I guess someone has to teach these kids that today Freedom of the Press
means freedom to publish whatever is approved by the authorities.

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Tenn. School Confiscates Student Newspapers

Sun Nov 27, 3:15 PM ET

Copies of a high school's student newspaper were seized by
administrators because the edition contained stories about birth control
and tattoos, stirring a First Amendment debate.

Administrators at Oak Ridge High School went into teachers' classrooms,
desks and mailboxes to retrieve all 1,800 copies of the newspaper
Tuesday, said teacher Wanda Grooms, who advises the staff, and Brittany
Thomas, the student editor.

The Oak Leaf's birth control article listed success rates for different
methods and said contraceptives were available from doctors and the
local health department. Superintendent Tom Bailey said the article
needed to be edited so it would be acceptable for the entire school.

The edition also contained a photo of an unidentified student's tattoo,
and the student had not told her parents about the tattoo, said
Superintendent Tom Bailey.

"I have a problem with the idea of putting something in the paper that
makes us a part of hiding something from the parents," he said.

The paper can be reprinted if the changes are made, he said.

"We have a responsibility to the public to do the right thing," he said.
"We've got 14-year-olds that read the newspaper."

Thomas said she wasn't sure about making changes. "I'm not completely OK
with reprinting the paper," she said.

First Amendment experts were critical of the seizure.

"This is a terrible lesson in civics," University of Tennessee
journalism professor Dwight Teeter said. "This is an issue about the
administration wanting to have control. Either the students are going to
have a voice, or you're going to have a PR rag for the administration."