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美国国家公共电台 NPR--A high school newspaper in Nebraska was shut down after it published LGBTQ stories

时间:2023-09-13 15:58:06

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A high school newspaper in Nebraska was shut down after it published LGBTQ stories

Transcript1

In Grand Island, Neb., the school district eliminated a high school journalism2 program after students published an issue of the school paper with op-eds about LGBTQ rights. Now the ACLU is involved.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

When the school year started, Northwest High School in Grand Island, Neb., students signed up for the usual offering of elective classes - choir3, band, yearbook. But if they wanted to sign up to be on the student newspaper, the Viking Saga4, they were out of luck.

MARCUS PENNELL: Everyone's lost their opportunity to get to write for an amazing paper.

MARTIN: This is Marcus Pennell. He was a student reporter on the Viking Saga at Northwest, an award-winning school paper that had been around for 54 years.

PENNELL: And we did really good at the last state contest, too. We took home third place.

MARTIN: Marcus graduated from Northwest High last May and is now a freshman5 at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, studying English.

How far away is that from home?

PENNELL: Like 2 hours. It's not too bad (laughter).

MARTIN: See, that's, like, perfect, because you can still go home...

PENNELL: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...And, like, make your parents cook for you. And you're still far enough away that they can't just, like, pop in.

PENNELL: Yeah. So true. You're right. Yeah. It's basically been perfect.

MARTIN: Marcus' last few months at Northwest were anything but.

PENNELL: So (laughter) I'm queer. So you know, originally, when I started writing for the paper, I was in the closet. And, you know, I kind of kept that to myself. But as I kind of grew more comfortable with myself and with - you know, with my surroundings and everything, I changed five letters in my name. So basically, instead of putting by Meghan Pennell in my stories, I would put by Marcus Pennell.

MARTIN: That started with the paper's March issue.

And what was the reception like from your friends, from your family, from your school?

PENNELL: You know, of course, to most people, it just made sense. Like, you know, that was what I was being called in person for the most part. So it kind of just seemed like a fitting - you know, a fitting change. But then our principal came in. And he said, the school board would not be allowing us to publish under any name that wasn't on our birth certificate anymore.

MARTIN: What did it feel like to be forced to then publish in the paper under your dead name?

PENNELL: Right. You know, it was a big deal for me. It was, you know, pretty terrible (laughter). I'd faced a lot of stuff from, like, my peers and even from a couple of teachers. But this had been, like, the first, like, official kind of thing from the school that was kind of saying, you know, like, we don't really want you here. Like, you can't really be yourself here.

MARTIN: Marcus and his classmates at the paper had already been planning to focus their last issue of the year on LGBTQ issues. There were three articles - one on the difference between sex and gender6, one on the history of the gay rights movement and an op-ed on Florida's so-called Don't Say Gay bill.

PENNELL: Then, of course, you know, I got a call around June from our sponsor saying that the program had been shut down. So...

MARTIN: The program meaning the whole newspaper? The student newspaper was being shut down?

PENNELL: Yes. The - specifically, the newspaper class would not be offered anymore as part of, like, the curriculum.

JESSICA VOTIPKA: I'm Jessica Votipka. I have been the education reporter, among other things, for the Grand Island Independent.

MARTIN: Votipka got a heads up about what was happening at the paper early in the summer in the form of a Post-it note on her desk.

VOTIPKA: It said it was from a parent. It was anonymous7. It discussed that the newspaper had been shut down abruptly8, that there had been some issues with preferred names and pronouns.

MARTIN: Eventually, she got a few students to come in for interviews. They talked about being bullied9 at school and on social media because of their gender identity.

VOTIPKA: And Marcus broke down. And, you know, he was a senior. Well, he had just graduated. And he wasn't crying for himself. He said, I'm just worried about the LGBTQ students that aren't graduating, that are left behind. He's like, I just hope someone will be there for them.

MARTIN: The school board, principal and superintendent10 have refused to explain to the students, the faculty11 or the community exactly why they shut down the Viking Saga newspaper. We asked several members of the school board, the principal and the superintendent of the district the same thing. And all our phone messages and emails went unanswered.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GARY REHBERG: Your lack of transparency is causing mistrust. And it leads and encourages negative speculation12.

MARTIN: This is Gary Rehberg (ph), a former journalism teacher at Northwest High School. He was one of several former staff members and alumni who defended the Viking Saga at a recent school board meeting.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

REHBERG: And this I hate saying the most. I've always been proud of saying that I taught at Northwest High School. I'm less proud of that now.

MARTIN: Northwest Public School Board Vice13 President Zach Mader told the Grand Island Independent that there had been, quote, "talks of doing away with the paper if we were not going to be able to control content that we saw as inappropriate." There were students who had a problem with the paper, too, though. A school staff member told NPR that after the final issue came out featuring those three LGBTQ articles, some students made public comments in class saying they wanted to take it home and burn it. The same staff member told us the decision to close the paper violates the rights of queer students and makes them even more vulnerable to bullying14. The staff member didn't want to reveal their name for fear of retribution from the school district. Across the country, school officials have a lot of discretion15 over what can and can't be published in a school paper.

MIKE HIESTAND: My name is Mike Hiestand. I am senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center. The law was pretty clear that - dating back to a 1969 case called Tinker that said that as long as the speech didn't result in a serious disruption of normal school activity, so as long as it was lawful16, as long as it was peaceful, that was pretty much where the bar was. But 1988, that changed. And the Supreme17 Court said that school officials could censor18 school-sponsored student newspapers where they had a reasonable educational justification19.

MARTIN: Reasonable educational justification is pretty vague. The Student Press Law Center, where Hiestand works, is a national student press advocacy group. And he told me they have seen a roughly 50% increase in the number of calls to their hotline from last year over LGBTQ censorship issues, especially when it comes to how students identify themselves in high school newspapers and yearbooks.

HIESTAND: We are seeing these sorts of things. I mean, I know advisers20. We work with a lot of, you know, student journalism teachers who advise student newspapers and other student media. And they're terrified. I mean, they don't know what some of these laws - they're telling them, you know, they can't talk about, you know, certain topics. And very often, they're the topics that student journalists are, you know, putting on their front page because they're the things that make news.

MARTIN: Student papers are being censored21 at the same time that school districts around the country are banning books that center LGBTQ people and their experiences. And teachers are being limited in how they can talk about gender and sexuality in the classroom. So where does all this leave the journalism students at Northwest High School in Grand Island, Neb. They're in a holding pattern right now. A new nonprofit called We Will Press organized itself after the student paper was closed. They're offering journalism mentoring22 services to local students. Meanwhile, the state ACLU sent a letter to the school district in Grand Island demanding that they reinstate the paper and affirm their commitment to protecting LGBTQ students at their schools.

(SOUNDBITE OF RIVAL CONSOLES' "STILL HERE")


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 journalism kpZzu8     
n.新闻工作,报业
参考例句:
  • He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
  • He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
3 choir sX0z5     
n.唱诗班,唱诗班的席位,合唱团,舞蹈团;v.合唱
参考例句:
  • The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
  • The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。
4 saga aCez4     
n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事,英雄传奇
参考例句:
  • The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
  • The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。
5 freshman 1siz9r     
n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)
参考例句:
  • Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
  • He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。
6 gender slSyD     
n.(生理上的)性,(名词、代词等的)性
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。
  • Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。
7 anonymous lM2yp     
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的
参考例句:
  • Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
  • The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
8 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。
9 bullied 2225065183ebf4326f236cf6e2003ccc     
adj.被欺负了v.恐吓,威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
  • The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
11 faculty HhkzK     
n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员
参考例句:
  • He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
  • He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。
12 speculation 9vGwe     
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机
参考例句:
  • Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
  • There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。
13 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
14 bullying f23dd48b95ce083d3774838a76074f5f     
v.恐吓,威逼( bully的现在分词 );豪;跋扈
参考例句:
  • Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
  • All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 discretion FZQzm     
n.谨慎;随意处理
参考例句:
  • You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
  • Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。
16 lawful ipKzCt     
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的
参考例句:
  • It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
  • We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
17 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
18 censor GrDz7     
n./vt.审查,审查员;删改
参考例句:
  • The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
  • The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。
19 justification x32xQ     
n.正当的理由;辩解的理由
参考例句:
  • There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
  • In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。
20 advisers d4866a794d72d2a666da4e4803fdbf2e     
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
参考例句:
  • a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
  • She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
21 censored 5660261bf7fc03555e8d0f27b09dc6e5     
受审查的,被删剪的
参考例句:
  • The news reports had been heavily censored . 这些新闻报道已被大幅删剪。
  • The military-backed government has heavily censored the news. 有军方撑腰的政府对新闻进行了严格审查。
22 mentoring 927b67a2488cee0c1ff61a0b43695f30     
n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识,并用心支持mentee的职业(发展)。v.(无经验之人的)有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
  • Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

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