MacJournalism celebrated the Student Press Law Center’s fifth annual Student Press Freedom Day on Thursday. To show their support for students’ right to freedom of the press, they wore black armbands and provided them for any students, teachers or administrators who wanted to join them by picking up an armband in the newspaper classroom, room 134. Pictured in the photo: junior Shield staffers Naomi Di-Capua, Francie Wilhelm, Lanie Sepehri, Alice Scott and Ingrid Smith sporting their Student Press Freedom Day armbands.
Thursday Feb. 23
February 25, 2023
Awareness and school support marked the fourth day of Student Press Freedom Week at McCallum.
In honor of the fifth annual Student Press Freedom Day, MacJ staff provided black armbands to school community members who wanted to show their support of school publications and free student press.
Principal Nicole Griffith and Shield co-editors-in-chief, Evie Barnard and Alice Scott, committed to taking a stand against censorship in school publications by signing the New Voices Texas pledge.
Throughout the day, student journalists on the MacJ staff visited social studies classes around campus to provide awareness about important Supreme Court precedents like Tinker and Hazelwood and their impact on scholastic journalism programs across the country.
While 16 states have New Voices laws to protect the rights of student journalists, Texas has yet to adopt this legislation. Shield staffers provided their fellow students with details on how to be involved in change and how to learn more about the New Voices Texas initiative.
Principal Nicole Griffith and Shield co-editors-in-chief, Evie Barnard and Alice Scott, committed to taking a stand against censorship in school publications by signing the New Voices Texas pledge.
With more class presentations scheduled for tomorrow, MacJ will close out this week with continued education of the school community as we celebrate the fifty-fourth anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Tinker vs. Des Moines. If you missed your opportunity to pick up a black armband, stop by room 134 tomorrow. We still have a few left.