City High School Journalism Raises Principal's Hackles

In a story that is being covered in the national media, City High School is embroiled over a frontpage survey and editorial in its student newspaper which dealt with a on hate (racism, rel;igious intolerance and homophobia) there. At issue was a frontpage story that referred to a survey of 350 City High students showed that 2 percent of respondents had an unfavorable view toward white students and 13 percent said they had an unfavorable view toward black students, and 28 percent said they had an unfavorable view toward gays/lesbians and transgender students.

According to the Quad-Cities Times, Adam Sullivan, the editor of the award-winning City High Little Hawk said 'I've been on the paper for three years — we've never had a case of censorship before'.

The story, which had previously been reviewed by Mark Hanson, the school's "asked, but did not insist that it not be published."

According to Editor and Publisher, " Jeff Morris, the Little Hawk faculty adviser, said "under Iowa's student press law, school administrators have the right to censor student publications if they deem it a 'substantial disruption' to the school."

Factoid: Iowa's law on student journalists says the publication of a school newspaper can't be stopped unless it contains information that is obscene, libelous, slanderous, or encourages students to break the law, violate school regulations or cause the disruption of the operation of the school.

If Hanson did what he did, it's his call," Morris said. "Obviously, Adam is the executive editor and of course, he wouldn't want (the paper) pulled."

Hanson, spurred by three "near-fights," made the decision to remove the newspaper from the school.

Sullivan said the confrontations over the story show there are racial issues at the school that need to be dealt with.

'I think by pulling the paper, they (administrators) showed they didn't want to deal with it,' he said.

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