Student journalists scoop professional press

By Gerry Appel
Commentary

In an era where student journalists are often criticized for poor decision-making, one student newspaper should receive praise after scooping its professional counterparts.

The Denebola, the student newspaper at Newton (Ma.) South High School, broke a story the professional media missed—the installation of five secret surveillance cameras throughout the school. While the Boston suburban school’s motives for installing cameras are legitimate—to curb increasing instances of vandalism and to catch culprits in the act—school faculty are outraged over being kept in the dark. Newton South teachers would still be unaware of the hidden cameras if not for the student newspaper.

The Denebola staff members now find themselves making the news, instead of solely reporting the news.  Boston television and newspaper reporters have converged on the school, bringing attention to the Denebola’s reporting prowess, and trying to uncover just how these student reporters learned of the hidden cameras.

“It came through a number of sources, which we corroborated independently,” student reporter Nate Yeo told WBZ-TV. “We went around looking at these things.  We got confirmation from our principal.”

In other words, the staff did its homework.

This hard work impressed Logan Aimone, executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association.

“The student reporters at Newton South high school showed enterprise by learning of a development in their school and investigating it,” Aimone said. “They also demonstrated excellent ethics both by developing a clear rationale for why revealing the cameras was important and also holding the story until the principal could be interviewed.”

The story also caught the eye of a principal in Indiana.

“Kudos to the students for digging, investigating, and asking questions,
said Bruce Smith, assistant principal of Northview Elementary School in Valparaiso, Ind. “It seemed obvious that the administration was caught off guard a little.”

In addition to the story, the Denebola staff also ran pro and con staff editorials about the use of cameras at the school.  In a Denebola press release, the staff explained that cameras or not, the school should have informed its faculty about the surveillance.

“On a more personal level, we feel that it was important that something that we published is going to positively effect change in the community.  It wasn’t our intention to change the system…” The press release also added that the staff was proud of writing a story that “can provide for a more open, honest, and better functioning community.”

This reporting job done at NSHS underscores the importance of a free and independent student media.  The First Amendment was not written to only protect adults, and these students utilized their freedom to report on an issue benefiting the community.  Too often student media is the recipient of negative news coverage—a yearbook “joke” caption that slips through, or a column with racial overtones.  However, great work is done by student journalists everyday. It is to everyone’s benefit if we take the time to spotlight these student media success stories.

Smith agrees that this story showed the importance of free speech in schools.

“With regard to First Amendment rights for students, I think it's essential for the student body--and heck, even staff--to be involved in, or be informed of, various ‘activity’ around the school,” Smith said. “The article only reinforces that students have the right to understand what goes on within the walls of their school.”