First Amendment Issues

By: Quinn Albrecht

A Florida high school has hit a rough patch in producing a long time running student news paper. The Red and Black has been around since 1899 and currently is putting out an addition daily. 

One of their writers wrote and article and printed it that the administration was unhappy with. While it was being printed, they cut the article out of all the copies of the newspaper, over 2,000 papers.

The local media has picked up on this story and is running with it. The article was about the achievement gap of white and black students at the Hillsborough High School.

The article was not run because the administration felt that the article could harm students self esteem. Where does the First Amendment come in and protect these students, don't they have a right to print this, and a right to know?

The principal felt that he had the legal right to take that article out. Also, the students involved are not supposed to talk to other news outlets about this story.

Would the administration been better off leaving this alone, of did they in fact save their students from harm.