Poll Gets Student Newspaper Censored

The Chestnut Street Journal, the student newspaper of the Amherst Regional Middle School in Amherst Massachusetts, was censored after the principal decided she did not like the results of a student poll. Eighth-grader Joshua Wolfsun had a meeting with Principal Fran Ziperstein about student frustration over the school’s Zero Tolerance policy over disciplinary issues.  Not satisfied with the meeting, Wolfsun and his classmates decided to poll the students about the opinion of the school’s disciplinary policies.

The students took several weeks conducting interviews, compiling data, and creating graphs and charts over the issue.  They interviewed 175 students out of the school body of 575.  The poll found that 78% of the students felt their voices and idea were not being heard by the school, and 76% did not like the school’s disciplinary policies. Another 65% did not feel the school’s vision statement coincided with the school atmosphere. The article also included student comments and recommendations for improving the school’s policies.

After the article was published, school administration prohibited the paper from being distributed on school grounds.  The students were surprised with Justin Eck, their teacher advisor, told them they used flawed methodology, and their data was biased.  Wolfsun, however, says The Chestnut Street Journal had conducted earlier polls using the very same methods, and had published previous polls without administration comment. The students believe the paper was suppressed because Ziperstein was not pleased with the poll’s data.

Ziperstein disagrees, saying the students’ method of face-to-face interviews in the lunch room may have created biased results, and that the whole student body should have been polled.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney William C. Newman sent a letter Monday to Principals Ziperstein, Michael Hayes, and three other school officials asking them to reconsider their decision.