The New Voices Bill: Opening up New Doors for Student Journalists Across Wisconsin
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels.
Bella Gruber
History is being made for school newspapers throughout America thanks to the New Voices legislation, which protects student journalists from unlawful censorship and empowers student voices. The New Voices movement has been passed into law in 17 states seen below (Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia) through student journalists’ efforts to have their First Amendment rights protected by the state, and Wisconsin is actively taking steps to become the 18th state to put this law into place. This bill protects student’s freedom of the press by forbidding school officials from censoring student journalists at the secondary school (6th grade and up) and college level.
States where the New Voices bill has been passed, courtesy of the Student Press Law Center.
New Voices was started as a grassroots movement in response to the implications of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, which began at Hazelwood High School in 1988 when student journalists wrote an article on teen pregnancy and the impacts of divorce. After their administration censored them, the students claimed that their First Amendment rights were being violated and took their case to the St. Louis courts, where it was ruled that the administrators were not in the wrong since the article was published as part of a journalism class. The students took their case to the US Court of Appeals, then finally the Supreme Court, where it was conclusively ruled that the administration’s censorship was not unlawful due to the fact that the school paper was sponsored by the school. Their main reasoning supporting this was that the school had the right to not want unsuitable material to be published. Thus, the Supreme Court stated that administrators could censor student press without violating their First Amendment rights.
Since the ruling was made, school newspapers nationwide have been censored by upper administration through any articles requiring approval before being published or having limited criteria altogether on what topics they’re allowed to cover. This has negatively impacted many young journalists by unlawfully silencing their voices, pushing many away from writing altogether In Wisconsin, New Voices was introduced as a bill in 1991 then vetoed in 1995.
Stoughton High School senior Simon Mehring decided to bring this bill to dozens of legislators’ attention after seeing that many student journalists across the state weren’t as capable of writing freely in their school publications. Mehing shares his passion for the bill with The Cap Times, saying, “‘Having the student voice is super important across the state, especially when sometimes students are only getting their media or news from either this (student) newspaper or social media, which I think is not always the most reliable source.’”
Mehring, along with several other student rights advocates presented their testimonies in front of the Assembly Committee on College and Universities on Thursday, October 26. Overall, the bill seemed to be supported by both Democrat and Republican representatives, many asking engaging questions in interest. Several clarifying points were discussed in relation to the bill’s intentions—for example, the bill has carefully carved out how newspaper advisors are to handle potentially offensive/controversial material being published; advisors must be aware of what is right and wrong. Another vital point that representative David Murphy stated on censorship was: “It’s much easier to not allow someone to speak than to have to get into an exchange with them…what this bill is doing here is taking the hard way to some extent because we are making people have to engage, put up the arguments.”
Many remarks were also made about how the operations and skills that lie within participating in a newspaper are enhanced through this bill. Mehring’s school newspaper adviser Laura Streyle testified to the committee, explaining that at a high school level, when many student journalists are testing their skills with a new writing style, it is vital that they are allowed the most freedom in expressing their thoughts through writing. Furthermore, writing alongside other students who have varying opinions and perspectives on pressing issues allows them to collaborate in sharing ideas and open up new dialogues in these conversations. Mehring shared his own account of this, as he was able to co-write an article with a peer about standing or sitting during the pledge of allegiance without arguing about their opinions. Instead, they creatively discussed their viewpoints and crafted an article that fused both of their viewpoints together. Through the New Voices bill, collaboration is encouraged among student journalists with differing outlooks on ideas, which is a life skill that will never be lost.
As of Thursday, November 2nd, the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities unanimously approved the New Voices bill, and it is set to be voted on by the entire assembly next Tuesday, November 7th. This is great news, as this shows that both parties support this bill, which will hopefully be reflected again after the assembly vote!
This bill is crucial to maintaining the student body’s rights as a whole and for student journalists to continue to authentically report stories to the community, even if it means they are holding others accountable in a way that they do not wish to be perceived.
Sources
Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities
