Every year, Journalism is on the chopping block. With low enrollment in Journalism courses across the county, high school newspapers face class cut threats each year. This threat became a reality for Centennial.
Centennial’s newspaper “The Wingspan” has been forced to run as a club due to low enrollment for the Journalism course. It is heartbreaking that the students of Centennial were put at risk of losing their source of expression and news because the Journalism course at their school is not running.
Journalism is more than just a class. It is a place for the newspaper’s staff to voice their thoughts, opinions, and feelings on issues in the community. Beyond the staff, Journalism allows students of the school to share their opinions through interviews and quotations. Therefore, Journalism is an outlet for students to express themselves and read about the opinions of their fellow classmates.
When the Journalism course at a school does not run, the community has the responsibility to advocate for the class.
As an independent publication, our advisor gives us the freedom to write articles of our choosing with supportive guidance, but his role as our advisor goes beyond providing support. Sometimes, an advisor has to take a role that is more important than guidance. When the Journalism course is threatened, it is the advisor’s job to advocate with, and in dire situations for, the students. The advisor has a responsibility to step in and protect the student-run newspaper, especially when the voices of the students are being ignored.
While the advisor has an important role when Journalism is threatened, the students have an even bigger responsibility. If journalism is threatened, then the Freedom of Speech of the student body is threatened. Without a newspaper, students are not only losing vital news but also a vital outlet for student opinions. Not only the staff of the newspaper but the student body as a whole has the responsibility of doing everything in their power to protect their Freedom of Speech before it is snatched out of their hands.
Write articles. Print fliers. Give speeches. Hold information sessions. Do whatever it takes to protect your right to say what’s on your mind.
Consider taking Journalism next school year. As a member of “The Paw Print” staff, students not only pursue writing, photography, and newspaper layout, but also develop essential life skills. Journalism teaches you how to be a critical thinker and how to be a leader, which are skills that can be applied to any field pursued in adulthood. Opting to take Journalism benefits the community, but it benefits you, too.
The student voice deserves to be heard, but the loss of a Journalism course makes this nearly impossible. As students, we need to be the first to advocate for our right to speak our minds, which means we must be first to advocate for the necessity of a Journalism course.
If Journalism is threatened, then so are you and I, and we have to be the first to defend ourselves, our newspaper, and our rights.
