A high school student newspaper in Marin County is at the center of a growing fight centered around press freedoms — and advocacy groups across the country are stepping in to defend it.
The Redwood Bark, the award-winning student paper at Redwood High School in Northern California’s Larkspur, has come under local scrutiny over its recent editorial decisions.
These included a February cover photo from a student protest in San Francisco that allegedlyshowcased antisemitic rhetoric, including the phrases “Students Against” and “Zionism.” The inclusion of this photo sparked several complaints from community members who support Israel, leading to an investigation by the Tamalpais Union High School District.
Additionally, an Instagram post from the student paper referencing the name of a person mentioned in thereleased Jeffrey Epstein filesdrew further ire.
The post named a French national as allegedly “providing models” to convicted sex offender Epstein. When the woman threatened to sue the school district if her name was not removed, Superintendent Courtney Goode directed the students to take the post down.
The Bark ultimately removed it under pressure, only to reportedly restore it later.
These reported censorship measures led longtime faculty adviser to the Bark, Erin Schneider, to take an abrupt leave of absence, citing “significant resistance” to doing her job.
Now, major press freedom organizations are pushing back hard on behalf of the students.
TheFoundation for Individual Rights and Expression(FIRE), headquartered in Philadelphia, PA., sent a letter last week to Superintendent Goode, urging the district to drop its investigations and stop any censorship practices.
“As federal and state law bar administrators from interfering with the Bark’s editorial independence, we urge the district to end its investigation into The Bark and stop any other censorship practices,” FIRE attorney Marie McMullan wrote in the letter, according to theMarin Independent Journal.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
