. Senior research analyst at the Allen Institute for AI Jesse Dodge said in a 2024 NPR interview, “One query to ChatGPT uses approximately as much electricity as could light one light bulb for about 20 minutes.”
To address this lack of power, more companies have shown interest in creating their own data energy centers. A single data center can consume up to 5 million gallons of drinking water per day, enough for thousands
Northern Virginia has the world’s largest concentration of data centers, and the higher demand of computing power for AI means an expansion of data centers. The Piedmont Environmental Council campaigned against it because of “electricity cables being built over conservation land, parks and neighbourhoods, increased water demand,
Projected percentage of AI jobs 2025
As AI gets increasingly popular, companies will push for more data centers. Open AI CEO Sam Altman has recently invested in South Florida AI data center energy startup Exowatt, a growing trend that means more communities could suffer due to data centers being built in their regions. Florida may see similar effects of zoning practices where loud industrial buildings and data centers will be placed near lowincome communities that cannot move.
Protests have also revolved around humanitarian rights. Experts conceded that AI is currently too unreliable to independently create decisions that would keep ordinary civilians out of harm’s way.
Google employees protested their company in front of offices across the country due to the company’s usage of AI to participate in the Gaza conflict. Google Cloud AI had a joint effort with Israel to create Project Nimbus–including facial recognition, object tracking and other custom technology from Google and Amazon Web Services.
The U.S., a main funder of the Israeli military, has followed suit with its own AI, known as Project Maven, which has located rocket launchers in Yemen and targeted strikes in Iraq and Syria.
However, it is worse at identifying tanks than humans, especially in adverse weather conditions, according to the 2024 Bloomberg article “Inside Project Maven, the US Military’s AI Project.” These errors add up to create more civilian casualties and an escalation of conflict when made to function without humans.
Industries have also faced protests due to the replacement of workers in creative fields. The emergence of AI led to the Writers Guild of America strike in May 2023. The writers and story directors felt that streaming and the pressures to deliver completed content with such a short turnaround time was too much work for the amount they were being compensated.
Additionally, the convenience of the AI that many production companies were employing was quickly leading to fewer writers and artists being hired for projects, which significantly cheapened labor.
In September 2023, the Writers Guild of America allowed Hollywood screenwriters to set regulations against the use of AI in their work. Their goal is to protect the rights of their writers and prevent any creative liberties from being breached.
Projected percentage of AI jobs 2030 human jobs
Source: Forbes
According to the WGA’s 2023 Minimum Basic Agreement Provisions, “A writer can choose to use AI when performing writing services if the company consents and the writer follows any applicable company policies, but the company can’t require the writer to use AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) when performing writing services,”
However, the strike poses the question of what the future of creative expression and compensation for those in media will look like with AI quickly taking the place of artists. For MSD students looking to enter the film industry, how their creative ideas will be expressed remains uncertain.
“AI will never do the same work that humans do the same way humans do it when it comes to storytelling,” senior Riley Walsh said. “If AI is writing a story, it’s not going to have the same genuine connection and genuine human aspect of it. I think that it’s important that we as a society make rules and regulations on what AI can be used for.”
The internet has seen a massive increase in AI song creation. Spotify AI artists have reached hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners. A lack of original songs and no other social media presence indicates a ‘fake artist.’ Spotify does not have any regulations preventing the usage of AI tools and pushes these ‘fake artists’ through large curated playlists surrounded by legitimate artists.
While AI has been opposed, it can also be used as a tool to advocate. Six families of the students who died here at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting are using AI voice copies in calls to Congress to push for gun reform in a project known as The Shotline by March for Our Lives.
“It’s been six years, and you’ve done nothing, not a thing to stop all the shootings that have continued to happen since,” Parkland victim Joaquin Oliver’s AIgenerated voice said, “I’m back today because my parents used AI to recreate my voice to call you. Other victims like me will be calling too, again and again, to demand action. How many calls will it take for you to care? How many dead voices will you hear before you finally listen?”
Social Media and Misinformation
With the influx of AI flooding social media, the effects of the limitless capabilities of AI technology have been seen.
Social media has traditionally been a place for people to express themselves in an anonymous space beyond traditional society. Nowadays, AI can create fabricated images, text and even sound, depending on the platform. While people can use AI to assist them in creating shortform content or other social media posts, people have to begin becoming aware that not everything they see online is true.
A study across three social media platforms showed an increase in AI-generated content. However, normal content generally received more interaction than AIgenerated posts. With AI in social media, the internet runs the risk of intentional or accidental misinformation being more widespread.
AI is extremely susceptible to creating misinformation. One of the most extreme examples is AI ‘hallucinations,’ where a lack of data causes the AI to generate ideas completely detached from reality. This has shown up through ChatGPT inventing references to non-existent information sources or Google’s Bard AI generating made-up Holocaust survivor quotes.
These hallucinations became apparent when a viral Google AI overview for the question “how many rocks should I eat per day” answered with “one small rock per day,” citing fictitious Berkeley scholars.
Google promotes its AI overview and keeps it at the top of a search page, making it the first thing people see when they look up a question. Because of the frequent errors in the platform, people are more susceptible to seeing this false information and thus are more likely to believe it.
Because AI can only generate what it is trained on in
the same standardized voice, social media will have fewer new perspectives and original forms of expression. When more and more content is made using AI, experts predict that AI could eventually destroy the usefulness of social media sites by generating enormous amounts of content and surpassing what humans can make.
This has begun to happen with various social media sites, including Facebook. With an algorithm where one in three posts is recommended by artificial intelligence, posts with AI-generated images have risen to millions of views. Many sites have begun to implement the requirement of disclosure of AI-generated content as a way to combat this.
There have been instances of AI being used intentionally and unintentionally to generate terrorist and antisemitic propaganda because of a lack of filters for prompts. The wide and often unrestricted data sets allow AI to create non-consensual deep fake sexual content and child sexual abuse material.
AI is not bias-less. The data fed into AI is created by humans with human biases which then AI will take and amplify. This was the concern of UNESCO, which found that AI may have been trained on data from Holocaust denial websites and caused AI to claim that Nazis like Adolf Hitler and Goebbels were not involved in the Holocaust.
Political biases also occur in models such as Deepseek, a new popular Chinese AI model, which prevents political questions relating to Taiwan from being displayed due to Chinese AI censoring. Other models have also shown political leanings; ChatGPT often promotes left-wing libertarianism and Meta’s Large Language Model Meta AI gives more conservative-leaning responses, according to a 2023 article published in the MIT technology review.
However, AI is often intentionally used to promote biases through AI-generated content as a form of propaganda.
An AI-generated picture of a girl surviving Hurricane Helene received millions of views online and was used to criticize the disaster response of the Biden administration.
Those running political campaigns already use AI to promote themselves to voters. One instance was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign sharing fake AI-generated images of President Donald Trump embracing Anthony Fauci. Voter manipulation leads to an erosion of trust between voters and candidates.
Proposed future action
Experts say there needs to be certain limits put in place for free speech when using AI. The world collectively, especially the U.S., has little to no regulation on what companies like OpenAI allow their users to do.
The race for countries to be the global AI leader is also partially due to the fact that AI gives enormous power to governments to control the narratives of the media. America has invested the most money out of all nations–$500 billion into developing AI technology–to continue growing economically.
Experts recommend establishing an international standard to regulate the use of AI to prevent the violation of humanitarian laws.
Looking forward, we can acknowledge that AI will be a part of future careers and will continue to drive great technological advancement and change. Students should have awareness of the effects of using AI personally, as well as the societal implications they agree to by supporting these companies through using their products.
As AI exists across national borders, experts advocate for global laws and regulations to preserve free speech.
“I think [AI] is a reality,” Garner said. “We’re not going to be able to avoid it. So I think it’s incredibly important that here on the front end, you learn how to use it as a tool. This is just going to take some time; we’re going to have to figure it out.”
STORY BY Natalia Dzielnicka, Jasmine Bhogaita and Ava Thomas
GRAPHICS BY
Isabella Hogan and Grace Brill
DESIGN BY Jasmine Bhogaita and Ava Thomas
Q&A Matt Pfingsten
TapInto Parkland Publisher Matt Pfingsten shares his thoughts about AI in the the journalism industry
How do you think AI has changed the role of journalism?
Ithink we’re all a little bit naive if we don’t think AI probably already affecting what we’re reading and oftentimes writing more than we even realize. It certainly produces coherent information. But in my experience, AI is missing a lot of background and context that we don’t realize is part of our writing. It’s very easy to be influenced by AI-generated content that isn’t entirely factual. AI can make the act of reporting much easier if it is used ethically.
How do you use AI as a tool to enhance your work?
Ifeel like besides the tools AI has to transcribe and summarize interviews, it’s best used as a starting point when you get stuck in your work. For me, it’s like having someone sitting next to me and asking ‘Hey, what’s a better way to say this?”’ You know, and, and sometimes they’ll come up with something that sparks an idea in you or gives you a better angle. Then you can grab a concept, make it your own, and continue on.
How can news reporters use AI to research information?
On a local level, I would say that I don’t trust AI enough to produce accurate information on current events. I do think you can plug in a story and ask for a headline or captions for a picture. But it’s up to the reporter to provide accurate content and pay attention to the events they are covering. Maybe technology will advance and one day it will be more reputable, but I wouldn’t ask it to tell me about things that I can’t validate.
How do you balance journalistic integrity with using AI?
I’ve never made a piece that was 100% AI; everything has been at least partially modified by myself in some way. But if I did take any information from AI, I would attribute it, just like I do, to Broward County Public Schools or any other news source. However I think that it is the role of journalists to provide accurate and credible information, so it’s a matter of finding a balance between using AI as a tool and having journalistic integrity.
What advice do you have for students scared about the future of AI in the professional industry?
Ithink that the thing AI will never be able to do is have a relationship between you and whoever the subject is that you’re writing about. So if I’m advising young people getting journalism or film, I would say you need to show up and build those relationships so that you can have a chance to show the different depths, backgrounds, perspectives and nuances that you can put into your craft. AI is something that is here to stay, but it’s our humanity and personality that give us that advantage over AI, no matter how evolved it becomes.
PursuingthePulitzer
Pulitzer
MSD student Lincoln Miller shares his experience as a professional student journalist
Taking his place behind the camera, sophomore Lincoln Miller prepares for his day on set. As a producer, his storytelling and camerawork are essential to the making of the school’s newscast. He flicks a switch, turns up the spotlights and adjusts his view. The teleprompter is ready, and everything is in place. With a final “quiet on set,” he calls out “Three, two, one, action.”
Sophomore Lincoln Miller is just like any other student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. However, what he has that many others do not is a collection of published works–news articles for professional news organizations, including the Scholastic Kids’ Press and the Parkland online newspaper.
Miller began reporting in middle school, while the world was in the midst of a global pandemic. The experience, however bleak, sparked his love for journalism and began his career. Miller was able to sign up for a program that enabled him to join student reporters around the country who reported for various news outlets.
“I became a reporter around the 2020 election; around Jan. 6,” Miller said. “That was like the first political article that I covered, and then it just opened up this whole different world of talking to actually important people.”
The Broward Center Teen Ambassador’s program Miller attended followed an application process, in which students submitted short answer questions and essays. Miller was then called and interviewed by the program, and soon after was accepted.
While he was most active in journalism prior to high school, Miller still reports today. He writes primarily political stories on the various news platforms that he is a part of, as well as leisure pieces. He especially enjoyed covering an article on the tallest waterslide in America.
“I did a few things for the local Parkland online newspaper,” Miller said. “A year or so ago, I covered the opening of Dreamworks Land at Universal, and I interviewed some people at Douglas about their perspective on theater ratings.”
In his freshman year, Miller continued his journalism by writing for the school through MSD’s Eagle Eye News. Today, he is WMSD-TV’s newscast producer, a position for which he edits and produces the weekly newscasts put out by the television production’s second year program. He reports in the forms of both visual media and written text.
Miller’s experience with the Parkland online newspaper and Teen Ambassadors have enabled him to meet various news reporters and other professional journalists, preparing him for the journalism industry.
“I thought it was really helpful, working with other people, having an actual editor and a boss and a timeline which framed how I write these days,” Miller said.
Miller has wanted to become a reporter for CNN since he became a journalist. He hopes to eventually make this dream into a reality through his work for professional news organizations.
“I started watching CNN and stuff, which nobody else was doing at my age, and it just got me more curious to everything,” Miller said. “I definitely think that this influenced me a lot because I wouldn’t have been able to understand how reporting works if I didn’t take that first job. But then it [also] just always interested me seeing the people on TV, because my parents always had the news channel on, so I wanted to do this for a while.”
Miller has had a great deal of support throughout his career, from both friends and family. This has enabled him to succeed in meeting his goals and expectations.
“My family sends articles out to their friends, which gets me a lot more exposure,” Miller said. “[My parents] have helped me to get connections to interviews and stuff, stuff that typically kids wouldn’t be able to do.”
Miller’s work in journalism has enabled him to gain media experience and will prepare him for his work in the industry once he leaves college. By working hard for his goals, Miller has found success and is excited for the future.
STORY AND PHOTO BY Ava Thomas
Wishes you a happy Scholastic Journalism Week!
2025: Power of the Press
February 24
First Amendment Day
The First Amendment grants Americans the freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition. It is a cornerstone of our society, protecting citizens against censorship. It remains important to remember why freedoms protected by this amendment are important.
February 26
Press Rights in Action Day
As journalists exercise their right to freedom of the press, there are often questions of ethics, integrity and influence. Journalists have the ability to shape public perception, as well as expose important issues.
February 25
Leaders in Journalism Day
At present, there are many questions regarding the field of journalism, and its viability as a future career path. However, young people, such as Zachary Hines of the New York Times and Dylan Smith of the Washington Post, are still redefining the media landscape. We honor the power young journalists hold in expressing their voices.
February 27
Student Press Freedom Day
This is the eighth annual Student Press Freedom day, and it aims not only to recognize student journalists, but also to advocate on behalf of their ability to report freely and without censorship.
February 28
Trends, Ideas and Technology Day.
As technology and artificial intelligence have begun to transform journalism and the way in which news is distributed, journalists have had to learn how to navigate the change.
MemoriesPaintingMemories
Sophomore
Avantika Prabhu embraces her culture through realism
In April 2024, sophomore Avantika Prabhu flew 9,000 miles from India to the United States, after eight years of being away from her home in America. With her came multiple canvases and papers filled with paintings and sketches of her life in India.
As a child, Prabhu eagerly participated in the art projects her teachers would assign at Eagle Ridge Elementary. She loved to make messes with paint and enjoyed seeing a variety of colors.
“I remember sitting in Ms. Mohammad’s class, and she used to show us how to use charcoal and acrylic paints, and I think she was one of the main reasons why I was so intrigued by art,” Prabhu said. “She would show us how art has more meaning and how it shows emotion… I think after that, she even used to encourage us to try new art styles and just explore which motivated me to try, and that’s how I got to where I am today.”
Prabhu’s family also played a role in the development of her hobby. Her grandparents
she continued to hone her skills by sketching, drawing and painting whenever possible.
“After living in India, I got to witness so many beautiful sites and I want to show my audience that India is way more than what they know it for,” Prabhu said. “I wish to expose my audience to these more intricate forms of India and the aspects of my culture that are known to very few.”
While Prabhu easily adapted to the new environment, her big move was not without its challenges. She had to make new friends, adjust to the more conservative culture and attend schools with a different style of education. She also started to think a lot about her future.
In eighth grade, Prabhu’s relatives began to ask her about her future career plans. They disapproved of her becoming an artist, taunting her for her attempts at becoming a professional in the field.
Prabhu was heavily discouraged from continuing her hobby, causing her to have negative feelings about her art. However, through the support of her parents and friends, she persisted through the adversity.
As Prabhu practiced art, she experimented with a variety of styles. When she began high school in India, her teacher introduced her to realism, a style of art that focuses on depicting subjects as realistically as possible, unlike
cartoonish art styles.
“My art style was a very standard art style up until the ninth grade, when I took art as a subject in my old school,” Prabhu said. “My art prior to that was more of sceneries and starry nights, usually what every Pinterest page looks like when you search paintings for teens.”
Along with art, Prabhu also dances. In India she learned Kathak, a style of Indian classical dance. This was her inspiration for her favorite art piece, called “The Dancer.” The painting displays the feet of a dancer, with anklets and other decorations.
“I wanted to create a piece that connects two of my hobbies,” Prabhu said. “Originally it was just an assignment worth 30% of my grade for the class, but as I went through the process of planning, sketching and painting, I connected to the painting way more than I thought it would.”
Prabhu’s other favorites are Mandala Art, a geometric design in Hinduism consisting of many details and patterns in multiple circles that loop around each other. Each circle took around one to two hours for Prabhu to complete.
“While I was making it I convinced and told myself this process needs a lot of patience, especially because of the intricate designs and patterns,” Prabhu said. “Once I finished the piece, that feeling of satisfaction was an amazing feeling.”
Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night. At first, Prabhu believed it was boring; however, she soon took interest in the project and devoted her attention towards it.
“It was originally supposed to be an art assignment submission, but during the process of painting it, it started to mean much more,” Prabhu said. “Layer by layer, it started to come together and look complete.”
Throughout her life, Prabhu was heavily influenced by a variety of artists, such as Picasso and Van Gogh, to create her pieces. She appreciated their art styles and work ethics.
“But my top influential artist will always be my art teacher from India, Ms. Deborah Dias,” Prabhu said. “She really showed me my potential and her art always mesmerized me.”
Prabhu continues to practice her skills in art to this day. Although she no longer has an art teacher, she sharpens her abilities by working on her projects in her free time. As she shares her hobby with others, she hopes to inspire them to pursue their own passions and interests.
STORY BY Ahana Tippanagoudar GRAPHICS BY Isabella Hogan
Another piece of hers that Prabhu favors is a replica of
Surge SoundSurge
MSD student Thomas Nguyen describes his musical journey and future aspirations
Walking onto the field, a student steps into formation, feeling the familiar weight of his tuba in his hands. The bright sun casts long shadows across the field as the members of the Eagle Regiment prepare to rehearse for an upcoming band competition. Content with his hard work, Thomas Nguyen continues to expand his musical horizons.
Thomas Nguyen is a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. He is a member of the Eagle Regiment, MSD’s award winning marching band. Nguyen has always loved music.
Nguyen views music as more than a hobby; it is his passion and something that has influenced his life since he was little. From a reluctant 5-year-old piano student to an emerging social media influencer, Nguyen continues to navigate the music world with commitment and a strong desire to expand his talents.
“My parents forced me [to play piano] because they wanted me to learn something, and they didn’t want to pay for an actual piano teacher, so they just had my sister teach me by the book,” Nguyen said. “I hated it because it wasn’t really a passion, but I guess it sparked something.”
Despite his reluctance to play the piano, he acknowledges that this push is what sparked his passion for music. Over the years, his love for music only grew. Soon, he dabbled in more instruments, learning to play the tuba, euphonium, trombone and ukulele.
In addition to music being a personal hobby, Nguyen is involved with MSD’s marching band playing the tuba. He has participated in the band of his previous school, Jupiter High School, and an independent ensemble called Stryke Wynds, showing his dedication to music.
Nguyen views this activity as one that teaches him how to work with others and on projects that are bigger than himself. He even attributes his improvements to the marching band.
“I feel like there’s a lot of pressure [in band], but it’s to contribute to a larger goal, so I find that quite valuable,” Nguyen said.
Marching band has taught Nguyen more than just how to read sheet music.
“With marching band, I see people learning how to save money, learning how to finance [and] taking out a loan, just to do this activity,” Nguyen said. “There’s a lot of valuable things that come with it.”
While his talent was evident on the field and in the classroom, Nguyen has also found a new outlet for sharing his music in the digital world. He began posting his performances on platforms like Instagram and YouTube, hoping to reach a wider audience. Although he posts inconsistently, Nguyen always tries to upload when he can.
“[Social media] just makes it more accessible,” Nguyen said. “The amount of ideas that are being pushed around nowadays are just a few clicks on your phone or a computer.”
On his YouTube channel, Nguyen has posted a variety of videos; some feature him performing original compositions, while others show his take on popular songs. The feedback, while sometimes sparse, is enough to keep him motivated.
Balancing school work, the marching band and his personal hobby is a difficult task. To combat this, Nguyen prioritizes his immediate goals rather than stressing about the future.
“Just get your priorities straight and don’t think about it too hard,” Nguyen said. “Otherwise, if you stress, then it’s just going to make everything worse.”
In the future, Nguyen hopes to bring back young children’s interest in music. He aims to do this by teaching lessons on the side, for those willing to follow the path of music, and embark on their own musical journey.
“I feel like music is kind of dying, in younger kids, because I don’t really see too many kids too interested in that anymore,” Nguyen said. “I think COVID-19 had a big part in that.”
Nguyen’s passion for music continues while he pursues schooling and artistic growth. He is committed to using his skills to rekindle an interest in music in others, and make himself known in the world of music.
STORY, PHOTO AND DESIGN BY Townsend
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Eagle Eye News welcomes reader input. Please send any comments, responses, reactions or corrections in the form of a letter to the editor to msdeagleeyenews@gmail.com. Letters must be signed to be published. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
Opinions Student
Eagle Eye News is an open forum for student expression. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer. The views expressed on the opinion pages of Eagle Eye News do not represent the views of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School or Broward County Public Schools.
State Church and State
Recent measures introducing religion into public schools endanger Americans’ religious freedom
“I contemplate with sovereign reference that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church [and] state,’”
Thomas Jefferson said in an 1802 letter.
This principle–the separation of government and religion–has guided American democracy since it was founded through the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment. However, state governments are increasingly violating students’ right to be free from religion in schools through laws and directives.
The Establishment Clause declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” The “Lemon Test,” based on the 1971 U.S. Supreme Court case Lemon v. Kurtzman, is commonly used by the court system as a way of determining whether the Establishment Clause is being violated, which explains that government involvement in religious activities is only allowed if it has a secular purpose, does not advance or inhibit religion and does not excessively entangle the government in religion.
While debates about the “line” in the separation of church and state have existed all throughout American history, in recent years, conservative government officials have been increasingly testing the divide.
In Louisiana, the Republican-led government enacted a law, House Bill 71, in 2024, that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster in “large, readable font” in all public classrooms, which includes kindergarten up to public universities.
This is a clear violation of the Constitution, proven by the fact that similar bills were introduced in Texas, Oklahoma and Utah, but ultimately failed because of the threat of legal challenges. Displaying the Ten Commandments is a government endorsement of a specific religion, which is unconstitutional.
House Bill 71 was nearly immediately
challenged in court. On Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, a federal judge heard arguments on whether he should temporarily block the law.
During oral arguments, legal historian Steven Green testified that “there is next to no evidence” that the Ten Commandments were considered by the Founders while drafting the government system, and they were “indirectly influential at best.” This means that the argument for the Ten Commandments in schools–that it serves the educational purpose of helping students understand how the U.S. was created–is invalid.
chagrin. It was clearly the right decision, as the school, which would have been publicly funded, would have required teachers to “convey the Church’s message and to assist in carrying out the Church’s mission.”
In fact, the Supreme Court already determined displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools to be unconstitutional in the 1980 case Stone v. Graham. The case resulted from a Kentucky statute requiring the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school
This directive is a clear violation of the separation of church and state. Publicly funded schools are “endorsing” a certain religion. Perhaps saying it best, Head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State Rachel Laser responded to the new requirement by saying, “Public schools are not Sunday schools. This is textbook Christian Nationalism:
“
This is textbook Christian Nationalism: Walter is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children.
Rachael Laser, Head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State
classrooms. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down the law, saying it violated the first qualification of the Lemon Test and did not have a secular purpose.
Oklahoma made headlines over the summer after State Superintendent of the Oklahoma Department of Education Ryan Walters directed all public school districts to “immediate[ly] and strict[ly]” teach the Bible and have a copy of it in every classroom for students in grades five through 12.
Walters’ announcement came days after the Oklahoma Supreme Court barred the opening of a religious charter school, much to Walters’
Walter is abusing the power of his public office to impose his religious beliefs on everyone else’s children. Not on our watch,” Laser said in a statement.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, a lawsuit over the directive was filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It argues the mandate violates Oklahoma’s constitution by “represent[ing] a governmental preference for one religion over another” and that Walters is illegally appropriating the $3 million funds necessary for purchasing roughly 55,000 Bibles. The lawsuit alleges the money was illegally reallocated from the salaries of the education department staff.
religious references
8% of teens in public school have seen a teacher lead the class in prayer.
12% of Americans support the idea of offering classes in Bible history that do not also teach about other religious books or atheist literature.
One cannot contend this effort is not politically motivated. On Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, Oklahoma had to amend its request for the Bibles to expand which Bibles are considered acceptable. This came after backlash that the original request heavily favored the “God Bless the USA” Bible that President Donald Trump endorsed. Walters, of course, endorsed Trump for president.
“We are going to be so proud here in Oklahoma to be the first state in the country to bring the Bible back to every single classroom and every state should be doing this…,” Walters said in an interview according to the Oklahoman. “President Trump praised our efforts. President Trump has been the leader on this issue.”
In fact, one can allege Trump is at the core of the rise in measures to introduce religion into public schools. It is quite possibly due to the fact that the federal court system is in line with conservative beliefs–conservatives have a 6-3 supermajority on the Supreme Court due to Trump’s three appointees, and Trump appointed 53 federal appeals judges during his term–and thus conservatives will be more likely to win court cases.
The separation of church and state is at the crux of American democracy and religious freedom. Schools are meant to be educational, not mechanisms for people to promote certain religious beliefs to children. It is absolutely necessary for all recent measures that attempt to introduce religion into public schools to be overturned.
OPINION BY Eagle Eye News
Editorial Board
GRAPHIC BY Lynn-Gabrielle Soivilus
Survey data details Americans’ views about religion in schools
33% of Americans believe states should require schools to offer new history classes on all major religions.
18% of Americans believe that schools should be able to determine what courses to make available about religion or atheism.
Source: Pew Research Center and the Hill-HarrisX survey
words loss for
People who disregard political nature of reading contribute to current issues
Shortly after the 2024 presidential election, people took to social media to express their feelings about the results. One TikTok user by the name of Mia (@miareads682) decided to post a list of authors alongside the presidential candidate they allegedly voted for. The goal of the list was to provide a way for the book community on TikTok, or BookTok, to be able to choose which authors to support following the election, since people held such strong opinions about the candidates.
The list unintentionally sparked heated discussions over whether the BookTok community should be involved in politics, and caused some mentioned authors to be dropped by their publishing houses. As a result, many people on the platform argued that BookTok is supposed to be a space for individuals to share their love of reading, and that politics should not be involved in such a hobby.
This idea, however, blatantly disregards the history behind reading—the act of reading itself is inherently political. Additionally, the mindset that reading should be treated as any other hobby promotes many of the problems faced today, such as censorship.
Books are a powerful form of expression. Authors are given a voice by being able to publish their work, and the audiences of those
books are able to engage with stories to form opinions and educate themselves. Many authors also use novels to delve into the political issues they recognize in society. Thus, this influential tool has been pushed back against throughout history by people who want to stop others from utilizing it.
The most prominent and extreme example of this is the book burnings committed during the Holocaust by Nazi student groups. Works written by Jewish, liberal and leftist writers were thrown to the flames, while the Nazis condemned them for opposing their ideologies.
Censorship of books also exists in the present day. Book bans are happening across the United States, in places such as Texas, Missouri and South Carolina. They are even found in different countries around the world like China and Iran. Some may be put in place to make sure kids are not reading books inappropriate for their age, but others are put in place simply to push political agendas by censoring opposing viewpoints.
According to a 2024 CBS article, hundreds of books have been banned in different Florida school districts, including in Broward County Public Schools. The Handmaid’s Tale and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are among those banned in different districts. Many of these novels cover sexual topics and the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Even though books containing sexual scenes are not appropriate for students in school, especially younger ones, the censorship of
game
For over a century now, athletes have been the one of the world’s favorite spectacles, not only performing on a field or court but playing an especially crucial role in sports culture. From Michael Jordan to Michael Phelps to Mike Tyson, athletes have not only shaped the sports they play, but also pop culture as a whole.
However, when censorship and suppression clash with these players’ influence, an entirely new level of importance is brought to keeping their voices heard.
The freedom of expression and speech among athletes has been an uphill battle against censorship since the inception of broadcasted sports. Its barriers and restrictions are constantly being broken and changed as time goes on.
In the present, as the world goes through tense times due to widely publicized crises as well as political and social issues, many influential figures, including athletes, have felt encouraged to voice their opinions on controversial matters. Some of these actions have been met with condemnation, leading to athletes being silenced and even punished by the leagues or franchises they play for.
In an attempt to remain neutral in the eyes of the media, sports franchises lose sight of how important it is for players to use their influence to spread uplifting messages.
Such was seen on a wider scale in 2016, when former National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who played for the San-Francisco 49ers, performed a silent protest by taking a knee during the national anthem before the team’s final preseason game, protesting police brutality and racial injustice in America.
This act of protest led to major controversy,
LGBTQ+ content in books silences the voices of LGBTQ+ authors and blocks access to their perspectives.
Some may argue that books themselves are not inherently political, but rather that it is the events surrounding them that make them political. This is not the case for a lot of novels though; for example, those of the dystopian genre are explicitly political.
Dystopian books’ entire gimmick is that they are commentaries on or warnings about what society could become with new technology or the exacerbation of prevalent problems. Many of these books have messages infused with very political topics.
When people ignore the history of reading or the messages behind certain pieces of work,
Sports franchises and brands put excessive censorship on athletes’ speech and self-expression
with the NFL ultimately blacklisting Kaepernick during the 2016 offseason, leaving him unsigned to any of the 32 teams in the league. Two years later, the NFL voted to create a policy requiring all players to stand during the national anthem, or stay in the locker room while it is played, with hefty fines for not respecting the rule.
The act of punishing athletes in this manner is harmful, as it strips them of their fundamental right to express their opinions. Freedom of speech is one of humanity’s core liberties, and silencing athletes simply because they take advantage of their large platform goes against the very principles of democracy.
Just like any other individual, they should have the ability to voice any non-hateful thoughts, whether it be on social issues or personal beliefs, without fear of censorship from leagues that benefit from their talent.
The struggle athletes endure when they try to voice their beliefs is far from a new concept. For decades, athletes have been fighting to send important messages and use their broadcasted platforms to spread awareness on a multitude of issues.
After running the 200 meter race in the 1968 Summer Olympics, gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos raised their fists to represent Black power, while wearing beaded necklaces to symbolize lynchings in America, as well as black socks with no shoes to represent the poverty in the country that disproportionately affects minorites.
Within hours, both Smith and Carlos were condemned for their actions by the International Olympics Committee, and two days later they were suspended from the U.S. team and sent home, while being ostracized and vilified in American media for their cause.
they are not only disrespecting the medium but are allowing a lot of the issues being faced today to prevail. By ignoring the political nature of reading people choose not to engage with real world issues, which can permit others to continue to censor works and deny people access to different stories and viewpoints.
Reading is not just a hobby to some: it is their source of education and their voice. Being able to ignore issues is a privilege in and of itself, and while people have the option to choose whether or not to engage with politics, they should never stop others from doing so. Ignoring these issues allows them to fester and eventually become normalized.
OPINION AND GRAPHICS BY Grace Brill
Another aspect of corruption is added when one considers the hypocrisy of the businesses and franchises that punish these athletes. They often denounce social actions, but will adopt these causes to support later on as it benefits their image, once again reinforcing the idea that corporations care more about what profits the company than what benefits society.
Corporate censorship can envelope even more than political messaging. Athletes are also often reprimanded for their personal expression, whether that be through their culture, style or other creative outlets. In 2005 for example, the NBA would implement a dress code to improve the league’s image, stating athletes and coaches had to wear business-casual attire when attending games and other NBA-related events. Rules like this, however, were only made
to spite players who broke social norms in the way they presented themselves in the NBA, such as Allen Iverson, who was well-known for using elements from streetwear and hip-hop culture in his fashion during this time period.
Athletes should not have to choose between their career and their right to free speech. Censoring their expression limits not only their personal freedoms but also the potential for sports to be a platform for important social change. Whether it is Kaepernick taking a knee for racial justice or other athletes expressing themselves creatively, their voices are powerful tools for sparking necessary conversations. It is crucial that athletes are allowed to use their platforms to stand up for what they believe in, without fear of punishment or retribution.
OPINION BY Luke Dautruche
GRAPHIC BY Lynn-Gabrielle Soivilus
DESIGN BY Julia Landy
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code red: dress codes
Strict adherence to dress codes causes more disruption to learning than students’ clothing
Walking through the gates of school, the only thing on a student’s mind is the test they have first period. However, instead of going straight to class, they are pulled to the side by a security guard and sent to the office for wearing a crop top. Though the supposed distraction was in fact not a distraction to any of their peers in the first place, the attention to the issue does not only highlight crop tops in school, but a flaw in the system regarding dress codes.
Though school dress codes have never directly been addressed by the United States Supreme Court, students have a right to express themselves through clothing unless it disrupts the learning atmosphere. The case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District became the precedent for issues regarding dress in school. In the case, students went to school wearing black armbands in protest of the Vietnam War, and the school ordered them to remove them, stating it would cause a distraction.
Ignoring the threat of suspension, the students–Mary Beth Tinker, John Tinker and Christopher Eckhardt–continued wearing the armbands. Through their parents, the children sued the school district for violating their right to
free speech and protest. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the students, stating that if the protest does not interfere with learning, the school does not have the right to censor the students.
The root of this problem and that of dress code are identical, though the situations are different; wearing a crop top should not garner the attention it is receiving. Taking an issue with something students do not pay attention to, unless it is to ask where one student bought their outfit, is a pointless endeavor that causes a bigger disruption to learning than the clothes themself.
Although being appropriately dressed to school is important, the strict adherence to dress code does not highlight the issue of inappropriate dress, but rather the lack of leniency given to students. If leniency is given, students would be able to dress based on their comfortability and the clothing that is available to them.
turn, clothing stores produce clothing that falls under that category, making it nearly impossible to find an uncropped shirt in stores.
tiktokThe dress codes in schools disregard the lack of availability for full length shirts and shorts. Current clothing trends emphasize crop tops, tank tops and other slightly revealing items. In
TikTok’s temporary ban sparks panic and threatens free speech
on the clock
On Saturday, Jan. 18, the United States Supreme Court unconstitutionally suspended one of the most popular social media platforms in the world: TikTok.
Because the app is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, the U.S. reasoned that banning it would protect users from “foreign adversaries.” However, this completely disregards U.S. citizens’ First Amendment rights, given that TikTok is not just entertainment, but rather a forum for free speech.
Banning TikTok would be a direct attack on free speech. The social media platform is a space for people to voice their opinions, support causes and even start businesses. Many users rely on TikTok to express themselves and discuss important topics such as social justice, mental health and politics.
The First Amendment ensures that every U.S. citizen has the right to free expression and shutting down TikTok would take away that right from over 170 million Americans who use the platform. Beyond free speech, TikTok plays a crucial role in the economy. The app has over 1 billion active users, giving businesses a chance to reach huge audiences.
Many entrepreneurs rely on the app to market their products, gain customers and grow their brands. According to a 2023 report on Businesswire, over 78% of small businesses
have reported gaining new customers due to the potential for virality the platform provides. Removing the app would destroy a major source of income for the many people who depend on it for their businesses.
TikTok is also a huge platform for advertising, helping both small and big businesses reach their target audiences. What makes TikTok different is that it blends entertainment with marketing, so that users do not feel like they are just watching regular ads. Instead, they see content that feels natural and fun. Unlike regular ads, TikTok’s algorithm helps businesses connect with the right people, based on their interests.
Without the app, many companies, especially the small ones, would struggle to find an affordable way to grow. Thus, banning TikTok would effectively put many of these small business owners out of a job.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok helped people stay connected while the world was in lockdown. It allowed users to share their experiences, support each other and find entertainment during difficult times.
Even now, TikTok continues to bring people together, helping users form friendships, learn new skills and engage in different cultures. In an era where social media plays such a big role in daily life, banning TikTok would cut off a major way people interact online.
Finding affordable clothing that allows students to be themselves is another feat that they have to overcome. Simply put, while shopping, finding clothes that oblige by the school dress code is every students’ last priority.
The discussion regarding dress codes is an
issue that has brought unwarranted attention to clothing that does not pose a threat to learning. Students should be able to express themselves without the fear of being sent to the office or of the heat beading down on them. A school dress code does help in some cases, but the severe implementation of it needs to be reduced.
OPINION BY Lyla Sachs
GRAPHIC BY Lynn-Gabrielle Soivilus
TikTok has had a huge impact on music, fashion, dance and even news. Many of today’s biggest songs became popular because of the platform. For example, songs like “Die With A Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter have become widely popular songs thanks to TikTok trends.
Even the manner in which people get their news has changed due to TikTok: many people turn to the platform for news and quick updates on current events. According to Pew Research Center, in September 2024, nearly 4 in 10 young adults in the U.S. reported regularly getting their news from TikTok.
Banning TikTok means an entire generation may be left uninformed on very important global and national events.
As of now, TikTok’s future remains uncertain. The company has until April 4 to be sold, or else it risks being banned again.
One proposed solution has been to give the U.S. government ownership over 50% of TikTok’s U.S. business. This just creates a bigger problem though.
If the government were to control TikTok, free speech would be even more at risk. Government ownership could lead to greater censorship on the platform, limiting what people are allowed to say. Facebook was not banned when it was confirmed that the platform had data sharing agreements with Chinese firms, but TikTok should be?
Instead of dedicating time to banning a beloved platform that ensures small brands stay in business, Americans can exercise First Amendment rights and teens can stay informed, the government should consider refocusing its attention to more pressing issues.
OPINION BY Taras Myhdal
GRAPHIC BY Grace Brill
Speak Up Speak
U.S. states must support student journalism through New Voices legislation
In 2022, Colorado school Regis Jesuit High School administration withdrew the entirety of a print issue solely because it included a student opinion piece that was pro-abortion, then fired two of the school’s journalism advisers. In 2023, a yearbook staff that published a spread depicting gender identity and sexuality at Florida school Lyman High School faced backlash from school administrators. In 2024, California school Mountain View High School principal allegedly pressured journalism students to significantly “water down” an investigative piece on sexual harassment at school.
Each situation reverberates a single shared yet frustrating issue student journalists across the nation are subject to endure: the infringement of their free press rights. Although the First Amendment pledges every U.S. citizen the freedom of speech, young student journalists are constant targets of censorship, chiefly when exploring controversial topics in their publications. And with the recent introduction of the New Voices legislation, every U.S. state has the power to address the evident exemption some students have of the First Amendment and enshrine their inherent free speech rights into law.
New Voices, as described by the Student Press Law Center website, is a “student-powered nonpartisan grassroots movement of statebased activists who seek to protect student press freedom with state laws.” Essentially, it blocks school administrators from censoring student journalism unless it is libelous, invades others privacy or substantially disrupts school
operations. The campaign derives from the John Wall New Voices Act of North Dakota, which successfully installed free press rights for student journalists back in 2015.
New Voices aims to offset the 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier Supreme Court decision, which grants school officials the ability to censor material published by student journalists that challenge schools’ “educational mission.” The subjects which fall under the “educational mission” remain incredibly vague as the ruling failed to define it. Shamefully, this court decision has only empowered school administrations to censor students’ work under the guise of adhering to their “educational mission.”
Eighteen U.S. states have identified student press freedom as an undeniable right and have integrated New Voices legislation into state law. However, the other 32 have not, leaving thousands of public school journalism programs vulnerable to administrative repercussions for pursuing a field which, throughout the course of history, has upheld the very foundations of democracy.
Since the American Revolution, free speech has propelled the U.S. to progression. It has long prevailed as an asset to advance equality, criticize government injustices and establish a government which values and secures the natural rights of its citizens. Thus, students must be encouraged to practice a tool vital to quelling social injustice, especially when reporting on controversial topics that address a marginalized population.
Yet, when some do so, they are met with
countermeasures from school authorities.
In 2022, the Grand Island Northwest Public School District unconstitutionally terminated the Grand Island Northwest High School’s student publication program because an issue featured LGBTQ+-related articles. Particularly, the school administration expressed disapproval concerning an editorial on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, a news article on the history of Pride Month and an opinion story on the “Science of Gender,” which prompted the suspension of the Viking Saga.
Similar instances have reached the collegiate level. In 2024, the Norwich University in Northfield, Vermont student publication The Guidon released a story covering an on-campus sexual assault. The story also condemned the school administration for their lack of transparency on the issue, in addition to other legal issues.
Rather than taking further measures to protect students on campus, the university chose to suspend The Guidon.
These student reporters attempted to address a substantial issue in hopes of ameliorating the conditions of those affected by exercising their press rights; this illuminates the very pillars of journalism.
However, the persistent censorship that plagues schools across the nation begs the question of how students are supposed to learn the true meaning of journalism if not even their own school, a place intended to learn without disruption, permits them to. Students cannot learn that their opinions are essential to ushering social advancement if their school constantly
making a movement
Npunishes them for it.
Student journalists are not an exception to free speech prerogatives; like adults, they have the ability to critically think and should never be punished for doing so. As these very students will be reporting on the future of the nation, all schools have an innate responsibility and expectation to preserve: to teach them how to do so in a responsible, ethical and encouraging manner.
The New Voices legislation provides the precise guidelines for protecting student opinions and journalistic integrity, while also placing constitutional restrictions.
Every single law and right embedded into the U.S. Constitution applies to every single U.S. citizen, regardless of what grade they are in or how old they are. The freedom of speech cannot be an exemption. Rather than age or grade being used to deem a young adult undeserving of a federal right, it needs to be used as an asset for school administrators to understand what actions need to be taken to help their students.
States need to protect their students under the Tinker standard, which establishes students the right to the First Amendment unless it disrupts the educational process.
There is a single solution which guarantees student journalists their connate entitlement to reporting on current issues in hopes of sparking change. There is a single solution, and it lies in states restoring student press rights by passing the New Voices legislation.
