Law & Ethics
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
My first assessment for my Writing For Publication I class, a journalism prerequisite, was to memorize the First Amendment of the United States. Since then, the First Amendment has guided me throughout every story I write and edit. I'm fortunate to be able to say I have never experienced prior review from teachers or school administration and I enjoy engaging with other students to teach them about their freedom of speech rights and the power of the student press. To read our publication's policies on ethics codes, click here.
Last year, with only six other schools in the country, our student publication moved to round two for the First Amendment Press Freedom Award. I was eager to fill out the form for our nominationd.
The following quote comes from Kathryn Campbell, my journalism adviser, about my advocacy for the First Amendment: "Mimi is an advocate for the First Amendment, and spearheaded the evaluation we are currently undergoing for the First Amendment Press Freedom Award sponsored by JEA and Quill and Scroll. We are one of a handful of schools who have made it into the final round of consideration, and it is in no small part to Mimi’s engagement with and modeling of press freedoms and journalism ethics."
In honor of Student Press Day this year, I was invited by the Student Press Law Center, along with many other student editors, to write an opinion piece sharing why freedom of the press is essential to me. The image to the right shows the published article I wrote. To read the entire story, click here.
