Ben Shapiro is a first-year at Northwestern University. In high school, he served as the editor-in-chief of The Spoke, Conestoga High School’s student newspaper, and worked closely with the Student Press Law Center throughout his tenure. Shapiro is active with Pennsylvania’s New Voices movement. While interning at SPLC this summer, he reflected on the censorship he faced as a student journalist and why it was worth fighting.
As a student, standing up to authority figures is difficult. We’re taught from a young age to respect our elders, listen to our teachers and follow the rules. But sometimes, school administrators try to take advantage of our willingness to do as we’re told — especially with student journalists and their publications. While it’s undoubtedly scary to stand up to your principal if they try to censor you, trust me, it’s a battle worth fighting.
I spent my four years in high school dedicated to covering the news — through the written word, photographs and videos. From in-depth investigations into my school district’s budget discrepancies to photo essays covering President Joe Biden’s trips to my suburban Philadelphia home, every story was important. And every story was worth telling.
My principal, however, did not always agree.
As a journalist, I wanted to learn information that no one else knew. And then I wanted to make sure everyone knew it.
At the end of my freshman year, when I began reporting on my school’s lacking sex education classes, I quickly encountered resistance. My principal questioned why I would want to expose such weaknesses in our school. Though I was scared, I stood firm. “Because it’s the truth,” I told her.
As a sophomore, I reported on lawsuits against my school district regarding mask mandates and supposed First Amendment violations. Again, I found myself defending my right to report the news. I was starting to learn that journalism is not just about writing stories; it’s about standing up for the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Telling my principal that she was wrong — that she was violating the law and unjustly hindering my First Amendment rights — was no easy feat. But it was my senior year that tested me the most. As the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, The Spoke, I was tasked with publishing the “Senior Destinations Map,” a longstanding tradition that chronicled the post-high school plans of my school’s graduating class.
Just as I began news gathering, my principal called me to her office and told me that The Spoke could no longer publish the map, going as far as threatening the employment of the paper’s faculty advisers if we were to do so. Even though the seniors voluntarily gave information about their post-high school plans, my principal expressed concerns that publicizing the information was invasive and would cause students emotional distress.
Her concerns were understandable. But they were only a piece of the puzzle. I consulted with attorneys at the Student Press Law Center, who helped me understand that as a purely legal matter, my principal had crossed the line by attempting to control non-disruptive content despite students having editorial control of the publication up to that point. Together, we sent a letter to my principal explaining why her threats to censor The Spoke violated the law.
Standing up to my principal wasn’t easy. I feared the repercussions for my academic standing, position in the newspaper and chances at college admissions. But I knew that if I didn’t fight back, I’d be allowing censorship to take root in my school.
In the end, my principal conceded. She let The Spoke’s editorial board make the journalistic decisions we saw fit for the paper. The student editors compromised by publishing the map without individual names, and while it wasn’t my ideal outcome, it was a victory for student press freedom. It was a reminder that student journalists should be the sole decision-makers of content in their publications — not their teachers, principals or superintendents.
Every student journalist facing censorship needs to know that their voice matters. Standing up for your right to report the truth is crucial, not just for yourself, but for the democratic values we hold dear. Yes, it’s scary. Yes, you might face pushback. But the alternative — a world where the truth is silenced — is far scarier.
So, when you find yourself facing pressure to stay silent, remember that you’re not just fighting for your story; you’re fighting for the right of every student to speak their truth. And who knows, it might actually help your chances at college admissions and make the perfect essay in the end.
If you’re a student journalist facing censorship, contact the Student Press Law Center Legal Hotline. Learn more about how you can take action to restore and protect student press freedom in your state.