As a student news site, part of the Miter’s job description is to write intriguing, educational, informative articles to keep our student body informed. Nothing seems inherently wrong with this duty, even the US Constitution guarantees the right to do so.

Every citizen has the right to freedom of speech, but are the rights of student reporters in serious danger in the State of Washington?

Unfortunately, for many student writers, their opinions on controversial topics within are being silenced, their rights to a free and unencumbered student press are being stripped from them.

Right now in the state of Washington, the standards established by the 1988 Supreme Court case, Hazelwood vs. Kuhlmeier, are being reexamined.

Hazelwood  gave school administrates and district officials the right to prior review the work of all student publications; in other words, the Hazelwood ruling changed many of our nation’s finest public forums for student expression into limited forums of district-approved expression.

Washington is working on proposed bill, SB 6233, that would reestablish responsible journalism in our schools again.

But all of this applies to public schools, so why should the students of Bishop Blanchet High School care about this law?

This law gives your classmates the opportunity to voice the opinions of the voiceless in school or out of school and would make null the repercussions for staff members that help student voices be heard.

As a community, it is important to allow one another the opportunity to revel in creative writing and voice opinions on controversial topics to inform those that are not educated on  topics.

Braves can stand by their friends in journalism at Blanchet and across the State of  Washington, to urge law makers to pass this bill. Make your voice heard as a student writer and speak out to those that want to force us to hide our voices.