The reality of publishing class magazines in public schools. Take heed (KES)
WVW board doesn’t act on poem
Students make case for inclusion of piece in journal, but officials put off decision.
By KRIS WERNOWSKY kwernowsky@leader.net
KINGSTON – With a confident gait, four girls led by Jessica Soroka approached the podium beneath the stage where the school board loomed in their half-circle of chairs above.
Wednesday’s Wyoming Valley West School Board meeting was Soroka’s chance to address the board about censorship, free speech and the right to publish a poem that criticizes an instructor at the high school.
Soroka told the board of how high school Principal Irv DeRemer approved of the publication of “Episode of Pure Defiance,” slated to appear in the school-funded literary magazine Interim.
As a representative of the magazine’s editorial board, Soroka explained how the publication was subjected to the standard prior review and received approval and how two weeks ago, as the finished product sat at a publisher waiting to print, the principal, the superintendent and the school district’s attorney deemed the poem inappropriate.
She asked the board to consider republishing copies of the magazine including the 16-line poem. Then she explained that the editorial board is willing to take the issue to court saying there are grounds for a “First Amendment and censorship lawsuit.”
The audience applauded, but the board took no action.
The line in question, “The beast is such a demon” was written by a still unknown author in reference to a high school teacher. With concern that she might defame the teacher, the student poet agreed to take the name of the teacher out of the poem.
Summer Beretsky, a 2002 Wyoming Valley West graduate, once published a poem in Interim with the F-word without issue. She said that the school’s decision to pull the most recent work from publication is particularly troubling because the district isn’t taking issue with naughty language, but taking away the author’s ability to question authority.
“This is censorship of a particular idea,” she said. “These future citizens of the world have lost their ability to criticize.”
Beretsky took her seat, and again, everyone applauded. Then the board went about their business and the meeting adjourned.
After the meeting, Superintendent August Piazza and board President Williams said it was solicitor Michael Hudacek’s recommendation that the poem be removed from the publication. The solicitor said previously that he respects the author’s free speech, but the school has the right to control the publication.
When Piazza was asked why the decision to remove the poem from publication was made, Hudacek pulled him away from the reporter’s earshot as the irritated superintendent shook his head.
During the meeting, Soroka said the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C., advised the editorial board that they have grounds for a lawsuit against the district should the board refuse to publish the poem. When asked about the potential for litigation, Hudacek said, “They have a right to exercise.”
Williams said the school board will discuss the poem at a future meeting, but talks will be in a closed session because he considers it a personnel and legal matter, even though the teacher’s name was removed from the poem and the students haven’t filed suit.
“There are multiple problems,” Williams said. “We will discuss this again at the next meeting.”
Williams said he hadn’t read the piece and when he was offered a copy of the poem refused to give it a look.
Soroka’s mother, Judy, looked on proudly as her daughter addressed the board and then spoke to the handful of nearby reporters. Her daughter will attend George Washington University in the fall where she’s considering majoring in something media related.
“I’m very proud of her and the entire editorial board,” Soroka’s mother said. “This is my third child to go through this district and I’ve read Interim. There has been some pretty edgy stuff printed in there. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this and I’m proud of them for standing up for the First Amendment.”
The Student’s Poem
On the Web
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“To my locker I went walkin’
And that’s when she came stalkin’
And the hall pass I’d forgotten
Gave enough for my recapture
To the office I went cursin’
And the situation worsens
I was heard by another person
Yeah, a teacher
And now, if you’ll be believin’
To the principals I’m screamin’
“The beast is such a demon!”
Even though I was at fault
Appraising phone calls all came in
When my friends heard what I did
“But you’re suspended!
“Not to worry-At least I go in glory”
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Kris Wernowsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7329
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