Twenty-five high school students from 15 states logged into the Student Press Law Center’s New Voices Student Leaders Institute this summer expecting to learn about press freedom, but they say they took away so much more. After two weeks of training and collaborating with their peers, they’re now equipped with the leadership skills, advocacy strategies and confidence to lead campaigns for press freedom in their states and communities.
Myesha Phukan, a 2023 institute alumna and now an SPLC advocacy intern, helped co-facilitate the 2026 institute. She shares her experiences working with students who are following in her advocacy footsteps.
Emma Alves is a junior at John Burroughs High School in California. She shares her experienes at the 2026 Institute and what comes next for her advocacy.
Sriram Chiripurapu is a junior at Rock Ridge High School in Virginia where he serves as the Features Editor of The Blaze for the 2026-2027 school year. He shares his experience at the 2026 Institute and what comes next for his advocacy.
Bowen Darling is a junior at Little Rock Central High School, where she is the social media editor on The Tiger newsmagazine staff. She shares her experiences at the 2026 Institute and what comes next in her advocacy work.
Mira Thakkar is a senior at Lambert High School in Georgia, where she serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Lambert Post for the 2026-2027 school year. She shares her experiences at the 2026 Institute and what comes next in her advocacy work.
Myesha Phukan is an advocacy intern for the Student Press Law Center and a co-winner of the 2024 Courage in Student Journalism Award. If someone asked me what New Voices was three years ago, I would have looked at them with a blank expression. Now, if the same person asked me that same question today,… Continue reading Why I joined SPLC: An intern’s perspective on defending the student press
Student journalists, educators and other advocates of student journalism, including an attorney from the Student Press Law Center, testified Feb. 11 at a hearing of Missouri’s House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education in support of HB 2918.
Utah’s House Education Committee has tabled the state’s New Voices bill for now, but committee members spoke favorably about student press protections in a Jan. 27 hearing. They also demonstrated willingness to work on the bill, one of the first New Voices introductions in Utah.
So far in the 2026 legislative session, six states have introduced New Voices bills to undo the effects of Hazelwood, while advocates in other states are looking to follow.