Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Stockton School Newspaper Will Run Story on Student Working in Porn
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 3, 2019

Share

STOCKTON — The Lodi Unified School District has decided to allow a high school newspaper to publish a profile of an 18-year-old student who works in the porn industry.

The district won’t stop the story from running Friday in the Bear Creek High School paper, the Stockton Record reported Thursday.

The paper’s adviser, English teacher Kathi Duffel, had accused district officials of censorship after they demanded to review and approve the article before publication. In an April 11 letter, district Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer warned of possible discipline, “up to and including dismissal” if she refused.

Duffel refused on free speech grounds, and officials in the San Joaquin Valley district, which has about 31,500 students, agreed to let an attorney review the story. Matthew Cate, who represents Duffel and the student who wrote the article for the school’s paper, The Bruin Voice, concluded that the story didn’t violate education codes.

Article Profiles 18 Year Old Student at School

A lawyer for the district, Paul Gant, wrote to Cate Wednesday to say the district wouldn’t prevent publication of the story. But Gant also called Duffel insubordinate for refusing to submit the article for review, and said, “There is no question that the article could be lawfully reviewed or censored,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“Because the district has been denied an opportunity to preview the article, the district does not endorse it,” the district said in a statement. “Because we are charged with the education and care of our community’s children, we will always be diligent in our efforts to provide a safe learning environment for all students, while complying with our obligations under the law.”

The article profiles a student who sells nude videos, models for a porn agency and aspires to be a stripper, the Chronicle reported.

Duffel had told the paper that the article doesn’t glamorize pornography, but it “will help students think more critically about the choices they do make at this age in their lives.”

The student who was interviewed said she wanted to dispel rumors. “I’m 18, what I’m doing is legal, and I don’t see why everyone is making such a big deal out of it,” Caitlin Fink said.

California Law Provides Protections for Student Journalists

Bruin Voice news editor Bailey Kirkeby wrote the article. “I am very proud of the story and how it turned out,” she told the Chronicle.

California law ensures that the First Amendment applies to student journalists. It prohibits prior restraint of school newspaper stories unless they are obscene, libelous or slanderous or incite unlawful acts or school disruptions.

Duffel’s students “are getting a front-row seat to our government in action,” she told the Chronicle. “What better way to teach the value of the First Amendment than by teaching them firsthand not to have their voices silenced?”

Duffel has relied on the law before to block censorship attempts over her nearly three decades advising the Bruin Voice. For example, in 2013 the principal at the time confiscated 1,700 copies of the newspaper when students exposed inaccuracies in the school safety handbook.

DON'T MISS

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

DON'T MISS

Canadian School Boards Sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for Disrupting Students’ Education

DON'T MISS

California Law Enforcement Agencies Obstruct Transparency Efforts in Use-of-Force Cases

DON'T MISS

No Police Charges for Taylor Swift’s Dad Over Paparazzi Incident in Sydney

DON'T MISS

Biden Administration to Lend $1.5B to Restart Michigan Nuclear Power Plant, a First in the US

DON'T MISS

Tonight’s Biden Fundraiser With Obama and Clinton Already Nets a Record $25 Million

DON'T MISS

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP Pick in 2000, Dead at 82

DON'T MISS

Trump Criticizes Judge and His Daughter After Gag Order in Hush-Money Case

DON'T MISS

CA Insurance Market ‘in Chaos,’ Says Former Insurance Commissioner. Can Lara Fix It?

DON'T MISS

Police Had About 90 Seconds to Stop Traffic Before Baltimore Bridge Fell. 6 Workers Are Feared Dead

No data was found

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

3 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

3 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

3 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

4 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

4 hours ago

Biden’s Fundraiser with Obama and Clinton Nets a Record $25 Million, His Campaign Says

5 hours ago

Fresno Unified’s Self-Protection Racket Is Hurting Our Kids

5 hours ago

Rockin’ Out or Laughing, the Valley Has Its Pick of Weekend Events

5 hours ago

Ex-Correctional Officer at Women’s Prison in California Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Inmates

8 hours ago

Caitlin Clark and Iowa Draw Nearly 5 Million Viewers for Second-Round NCAA Win

8 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

PGA HOPE, now underway at Fresno’s Riverside Golf Course, is designed to introduce golf to veterans and active duty military members t...

2 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Fresno's Riverside Golf Course
2 hours ago

PGA HOPE at Riverside Golf Course Introduces Military Veterans to the Game

3 hours ago

Cronenworth’s Big Hit Helps Lift the Padres to a 6-4 Win Over Melvin’s Giants

3 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Reaches 3 Times in Home Debut as the Dodgers Rout the Cardinals 7-1

3 hours ago

Facebook News Tab Will Soon Be Unavailable as Meta Scales Back News and Political Content

3 hours ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Rises to More Records to Close Out Its Latest Winning Month

3 hours ago

A Fresno County First: Kerman Council Passes Amended Gaza Cease-Fire Resolution

4 hours ago

UN Top Court Orders Israel to Open More Land Crossings for Aid into Gaza

4 hours ago

How Involved Is Southern California Consulting Firm in FUSD Executive Dealings?

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend