Timber!
Posted by MSchottDec 18
Building off of John’s previous post, tattoos continue to be the scourge of Wentzville, Mo.
Yesterday, after receiving approval from principal and The Wolf’s Howl had been distributed during fifth hour, administrators of the Wentzville School District pulled the paper from circulation.
The offending item this time was again, a tattoo. On a spread about cancer – sorry for the lack of details – there was evidently a photo of a cancer patient who had a small tattoo.The horror … the horror.
It appears that the administrators in Wentzville are attempting to give their counterparts at Stevenson High School a run for their money in the most ridiculous reason to censor a paper contest.
These two schools continue to distinguish themselves in ways that are unfortunately getting a lot of recognition. Stevenson, as it was pointed out by JEA president Jack Kennedy in a letter to the Stevenson administrators, is a nationally recognized model school. Unfortunately in these cases, Stevenson is becoming the model of what not to do when it comes to supporting students, the First Amendment or the educational process. Let’s hope that other administrators and school districts are not paying attention to what these districts are doing, because it could be the start of a very small snowball that is rolling down the hill … its momentum needs to be stopped before this becomes a much bigger problem.
One strategy (among many): Accredited J-schools should recruit heavily at these offending high schools, train the budding journalists in the best traditions of fighting for the 1st Amendment, and then send them back to their home communities to be top-notch, professional journalists and role models. Also, I hope some of the best of these students go on to grad school in the Public Affairs Reporting program at the University of Illinois at Springfield!
My sister, Katie, went there! I’m pretty sure that’s what she got her masters in. She’s working at the paper in DeKalb now as their city editor.
Crazy! I’ve been out on medical leave since Nov. 18 and the staffers put this issue out themselves. I attended the last layout night and approved all pages for production before giving them to the principal for his prior review. He approved them late the next day and it went to press. There is a meeting scheduled on Monday with all parties involved during class….
This impacts so many…our advertisers, the girl, my students….craziness. Thanks for your support.
btw, the photo was in a montage in the shape of a ribbon…the photo was of the girl’s ankle with the tattoo. The girl is a cancer survivor.
Simply ridiculous and undermining to the educational process. Cathy, I am so sorry for you and your kids. Let’s all talk and act together in the best way to support your program and kids. Please let us know. Matt, thanks for posting this. It’s amazing how a select few feel they know what is best for the masses.
The administration of Timberland High School and the Wentzville School District are at it again. This time, they are attempting to censor yearbook portaits. Please visit the commentary blog I’ve provided to keep informed, and support our group of parents and students as we attempt to change course for the sake of our kids and Cathy McCandless