Freedom of the Press for Students

Student journalists should be supported by the constitutional right of “freedom of press”, because they are citizens of the country and still have rights and are entitled to them. “Freedom of press” means that citizens have the right to circulate opinions in print without censorship. Students are being denied their rights if the school system censors their opinions. People should be entitled to speak on whatever they feel whether it be things that happen in their school or in the world around them. Justice and recognition starts at home and can bring awareness to situations that people didn’t even know needed recognition. For example, things like the way teachers personal lives affect the way teachers personal lives affect the way they teach students. Others may say that students should be censored due to the way they may speak about situations they feel strongly about or things they don’t agree with. They feel that censorship may hurt feelings whether it is an individual person or a particular group that is affected by the writing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and shouldn’t have to cover how they feel about something because someone else wouldn’t like it.

Censorship in students writing, especially young students, can be greatly affected by being censored. Censoring a young person is telling them that their opinion is either too much or not enough and that no matter the reason it isn’t good enough to be heard without being edited. This alone can mess with a young person’s mental health and make them feel like things they feel or say aren’t important enough to be heard. They can begin to censor their feelings when talking to family or friends and make them shut people out generally and not speak on emotion at all.