School pulls student paper over identifications

Administrators at a Chapel Hill middle school confiscated copies of the student newspaper Thursday because it named students in stories about an assault on a school bus driver and two students kissing in the hallway.

Smith Middle School Principal Valerie Reinhardt confirmed that the assistant principal seized the papers midday for violating the school's policy on confidentiality.

But according to Chris Roush, a UNC-Chapel Hill journalism professor and adviser to The Cyclone Scoop staff, the students in both stories granted interviews and permission to use their names.

"I'm obviously disappointed in this action," Roush said. "This is supposed to be a real-life experience ... both for the student who wrote the stories and the students in the stories. The reporter took great care to be objective."

The first story, "Public Display of Affection," is about an eighth-grader who received detention for kissing his girlfriend in the hallway. School policy prohibits such behavior. In the story, printed on Page 12, the student describes his punishment and how embarrassed he was.

The other story, "Problems on Bus 96," says several students were charged with assaulting a bus driver in December. One of the accused students, who Roush said also works for the newspaper, posed for a picture that accompanies the story. The story, written by the same student as the first story, was printed on Page 14, the last page of the paper.

"I don't know all the facts," Reinhardt said, adding she was out of the school for most of the day. "But my job is to protect the confidentiality of minors."

She referred all other questions to the superintendent's office.

Stephanie Knott, a spokeswoman for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said the school is investigating the matter and looking into whether the students knew they were on the record when they were interviewed. She said administrators did not contact the school's attorney before confiscating the papers.

In an e-mail message to The News & Observer, Cyclone Scoop staff member Jacob Hoerger expressed frustration over the school's actions. "I believe this is a violation of our rights," he wrote.

Journalism teacher Becky Burke could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Mark Goodman, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va., said he does not think The Cyclone Scoop broke student confidentiality rules.

"If this is information generally known by students in the school, I can't imagine a legal justification that would indicate these stories pose a problem," said Goodman, who is a graduate of Duke University Law School and a former reporter.

Roush said no school funds are used to publish the paper. His department at UNC-CH prints the paper and picks up the $280 printing cost.