A Journalist, Activist and Researcher.
Law and Ethics
Ed Code 48907 allows El Estoque to flourish as a forum for student expression because it formally declares that all students attending public schools have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press as long as their expression is not legally obscene, libelous and slanderous. It is what unites and defines student publications across the state, enabling El Estoque and its counterparts to function as a free and independent student press. And as Managing Editor, this is perhaps my favorite aspect of journalism education, one I try to espouse greatly in my work.
Teaching Law and Ethics
I'm fascinated with journalism law and ethics, and I believe that all student reporters should know their rights as journalists and be able to defend their work in the pursuit of truth. As such, I designed an extensive ethics and law lesson tracing the history of student press (Hazelwood School District) and detailing ways to navigate instances of prior review for all staff writers.
Editorial Policy: With help from my journalism advisor, I wrote El Estoque's Editorial Policy at the start of the year. The resulting document touches on various topics, including law and ethics, the use of anonymous sources, fact-checking and code of ethics.
In Practice
JUDGE PERSKY'S HIRE
Following Persky's hire, there were two reactions: pro and anti-Persky. To cover all sides equally, I reached out to two Persky student supporters. Knowing that one of journalism's rules is to minimize harm to sources, I offered my sources anonymity knowing that their opinion was in the minority. Also, one of my sources directly blamed the District for Persky's hiring and noted that the District only cares about accolades. To give the other side a chance to address this claim, I interviewed the Superintendant. My co-reporters and I also filed a FOIA request to understand how the hiring took place and to fact-check all our information and nut grafs.
ATTENDANCE IN SPORTS
The idea for this story came when it was discovered that the Varsity boys tennis team was writing a letter to the new coach explaining that his mandatory attendance policies were ineffective and should be removed. My co-reporter and I interviewed two seniors on the team who laid many complaints against the coach as well as the coach himself who defended his policies. When we were about to publish the story, one of the student sources wrote to us that he wished to change his quotes because it was "too angry." I informed him that to do so was unethical and that I'd rather re-interview him and add more context prior to introducing his quotes.
THE FACE OF ISLAM
Following the New Zealand shooting, I led my section to the local mosque to converse with community members about Islamaphobia. Because the reporting took place at a place of worship, I made sure to do prior research on the main tenets of Islam as well as what to wear and how to appropriately act at the mosque. Doing so was essential seeing as many members had grown wary of the media. Before shooting any videos or taking pictures, I asked the sources if they were comfortable, and I did not capture any minor on camera unless their parents said it was okay. As I was about to leave, the iman, or priest, asked that he see the story beforehand. I told him politely that doing so was against Editorial policy but that I would fact-check every piece of information with him, which I did.
PARTY CULTURE
As per Editorial policy, all sources who engage in illegal behavior are to be anonymous. This story, which explores the subculture of partying and drugs at Monta Vista HS, almost only utilized anonymous sources. To ensure that their identities would be protected, my co-reporter and I kept their names only to ourselves, not even sharing them with our advisor and fellow section members. Furthermore, the main premise of this story was based on a party that had occurred a couple weekends prior where students had been heavily drinking and consuming drugs. To fact-check the details from said party, I talked with multiple attendees to ensure the facts were correct.