What would there be of a democracy in the United States if it were not for the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which protects the freedom of the press as well as the freedom of speech and assembly? The freedom of the press ensures that all citizens in the United States can be informed about how they are governed, how their fellow Americans would like to be governed and how groundbreaking events are taking place around the world. This freedom has been entirely granted to professional journalists in the United States, but this does not mean that student journalists in the United States completely possess this freedom. In some public schools around the United States, administrators are able to use prior restraint and prior review for content that was produced by their school’s media programs. Prior restraint and prior review are used by public school administrators in the United States when they believe that the content that has been produced by their media programs does not align with the values of their schools which was influenced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.
According to Oyez, No. In a 5-to-3 decision, the Court held that the First Amendment did not require schools to affirmatively promote particular types of student speech. Since this decision, student journalists in the United States have advocated for the passage of legislation in their state that protects their First Amendment rights as student journalists. Today, there are 22 states with a 2021-2022 New Voices Student Leader including Georgia which is me whose primary role in New Voices, which is a student-powered nonpartisan grassroots movement of state-based activists who seek to protect student press freedoms with state laws which is New Voices in itself, is to create a coalition of Georgia student journalists to eventually lobby before Georgia lawmakers for for its passage as a law. Achieving such a feat seems impossible, but Georgia student journalists and I have 14 states that have already passed New Voices legislation to look up to for inspiration. Being an advocate for New Voices is definitely not something only meant for student journalists.
Anyone and everyone can be an advocate for New Voices if they feel passionate about ensuring the freedoms of student journalists and their advisers. You have done so much for this cause already by reading this article. Simply discussing this with another person in conservation is believe or not making a contribution to this cause. If you would like to know any upcoming events in which you can further show your support for New Voices, email me [email protected] and follow newvoicesgeorgia on Instagram. New Voices Georgia needs your support, so let’s start now.