Andrew Hum is a junior at Holmdel High School in Holmdel, New Jersey. He became the co-editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sting, following positions as a staff writer and the news column editor.
Kim Hong is also a junior at Holmdel High School. She is the co-editor-in-chief, formerly a staff writer and features column editor of The Sting.
In October 2024, the pair discovered that their district’s student publications policy was not aligned with New Jersey’s New Voices law. Over the following year, they collaborated with the Student Press Law Center and the Garden State Scholastic Press Association to advocate for change. Their efforts culminated in a victory for student journalists across their district when the Holmdel Township Board of Education unanimously approved a policy in September 2025 that fully complies with the New Voices law. Hum and Hong share how they succeeded in protecting Holmdel’s student journalists and advisers.
Sometimes, change doesn’t happen until someone asks the question: “Why is it still this way?” We asked that same question when we discovered that our district’s student publications policy hadn’t been updated since 2012.
In 2021, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey New Voices bill into law, guaranteeing student journalists the right to report without unjust censorship and protecting advisers from being penalized for defending their students.
Yet, our district was still operating under an outdated policy that didn’t comply with those protections.
The New Voices law is clear — student journalists may only be censored for five narrow reasons: libel or slander, invasion of privacy, profanity or obscenity, violation of law or lawful school policies, or for promoting violence or disruption to the orderly operation of the school. This list is exhaustive, meaning no other reasons for censorship are permitted.
Our district, Holmdel Township Schools, had an old policy that contained six other categories for censorship, giving administrators broad power to control student publications. These categories, though well-intentioned, went far beyond what the state allows and could have enabled unlawful censorship.
These policies don’t just concern those in student newspapers. Yearbooks and broadcasts are also student journalism — and the students who produce them deserve the same protections.
We dusted off our district’s outdated policy in October 2024, when we attended a lecture about New Voices at the Garden State Scholastic Press Association’s conference at Rutgers University. That discovery set us on a yearlong journey that just recently ended with a win for student journalists across our district: Holmdel’s new policy now fully complies with state law.
Fixing the policy was not an easy process, but it was a rewarding one. We spent months working with the Student Press Law Center and the GSSPA. In that period, both helped us pinpoint the flaws in our district’s outdated policy, guided us through the next steps in the district’s chain of command, and encouraged us to continue when we encountered setbacks.
Jonathan Gaston-Falk from SPLC and Tom McHale and John Tagliareni from the GSSPA reminded us that we would not have to face this challenge alone. Without their unwavering support, our journey would have come to an abrupt end. Even when our fight seemed to drag on, we always felt supported by these dedicated advocates for student press freedom.
Of course, we faced our fair share of setbacks. We took time out of our lunch periods to meet with administrators, only to be told that our district’s entire policy manual was already in the process of being overhauled (and with it, the student publications policy) — leaving student journalists without the proper protections for yet another school year.
So we waited. For months, we stayed vigilant, tracking board agendas and sending follow-up emails, but by fall 2025, the outdated 2012 policy still governed our work. It wasn’t until we spoke at a board meeting that real change began.
We don’t believe that our district set out to silence us. More likely, the student journalism policy wasn’t a priority until we raised it. But once we did, administrators and the Board of Education ultimately listened, and we are grateful for their responsiveness.
Now, our student publications can report with confidence that their rights are protected, and advisers can defend their students without fear of retaliation.
When student journalists are free to report without fear of censorship, the entire school community benefits. Sure, the community is kept informed, but there’s more: Student journalists have the opportunity to learn responsibility, accountability and independence — the very qualities that an education is meant to foster. And, most importantly, we learn that our voices can make a difference.
As students, we might feel powerless to bring change and to challenge the existing structures that define our lives. This sentiment is wrong. We were surprised to find that, with enough advocacy and persistence, we, too, can make change happen. It was slow, frustrating and, at times, discouraging — but the result was worth it.
If two high school students can ask the question: “Why is it still this way?” and make change happen, then so can you.
Learn more about how you can advocate for a policy in your district in the Student Press Law Center’s School Board Advocacy Toolkit. If you have questions about your district’s policy, face censorship or have other legal questions, contact the Student Press Law Center’s Legal Hotline.