On Monday, Nov. 26 at 6:05 p.m., just five days before Issue 2 was going to be sent to the printer, we received a text from our adviser that broke our hearts. As of today, the newspaper has been suspended. We cannot go to print until further notice. All the hard work that we have put in since the first of the month was tossed aside at our principal’s command.

The censorship the paper is not an attack against the story, as football season is over. This is an attack against the staff of The Herald.

Among the ten of us, we are aspiring photographers, investigative reporters, sports journalists, and people who dream of changing the world with stories. This paper is more than a class, it’s a gateway to our future.

How can the district justify their actions by claiming its purpose it to protect students, when their own actions are hurting not only ten students but also an award-winning program that has been built over 14 years?

We were in fear of expulsion, the withholding of diplomas, or greater consequences. Many of our parents kept us at an arm’s reach, unsure of the district’s possible reactions. They had already shown a misuse of power.

Fast food bags and disposable cups were piled in the trash, proof of the long hours spent working late at night, yet we stood together as a staff. We were ready to face whatever awaits us and whatever punishment that may accompany it.

The justification for censorship against the article was unacceptable. The article did not disrupt the educational environment of either school. It was not attacking students, nor was it a violation of privacy, for quotes used as evidence and materials received from the FOI are a matter of public record.  

District policy recognizes that “students may exercise their right of expression,” and yet the district censored our story and determined our program to be untrustworthy. The decision made in an effort to protect the district’s image, “due to the legal landscape,” has in turn hurt the students on our staff and the entire program at our school.

The staff of The Herald will not give in, stand down, or be moved. We will fight for our constitutional rights, for our freedoms, in the hopes that our actions will create a legacy of fighting for what is right.