The Student Press Law Center and the National Scholastic Press Association are proud to honor the staff of Theogony at Alexandria City High School with the 2025 Courage in Student Journalism Award for their determined pursuit of student press freedom when school district staff sought to instill prior review and cement their principal as editor.
Student journalists in San Diego, California, and San Jose, California, were also recognized as finalists for the national Courage award, bestowed annually to student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances.
The honors were announced Nov. 15 at the Fall National High School Journalism Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
“These student journalists showed extraordinary courage and persistence by standing up to censorship from their school district,” said Gary Green, executive director of the Student Press Law Center. “Their commitment to exposing the truth, standing up to powerful forces and rallying for press freedom is exactly what SPLC seeks to empower and support among student journalists.”
Winners
When the staff of Theogony, a student newspaper at Alexandria City (Virginia) High School, began reporting investigative pieces about their school district — including reports on transportation delays that sparked change and the removal of beloved administrators — their goal was to shed light on controversial actions and their impact on the school community. District officials did not respond favorably.
Diverging from longstanding practices of respecting students’ editorial independence, administrators proposed updating the district’s student media policy to require district approval for stories expected to generate a “high level of interest.” The Theogony team called this out for what it was: a path toward censorship.
Collaborating with the Student Press Law Center, Theogony leadership drafted and proposed a new policy of their own, Voices Unbound, inspired by and modeled after the New Voices movement.
When the district staff rejected all 12 of the Voices Unbound recommendations, the students refused to back down. They launched a five-month advocacy campaign — mobilizing community support, securing backing from national journalism organizations and gaining widespread media attention, including coverage from The Washington Post and Nieman Journalism Lab.
Former co-editor James Libresco and current co-editor Rozalia Finkelstein shared their story in a webinar with the Student Press Law Center and the Society of Professional Journalists in June.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized in our fight for editorial independence,” Libresco and Finkelstein wrote in a statement to accept the Courage award. “But the real recognition should go to the hundreds of student journalists around the world who face similar challenges. To those experiencing censorship, no matter how small you think it may be, let this be a call. Stand up and own your space. Dismantle the status quo. You are more powerful than you know.”
In addition to Libresco and Finkelstein, the 2024-2025 Theogony staff included Casey Donahue, Julia Gwin, Pablo Cruz-Rivera, Max Carpenter, Nadja Duss, Maxwell Jones-Lachance, Isabel Shultz, Noah Sternberg, Leo Maucieri, Liam Brown, Imani Sanders, Christian Orrell, Arafat Somith and Michael Sweeney.
This year’s staff, led by Finkelstein and Gwin, continues to advocate for a stronger student media policy. The Alexandria City School Board’s Governance Committee introduced a proposed policy this month that includes many of the students’ proposals.
In accepting the award, Libresco and Finkelstein expressed their appreciation for the support they have received.
“We hold abundant gratitude for our friends at SPLC, FIRE, NSPA, JEA and SPJ for their extensive support, as well as for the thousands of Alexandria and D.C. community members and leaders who stood with us, and for the small circle who helped guide our campaign, including Mr. Mark Eaton,” they wrote. “In addition, we appreciate the decision of the governance committee to change course and listen to the community. And last but not least, we are immensely thankful for our adviser, Ms. Kamilah Lawson, whose prudence, scrutiny and excellent education on journalistic ethics shaped both our advocacy and worldviews.
“We cannot begin to express what your support has meant to us. Theogony will continue to speak truth to power, and we hope student journalists around the globe will join us in doing so.”
Finalists
Two other reporting teams were also recognized as finalists for the 2025 Courage in Student Journalism Award.
Yasmeen Elmezain from University City High School, California
Yasmeen Elmezain is recognized for courageously sharing her own story in the face of community backlash, representing the experiences of many student journalists across the country who have sought to report on or write about sensitive issues over the past year.
Elmezain, as a 10th grader, drafted an opinion piece about her family’s experience as Palestinians for her student paper. Before it was even published, however, the school began receiving emails from parents, community members and national organizations who had heard rumors and demanded that it not be published.
Despite the toll the backlash had, Elmezain decided it was important to tell her story. She and her colleagues worked with the Student Press Law Center and the school district to add additional sources, and the staff decided to add a companion piece that represented the Jewish perspective. Elmezain and the author of that piece collaborated until they felt both viewpoints were fairly represented.
The two pieces ran in The Commander in May. Elmezain’s article received a positive response from the school’s Muslim community and others across San Diego, and both students exemplified the power of connecting across differences while still representing and sharing their truth.
Sneha Madan and Angel Froumis from University Preparatory Academy, California
Sneha Madan and Angel Froumis, editors-in-chief of the Aquila, are recognized for bravely navigating their principal’s retraction demand in a way that resulted in a stronger student media policy and a lasting relationship with administration.
After the Aquila published an article analyzing the media’s influence on teens’ perceptions of sex and relationships, the principal demanded that the entire newsmagazine be recalled.
Madan and Froumis stood their ground, explaining the steps they took to report the story and insisting on the magazine’s redistribution to students. Working with the Student Press Law Center, they developed legal arguments and addressed each of the misconceptions and concerns from their principal.
The principal ultimately withdrew his requests, walking away from conversations with Madan and Froumis with a better understanding of student press rights and a respect for their professionalism and courage.
Madan and Froumis then convinced their school board to adopt a new freedom of expression policy that, based on SPLC’s model policy and California law, permanently strengthened student press freedom at their charter school. They also continue to share their story and inspire other student journalists.
About the Award
The Courage in Student Journalism Award recognizes student journalists who have demonstrated exceptional determination and support for student press freedom, despite resistance or difficult circumstances.
It is presented to a student news organization, student journalist or team of journalists who challenge censorship, onerous school policies, retaliatory funding changes or other obstacles to their ability to freely report on the issues that matter to their school community.
At the high school level, the Courage Award is accompanied by a $1,000 prize. It is presented annually by the Student Press Law Center and the National Scholastic Press Association at the fall National High School Journalism Convention.
This year’s winner and finalists were selected from a competitive group of nominations.
The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Learn more at splc.org.